Over the past couple of weeks I’ve been delving deep into sector-specific thought leadership (first financial services then healthcare). And what struck me was how few firms manage to vividly convey what they think is really important right now for their target clients. Instead of a brand-defining approach, I saw:
- Far too much time and text devoted to telling the reader about the challenges. Challenges they’re no doubt very well aware of and dealing with day in and day out.
- Collections of content that appear to have little in common. Or, where they do, that fail to point out the link to the reader. There are plenty of examples where I suspect only the firm itself and we at Source Towers are aware of how the content fits together.
- Bland, all-encompassing themes. Pretty much anything goes when your campaign is about technology, efficiency and new markets (for example).
We understand why it happens: focus on a specific topic and there’s a big risk that you miss an opportunity elsewhere. And, in firms where material is produced in multiple geographies and across different parts of the organisation, it can be very challenging to get everyone to sign up to one or two defining topics.
But if you don’t make the decision to own a specific theme, someone else will. One of the best examples of this is Deloitte’s investment in 3D printing – after serious commitment to the topic, they’re clearly positioned as the experts.
So, what’s your 3D printing? And can you convince your peers to own it before it’s too late?
