IBM Institute for Business Value quantifies the revenue impact of C-suite-focused thought leadership and provides an ROI framework marketers can use to justify investment.
IBM’s research attributes about $107 million in annual revenue to thought leadership for an enterprise averaging $29 billion in revenue.
Survey of more than 4,000 C-level executives across 26 countries and 16 industries found 87% made a purchase within 90 days because of thought leadership.
IBM and CMI provide practical resources (a workshop and an ROI worksheet) to help marketers calculate and present thought leadership value.
Sep 16, 2026 Measurement & Optimization Related Topics Content Marketing Analytics Data SEO for Content Content Optimization Recent in Measurement & Optimization SEE ALL Content Marketing Analytics & Data. Key Metrics, Signals & Sources Sep 23, 2026 6:00 pm UTC Strategy & Planning. IBM Research Shows $107 Million Potential Eighty-seven percent of executives made a purchase based on thought leadership.
That's the language of value that resonates with CFOs and CEOs, says Cindy Anderson, chief marketing officer and global lead of engagement and eminence at IBM Institute for Business Value. Almost nine in 10 executives surveyed said they made a purchase decision within the previous 90 days directly because of the thought leadership they consumed. On average, they spend five hours a week on thought leadership content.
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Learn what your digital brand is worth before it's too late.
The professional services giant is putting real money behind human skills leaders will need as AI transforms work.
When everyone can create, the advantage shifts from producing more content to having something worth saying. The post AI Made Content Cheap. It Made Thought Leadership Priceless. appeared first on jeffbullas.com .
The economics of knowledge work are changing in ways that are easy to underestimate. Before AI , people understood that producing competent work at scale required time, specialized skills, and organizational infrastructure. This meant that work activities like writing articles or building functional software came with
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How to make thought leadership more useful, timely and relevant. IMA Financial Group built a thought leadership program around the collective knowledge of employees across industries, specialties and regions. Instead of repackaging outside research, IMA brings those experts together to identify what they are seeing wit
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