Thought leadership’s PR crisis

Hey, Paige here!

Before we get into today’s best marketing research… 

In today’s release: 

• What thought leadership really means in 2025

• How brands like Adobe and Dell turned content into trust (and leads)

• 5 ways to turn your content into authority-building proof

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DEEP DIVE

“Thought leadership” is having a bit of a PR crisis.

Usually, it's reduced to one of two extremes:
→ A CEO waxing philosophical on LinkedIn.
→ A whitepaper no one finishes reading.

But in a world where 74% of B2B buyers expect brands (not just execs) to demonstrate a deep understanding of their business challenges, we need a reframe.

Thought leadership isn’t about sounding smart. It’s about proving value through perspective. And when it’s done well, it quietly builds something brands are desperate for: authority.

Let’s talk about how brands like Adobe, ZoomInfo, and Dell used content to show the quality of their product—without once saying “industry-leading.”

(And yes, it worked. Gloriously.)

Authority isn’t claimed… It’s earned.

Why does this matter?
Because in today’s B2B environment, trust is everything.

• 86% of decision-makers are more likely to cosider orgs that consistently produce high-quality thought leadership

• 73% of B2B decision-makers consider an organization's thought leadership content more trustworthy for assessing its capabilities and competencies than its marketing materials and product sheets.

Your audience is drowning in noise. They don’t need more content. They need content that proves you actually know what you're doing.

That’s what real thought leadership does:
It demonstrates quality. It signals trust. And it makes people say:

“These folks get it. Let’s talk.”

3 smart ways brands are doing this

1. Adobe: Proof in practice

When Adobe repositioned itself from “Photoshop for creatives” to an enterprise analytics powerhouse, they didn’t just update the tagline… they rolled out a masterclass in strategic storytelling.

• Real case studies.

• Webinars featuring customers and martech influencers.

• C-suite-focused content on LinkedIn and YouTube.

💡 The result? A 14% bump in brand favorability among enterprise buyers and a 33% spike in B2B inquiries… in just 90 days.

Key play: They didn’t tell us they were enterprise-ready. They showed us, using stories from people we trust.

2. ZoomInfo: Borrowed credibility, earned respect

Want to reposition your brand? Bring backup.
ZoomInfo's "GTM Intelligence" campaign featured joint content with Salesforce and HubSpot, plus customer interviews that unpacked real pipeline wins.

💡 Outcome? 150,000+ content downloads and a 25% jump in perception as a full go-to-market platform, not just a data vendor.

Key play: Authority by association. When your ecosystem validates you, buyers listen.

3. Dell: IT comedy is a thing now

Dell’s "I.T. Squad" campaign was a Reddit-native comedy series tackling real-world tech headaches — starring fictional experts Bryan and Ryan.

Yes, really.

By mixing humor, community engagement (Reddit AMAs), and influencer tie-ins, Dell saw:

• 72M impressions

• A 200x credibility lift

• 1000% more Reddit followers

Key play: Meet your audience where they are, and speak human. Even (especially) if that means joking about shared pain.

So, what is thought leadership in 2025?

Forget the old definition. Here’s the modern framework:

Thought leadership = useful POV + credible voices + real context

It can look like:

• A weekly video podcast with your product team sharing real use cases

• An employee-led content series on how they solve client problems

• Co-branded assets with trusted partners (hello, borrowed clout)

• “Brand POV” posts that reframe industry debates with your lens

The format doesn’t matter. The proof and perspective do.

The takeaway: Thought leadership isn’t about looking smart. It’s about making your audience feel smarter for choosing you.