Thought Leadership Campaigns: A Guide With Examples

Question: What comes to mind when you think of Spanx? Chic body-shaping apparel? Check. Runaway retail success? Check. Sara Blakely? Double check.

Blakely, Spanx’s magnetic blonde founder, is synonymous with the brand. From the beginning, her personal thought leadership — on social media, in news segments, and on the conference circuit — has helped propel Spanx to new heights.

And she’s not the only one who’s caught on.

When done correctly, thought leadership campaigns can build trust and lead to lucrative opportunities; one report found that investments in thought leadership can deliver a 14x return on investment.

Source: The Harris Poll, Unlock revenue and engagement with thought leadership

Thinking about trying your hand at thought leadership?

Read on to learn more about what thought leadership campaigns are, best practices for success, and three examples of what successful thought leadership looks like in the real world.

What is a thought leadership campaign?

A thought leadership campaign is a coordinated initiative designed to position an individual as an authority in their field by sharing insights and expertise with their audience. At their core, thought leadership campaigns are all about establishing credibility and trust in a specific industry or domain, and doing so consistently.

Successful thought leadership campaigns consist of several distinct elements. If you’re planning to launch a campaign of your own, it’s important for you to fully flesh out each of them.

Clear perspective and goals

Thought leadership is all about sharing a unique perspective on industry trends and challenges. For the best results, you should aim to focus on recurring themes that interest your audience. If you’re the CEO of a beverage company, for example, you might want to create a thought leadership framework that explores topics like sustainable packaging and evolving consumer health preferences. Equally important is having strategic goals. Do you want to drive leads into the funnel? Raise awareness for your brand? Cultivate an online community? Setting your North Star is important for staying focused.

Target audience

You might have the shrewdest insights of any executive in your industry. But if you’re not zeroing in on a specific demographic, the people you’re trying to reach are unlikely to hear you. By clearly defining your target audience — whether that’s compliance officers in financial services or retail influencers in women’s fashion — it’s easier to fine-tune your messaging to ensure it resonates and figure out which channels are best to share content on.

Content strategy

The best thought leadership campaigns consist of a variety of different media formats, including social media, newsletters and blog posts, podcast appearances, keynote speeches, webinars, media hits, and even good old-fashioned books. (People still read those, right?!) By spreading your message across channels, you can increase the chances your audience sees it. Partnering with an experienced thought leadership agency can ensure the optimal variety and drumbeat of content.

When you engage authentically, it’s much easier to build trust and influence because you’re being open, honest, and approachable.

Thought leadership campaign best practices

While every thought leadership campaign is different, there are some proven best practices that should help you get the results you’re aiming for regardless of your industry or audience.

Lead with insights — not promotion

Rather than promoting your products directly or speaking in meaningless platitudes about how your company has a great culture, share your unique perspective on what’s happening and what the future looks like. Be authentic, real, and gritty.

Be consistent and strategic

You can’t just flip on the thought leadership switch and expect great results. Instead, you need to be strategic in your approach, and you need to stick to a schedule. Not only does this increase the chances your messages are seen by the right people, it also helps you game social media algorithms; LinkedIn, for example, says companies that post each week see 2x more engagement than those that post less frequently. Your cadence should also include regular media hits, podcast appearances, and other speaking engagements

Engage like a human — not a brand

Did you know that CEOs receive 4x more engagement on LinkedIn than the average user? Harness your captive audience and use the attention effectively by engaging like an actual human — and not a faceless corporate account. When you engage authentically, it’s much easier to build trust and influence because you’re being open, honest, and approachable.

Remember it’s a two-way street

In addition to broadcasting a steady stream of content across a variety of channels, effective thought leadership campaigns also involve regularly engaging with your audience. By asking questions on LinkedIn, for instance, interacting with followers, and commenting on other people’s posts, you can begin building meaningful relationships and prove that you’re leading conversations that are shaping your industry.

Let’s face it: Jensen Huang looks like he’s from the future, and he’s graciously come back to tell us how to prepare for it.

3 real-world thought leadership campaigns

To increase the chances your next thought leadership initiative is a success, let’s explore three examples of real-world campaigns to give you a better idea of how effective leaders are approaching thought leadership.

1. Jensen Huang, CEO of NVIDIA, cements AI dominance

Let’s face it: Jensen Huang looks like he’s from the future, and he’s graciously come back to tell us how to prepare for it.

Over the last five-odd years, Huang has become something of a household name as NVIDIA’s stock price has soared more than 1,425%, with the company currently commanding a $3.3 trillion market cap. During that time, Huang’s trademark black leather jacket has become a symbol of visionary tech leadership.

While Huang is not particularly active on social media himself, he is featured prominently on NVIDIA’s corporate accounts, and he contributes to the company blog. When his company isn’t promoting Huang’s upcoming keynote speeches at events like CES 2025 and GTC 2025 on social media, it’s sharing media coverage that also highlights his thought leadership.

Jensen Huang’s black leather jacket and ensemble are a continuous reminder that NVIDIA’s building the future.

2. Adena Friedman, CEO of Nasdaq, builds the future of finance

Since taking the reins of Nasdaq as CEO in January 2017 — earning her claim as the first woman to head a global financial exchange — Adena Friedman has been laser-focused on transforming the company into a global tech powerhouse and driving innovation in financial markets.

Friedman is on a continuous thought leadership campaign to shape the future of finance by positioning Nasdaq at the forefront of digital transformation. Through keynote speeches, LinkedIn posts, op-eds, and interviews, Friedman regularly shares her vision for a more transparent, tech-powered global financial ecosystem.

The market approves; since she started as CEO, Nasdaq’s stock has increased more than 250%.

Adena Friedman’s thought leadership campaign illustrates Nasdaq’s commitment to ushering in more transparent and equitable tech-driven financial markets.

3. Simon Sinek, author and speaker, helps you live your best life

Simon Sinek’s career has been focused on helping leaders live and lead with greater clarity and purpose. Sinek’s legendary 2009 TED Talk encouraged leaders to “start with why” and become purpose-driven.

For more than 15 years, Sinek has kept the momentum behind his brand rolling along. He frequently posts on all sorts of social platforms, including LinkedIn and YouTube, and he also has a podcast called A Bit of Optimism. On top of this, Sinek’s a prolific author, offers online courses, and is regularly invited to speak at all sorts of events.

Sinek’s thought leadership campaign is highly interactive; the author regularly engages with his audience in comments and encourages his followers to define their own whys. The ROI of Sinek’s thought leadership efforts speaks for itself: a household name, he’s built a business empire around sharing leadership advice, spanning everything from best-selling books to high-paid keynotes.

Simon Sinek regularly shares helpful content on social channels, encouraging his audience to become the best versions of themselves while giving them the tools they need to do exactly that.

Start building your thought leadership campaign

Thought leadership campaigns have the power to transform your personal brand and the organization you lead. But as a CEO, you’re busy every day, which can make it hard to find the time you need to do a thought leadership campaign justice.

By joining forces with an established thought leadership agency, you gain access to a team of collaborators who’ve helped executives get started on their thought leadership journeys and drive results for their companies.

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