Credible, Compelling Content

The best content is reverse-engineered from stakeholder to creator.  In other words, while you may have something to say, you must always start from the perspective of your customer or other stakeholders.  If you have lots of square widgets to sell, and your customer demand is for round widgets, no amount of fancy talk is going to resolve that.  Far too often, to complicate the issue, stakeholders have different views and objectives, and the challenge here is not to become so bland, so on-the-other-hand, that your content becomes trite.

The Oil and Gas industry is an example of a sector with highly competing stakeholders.  Its shareholders are used to recurring, reliable dividends and want to keep it that way.  Consumers want oil products to be available, but (especially in Europe) they are clamouring for a green agenda, a net-zero commitment thatdemands investment in renewable energy sources.  While this green agenda is largely supported at a macro level by governments, the same government is also keen to keep Oil and Gas companies' level of investment in existing infrastructure and employment - North Sea oil production, for example.  These are not trivial differences, and they force Big Oil to tread carefully.  Thought Leadership here is a core requirement, but one which requires investment in data, positioning and joined-up thinking.