Thought Leadership Case Studies
Fintech Payments Innovator
Business Challenge:
The client offers an innovative platform for payments in the alternative financing space. Despite its technology advantages and differentiators, it was less well known than other providers in the space. Visibility was impeding their uptake by B2C clients and creating barriers to a plan to enter the B2B payments arena.
Solution:
- Strategic review of client and competitor intellectual property
- Integrated annual content calendar for short- and long-form content
- In-depth whitepaper and supporting campaign including promotional content
- Thought leadership strategy with supporting content for entering the B2B market
- Plans and communication strategy for proprietary primary research
- CEO branding campaign and monthly CEO blog
The client has increased its share of voice in the alternative financing space. It has also successfully launched its B2B product. In addition to publishing its own thought leadership to support increased lead generation, it has gained traction among media and influencers as a provider of a differentiated solution on an innovative technology platform.
Global Institutional Bank
Business Challenge:
A global bank with multiple lines of business had developed separate and inconsistent client communication processes for each business and geography. Clients received overly frequent and even conflicting messages. Client relationship managers struggled to get communications produced and were not getting strategic insight from their communications resources. The bank was unable to generate consistent analytics to assess whether clients valued or even received communications.
Solution:
- Diagnostic assessment of each process (inputs, outputs, results, and obstacles)
- A “best of breed” model to optimize communications and create efficiencies
- Identification and implementation plan for proactive, strategic client communications
- A revamped organizational design for client communications across lines of business and geographies
Consistent delivery and shared analytics allowed the client to improve its outbound client communications. Client communications team members were able to operate more as strategic partners with other business stakeholders.
Institutional Payment Solutions Provider
Business Challenge:
The client was a leading provider of payment services to both financial institutions and to corporates. While payments had seen little innovation in the past, more recently a range of new technologies, products, and services began to transform the industry, including instant payment solutions such as Real-Time Payments and tokenized payment services allowing payment via email or SMS. The client had done significant work to act as a champion and educator in these areas of innovation, and wanted support in increasing its exposure. It also wished to serve as an agent of change, increasing industry adoption of new technologies to create a better payment ecosystem for all.
Solution:
- Quarterly communication plans coordinated with client business partners
- Media coaching for emerging thought leaders in related subject areas
- Press releases and media outreach
- Creation of bylines for industry trade publications
- Development of owned media content (articles, blogs, and interviews)
- Speaking engagements
The client successfully reinforced its position as a top innovator within payments and increased its name recognition as a thought leader. In addition, its series of owned-media “expert conversations” helped target its positioning within specific industry areas more effectively, and drove sharp increases in web traffic as well as increases in direct client inquiries.
Debt Securitization Service Provider
Business Challenge:
As a service provider within a wide range of debt securitizations including loans and bonds, the client had developed significant expertise, but found itself taking a back seat to other industry players. Its expertise in the evolution of products and services, issuer trends, manager and investor needs, and technology was going unnoticed. In addition, in recent years its market share as a service provider had slipped.
Solution:
- Quarterly communication plans
- Identification of key thought leaders and subject areas
- Media outreach and pitching to secure expert interviews
- Press release development for new products, services, and client wins
- Development of content in multiple formats to feature the client’s thought leaders and thought leadership
- Quarterly communication plans coordinated with client business partners
Owned media evolved from syndication of occasional press releases to a regular thought leadership cadence of blogs, interviews, articles, client stories, and other narrative pieces. Earned media results tripled in the space of a year. In parallel, the bank’s relative market share surged. Business development teams highly valued the impact of this thought leadership content in their ability to win new business.
Top-Tier Global Consultancy
Business Challenge:
The client developed a bi-annual research study for an industry consortium for presentation to its members. While the data had immense value for the industry as a whole, the client was not getting business value from its investment in the research. The research findings and lead author lacked exposure in the market.
Solution:
- A coordinated media strategy including press releases, target media outlets and journalists, and digital amplification plans, all with associated metrics
- Bi-annual execution of the plan for each research release
- Working with the research team to enhance the external relevance of its findings and data
- Developing supplemental content in support of the research study’s main ideas
- Positioning the research’s lead author as the premier expert in this industry segment through blogs, bylines, and speaking engagements
In a period of three years, media mentions of the research rose from a mere handful of hits to over 1,000 per year. Top global business outlets routinely developed feature articles with author interviews for each release of the research. along with ongoing use of research data in coverage of the industry throughout the year. The study’s lead author became a highly sought-after expert for media interviews and speaking engagements, recognized as the dominant voice in her field. In addition, the exposure directly generated leads and new business for the client.