Thought Leadership is Older Than you Think

This marketing technique started way before the name was coined

Today’s digital age can make good old business practices seem like brand-new inventions.

This is the case with thought leadership. Blog posts and white papers have made it common to sell a product via argumentative content.

Yet, letter correspondence and books served a marketing purpose long before digital publication tools -and there’s a lot to learn from its historical contributors and promoters.

Here’s how thought leadership started, evolved over the years, and how it impacts us today.

The Thought Leadership Pioneers

Many people and brands were practicing thought leadership way before the term was even coined. Here are some remarkable examples :

Boulton & Watt Machines

Matthew Boulton was a successful British businessman. He made his debut by scaling his father’s toy business internationally via catalog marketing and direct sales. But what made him famous was his collaboration with the…