Chapter 04:
Use of digital thought leadership programmes
A highly effective marketing strategy that is gaining popularity is thought leadership. Thought leadership used to be the preserve of industry analysts and independent publications. In today’s connected world it has never been easier to produce and publish valuable content from credible industry professionals. Effective thought leadership content read by corporate investors can provide investment promotion teams with a powerful competitive edge.
It’s been three years since Invest Hong Kong set up their strategic research team, who are tasked with producing thought leadership content. Recent projects have focused on opportunities relating to China’s Greater Bay Area, a vibrant cluster of cities in Southern China. “They’ve been focusing on things like trade mechanisms and policy initiatives, and thought leadership is a good way to translate policy speak into language that business can understand,” says Phillips. “It’s also about identifying where commercial opportunities lie and provoke thoughts about where new business opportunities may arise.”
There’s no single version of what thought leadership could be. The organisations quoted in this e-book have utilised social media posts, white papers, videos, podcasts and more. While the medium might change, however, the fundamental nature of thought leadership remains the same. It offers the audience value, usually in terms of insight, actional advice and a strong vision of how challenges might be addressed. Involving external stakeholders and clients with thought leadership can solidify relationships and give content more credibility. As Madrigal says, “We tell clients we are well suited to receive their investment project of course, but their discussions with peers provides additional and more practical information which they can use to analyse the scenario and build the business case for projects.”
They’ve been focusing on things like trade mechanisms and policy initiatives, and thought leadership is a good way to translate policy speak into language that business can understand. It’s also about identifying where commercial opportunities lie and provoke thoughts about where new business opportunities may arise.
For some IPAs, thought leadership is a new concept, but one that’s part of plans post-2020. “We are implementing pillars of the thought leadership concept by adopting business intelligence and strategic observation of global best practice, in close collaboration and dialogue with prominent stakeholders from the private sector, and interacting with the business community through digital platforms to ease the investment process and promote the Tunisian Site,” says Beligh Ben Soltane, Chairman of Tunisia Investment Authority. “We want to identify and generate potential leads that could be interested in Tunisia as a business location, and then we can follow up with concrete actions, outreach missions and campaigns,” he says. “We are already working on our digital platform that offers a bunch of online services for local and international investors, to facilitate their investment journey in Tunisia.”
When the covid dust settles, Turkey’s Erdem expects thought leadership to become a key tool for reaching out to potential investors. In fact, thought leadership is beneficial for building up internal human capital and building external relationships, he says. “Thought leadership is about engaging with decision makers within companies as well as with government entities to raise awareness about the benefits of FDI,” he says. “We’ve extensively benefited from thought leaders in both the public and private sector.”
We are implementing pillars of the thought leadership concept by adopting business intelligence and strategic observation of global best practice, in close collaboration and dialogue with prominent stakeholders from the private sector, and interacting with the business community through digital platforms to ease the investment process and promote the Tunisian Site. We want to identify and generate potential leads that could be interested in Tunisia as a business location, and then we can follow up with concrete actions, outreach missions and campaigns.