The first ever framework for measuring thought leadership was released Wednesday to mark the launch of the Thought Leadership Network, a new membership initiative from the news organsiation Financial Times and agency Longitude.
The event invited senior marketing professionals and was held this past Wednesday. Rob Mitchell shared report key findings and insights from the report, and marketing consultant Peter Field discussed research into marketing effectiveness and how it applies to a B2B thought leadership.
The framework forms a key part of the Thought Leadership Network’s report: Proving our Value: Measuring the effectiveness of thought leadership. It warns marketers against focusing on short term solutions and vanity metrics, to aim for alignment, engagement, and influence. The report was launched in response to feedback from senior marketers who have identified thought leadership being a key challenge to their role.
Tia McPhee, global brand director at the Financial Times, said: “More and more global brands rely on content and thought leadership to deliver their marketing message. We know thought leadership has a real impact on business perceptions, but it remains a challenge for marketers to prove its worth. It’s vital to have tools that allow us to demonstrate the value of these initiatives.”
Longitude is a specialist thought leadership agency, majority owned by the Financial Times Group. The Financial Times is a business news organisation who late, last year, called for better capitalism in ‘The New Agenda’, its first major brand campaign since the 2008 global financial crisis.
