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cover art for Episode 2 Lucy Ferguson, DeepL AI: The Problem with Thought Leadership

The Problem With B2B Marketing

Episode 2 Lucy Ferguson, DeepL AI: The Problem with Thought Leadership

Season 1, Ep. 2
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Lucy Ferguson, Content and AI Marketer, and former Head of B2B Content at Google, discusses the problem with Thought Leadership. Focusing on the common mistakes she has seen over the course of her career across media owner, agency and platform roles, we discuss how and why B2B brands are turning clients and potential customers off with content that's more 'inside-out' than outside in. Lucy shares insights on how to develop the content your customer needs and the huge ROI potential from taking distribution seriously, including a practical view on how AI can make this better (or worse) depending on the approach you choose. 


Key talking points:

  • How Google’s lens of ‘Helpfulness’ shapes the content the business creates and “helps the user to do their job better”
  • How to plan thought leadership content effectively when 95% of your audience isn’t ready to buy
  • The importance of moving on from a campaign / “one and done’ mindset to creatie once, using everywhere.
  • The case for long term investment in brand platforms and owned IP to grow ‘mental availability’


Internal vs. External Influencers: Deciding who to partner with externally and how to “help the voices inside the organisation become more vocal."


Authenticity Matters: The importance of asking "Is this the best use of your brilliance?" and finding ways to channel what individuals are genuinely passionate and knowledgeable about for creating effective expert content


Generative AI in Content Marketing: Avoiding the risk of anodyne content: "The problem... is using AI in a way that just churns anodyne content... it wasn't written with love… and anything that moves us away from really understanding our audience, really helping people, and sharing new knowledge is going to be a problem." But harnessing the possibilities; "use it as a hypothesis as a test, alongside existing content and compare how it works”


Links and references:

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  • 1. Episode 1 Matthew Gale, Deloitte: The Problem with B2B Podcasts

    52:50||Season 1, Ep. 1
    Welcome to the very first episode of The Problem with B2B Marketing! We talked to Matthew Gale, Director of Brand & Creative Content at Deloitte and architect of The Green Room, one of the most successful podcasts from a brand, about the problem with B2B podcasts...From getting started and working out exactly who you are for, to working hard to earn your audiences’ time and attention, what makes for effective distribution and how you define the ROI for the business, Matt shares his experience, the good and the bad, common pitfalls, and how to deal with them.Key talking points:Matt didn’t set out to make a podcast, but having discovered that Deloitte’s insight reports were amongst the lowest performing content, they looked for other formats as a way to share expertise and cut through.The podcast format has inspired a new approach; they don’t simply talk about Deloitte’s new automation report but instead explore topics like “What will be the last job on Earth?”Unexpected benefits: The Green Room format, topics and talent have all helped build a greater understanding of the business and culture at Deloitte, benefitting the employer brand. Hear about Deloitte’s ‘7 Principles’ for creating great content, and how they act as ‘guidelines, not rules; help experts across the business to create content for niche audiences that ‘respects busy with excellence,’ and the benefits of ‘debunking best practice.’ Links and references:The Green Room podcast from DeloitteThe Green Room special series / Olympic tie-in - The Power of FirstEvery Other Friday newsletter from Deloitte