Steal the show: How thought leadership creates buzz at industry events
Posted: Sat Dec 28, 2024 6:51 am
In-person corporate events are back, and using them to launch fresh insights that get people talking about your company is a great way to put your brand back in the spotlight.
Here, FT Longitude’s marketing director Emily Taylor Gregory and group editor Joe Dalton tell us how brands can use thought leadership to attract attention on the global stage.
Why does thought leadership get you noticed at industry events?
Emily: It can feel counterintuitive to launch your latest campaign at one of the largest gatherings in your sector, because there’s so much noise around major events that it’s a struggle just to be heard. But there’s a big benefit – and it’s hard to get elsewhere: you have a captive audience. Your potential buyers are there and ready to talk, the media turn out en masse to hear what the experts have to say, and conference delegates are there to learn and make connections.
Most events pride themselves on a curated programme of content that tells audiences about the latest thinking list of honduras cell phone numbers on important topics. You might plan to pitch for a speaking slot on the main stage or buy into a pay-to-play seminar that runs in parallel, but either way if your thought leadership comes out of timely research into a topic that aligns with the big themes of the day, you will be in high demand.
But make sure you pitch your ideas in the right way. Be clear about why your insight is relevant, what audiences will get out of it and who your thought leaders are – especially if you can bring in an external perspective, and even better if it’s a name that carries weight.
Joe: Surveys are a great way to win attention from audiences universally. The media love using a datapoint to tell a story – especially if it gives a new perspective on a familiar topic – and business leaders respond well to evidence-based insight, especially when it relates to the views of their peers. Similarly, event organisers are often on the lookout for new data from trusted sources around trends that relate to the hot topics of the day.
It’s also important to know what your competitors are doing. Do they have a regular insights programme and often produce research of their own? If so, think about what you can do differently. For example, research that allows you to produce an index – which ranks various items by pitting country versus country, city against city, or industry competitors against one another – is both useful and likely to produce attention-grabbing headlines.
Here, FT Longitude’s marketing director Emily Taylor Gregory and group editor Joe Dalton tell us how brands can use thought leadership to attract attention on the global stage.
Why does thought leadership get you noticed at industry events?
Emily: It can feel counterintuitive to launch your latest campaign at one of the largest gatherings in your sector, because there’s so much noise around major events that it’s a struggle just to be heard. But there’s a big benefit – and it’s hard to get elsewhere: you have a captive audience. Your potential buyers are there and ready to talk, the media turn out en masse to hear what the experts have to say, and conference delegates are there to learn and make connections.
Most events pride themselves on a curated programme of content that tells audiences about the latest thinking list of honduras cell phone numbers on important topics. You might plan to pitch for a speaking slot on the main stage or buy into a pay-to-play seminar that runs in parallel, but either way if your thought leadership comes out of timely research into a topic that aligns with the big themes of the day, you will be in high demand.
But make sure you pitch your ideas in the right way. Be clear about why your insight is relevant, what audiences will get out of it and who your thought leaders are – especially if you can bring in an external perspective, and even better if it’s a name that carries weight.
Joe: Surveys are a great way to win attention from audiences universally. The media love using a datapoint to tell a story – especially if it gives a new perspective on a familiar topic – and business leaders respond well to evidence-based insight, especially when it relates to the views of their peers. Similarly, event organisers are often on the lookout for new data from trusted sources around trends that relate to the hot topics of the day.
It’s also important to know what your competitors are doing. Do they have a regular insights programme and often produce research of their own? If so, think about what you can do differently. For example, research that allows you to produce an index – which ranks various items by pitting country versus country, city against city, or industry competitors against one another – is both useful and likely to produce attention-grabbing headlines.