When I was an editor, PRs used to pitch thought leadership pieces to me a lot. 

Comms teams and their clients value them because they build credibility, demonstrate authority, and attract attention organically. Journalists – at least ones like me on small editorial teams – like good thought leadership pieces because they add value and don’t eat into the precious editorial budget. 

The kinds of people I would look to for thought leadership were the same kinds of people I’d want to interview anyway. And a well-pitched note from a PR who understood the publication usually got the ball rolling. 

The problem I often had was that either the PR or the client tried to use the opportunity to shoehorn in brand mentions and messages, rather than offer genuine insight and expertise. 

For some, the idea of talking about the wider industry or sharing expertise on a topic must have seemed like a waste of time. So, I’d receive what could only be described as advertorials. I didn’t run them – I forwarded them to the commercial team to follow up with prices. And honestly, I felt a bit annoyed that my request for genuine insight and a clear “please not a thinly veiled advertorial” had gone unheard. 

For example, you could probably summarise it as: “Alcohol-free beer brand says alcohol-free beer is the future. Here’s why our brand is so great and will lead the category.” Completely useless to the wider trade. 

So, what’s the point of doing thought leadership pieces if publications don’t want you to shout about your brand? 

Well, showing yourself to be an expert in your field builds authority. Offering advice based on your own learnings shows you’re part of the industry and builds trust. Sharing knowledge – including the times you’ve made mistakes – shows you’re willing to help, and that you’re human. 

And all that must be good for your brand. 

by Anita Murray, CEO, William Murray  

For food, drink and hospitality businesses, 2027 budgets are starting to take shape. Campaigns are being mapped out and calendars are tentatively filling up with launches, events, content and communications activity. 

Before deciding what marketing activity your business needs next year, there is a more important consideration: What does the business need to achieve – and what could get in the way? 

The more specific the objectives and obstacles, the easier it becomes to make useful, strategic decisions about marketing and communications that will help businesses grow with greater certainty. 

Six questions to take into your 2027 planning 

1. What are our most important growth objectives?

Be specific about what the business needs to achieve. Which customers, markets, products or relationships matter most? Where does growth need to come from, and what would meaningful progress look like by the end of 2027?  

Whether the ambition is to win new customers, enter a market, grow a category or create demand for innovation, the marketing plan needs a clear commercial destination. 

2. What are the biggest obstacles to achieving them?

Where is growth most likely to get stuck? It could be competitive pressure, customer perception, differentiation, credibility, market position, lack of influence or something operational that communications needs to help address.  

Identifying the obstacle changes the conversation from “What should we do?” to “What needs to change?” 

3. Has our market position changed?

Markets move quickly. Competitors evolve, customer expectations shift and propositions that once stood out can become familiar. Ask whether the position that worked previously will still be compelling in 2027. 

That means looking beyond your own brand. What are competitors now claiming? What do customers value? Where has the market become crowded? What new expectations have emerged? 

4. What do our customers actually value now? 

Planning often begins with what a business wants to say. A stronger starting point is understanding what customers need to hear, believe or experience before they will change behaviour. 

Our 2026 From Visibility to Influence research found a clear gap between the messages suppliers believe they are communicating and how those messages can be experienced by operators. Suppliers talked about innovation, sustainability, partnership and understanding their customers. Operators told us they wanted clearer value, practical solutions, proof and transparency. 

That gap has commercial consequences. 

In a pressured foodservice environment, operators are already dealing with labour shortages, cost pressures, sustainability demands and supply chain challenges. Communications that add complexity or make broad claims without evidence are unlikely to earn much attention. 

The implication for 2027 planning is important: understanding customer priorities should shape the communication strategy before channels and campaigns are selected. 

5. Where do we need greater trust, authority or influence? 

Awareness can tell you that people recognise a brand. It tells you much less about whether they trust it, value its expertise or will consider it when making a decision. 

Our research found that operators and industry influencers respond strongly to credible evidence, practical application and genuine industry contribution. 

Innovation, for example, has greater value when it demonstrates how it can make an operation easier, more efficient or more resilient. Sustainability claims become more credible when businesses can show evidence, acknowledge trade-offs and communicate progress honestly. 

For businesses planning for 2027, this raises useful points: Where do we need to influence decisions, and what would give us the authority to do so? That might involve customers, chefs, procurement teams, wholesalers, industry bodies, media or other stakeholders. 

6. Finally, what communications activity will make a difference?

Once the growth objective and obstacles are clear, the role of communications becomes much easier to define. 

Perhaps the business needs stronger thought leadership to establish authority in a category. Perhaps it needs evidence-led communications to build credibility around a new proposition. Perhaps customer voices and practical demonstrations would do more to build confidence than another broad awareness campaign. 

And sometimes the answer will be to do less. The important thing is that activity has a clear job to do. 

Better planning starts further upstream 

Visibility has value, but commercial growth depends on what happens after someone sees you. Do they understand your relevance? Do they believe your claims? Do they trust your expertise? Will they involve you in the conversation when a decision needs to be made? 

Those questions deserve a place in the planning process. 

Before you lock down your 2027 marketing plan, make sure you have identified what is most likely to get in the way of achieving your growth objectives. That gives you a strategic basis for deciding where communications, marketing and other forms of commercial activity can help you achieve growth with greater certainty. 

Our Market Authority & Growth Roadmap is designed to help businesses take that step back: clarify the growth objective, identify the positioning, credibility, visibility and influence barriers that may be limiting growth, and establish where authority-building activity should focus next. 

Planning for 2027? Talk to us about where growth could get stuck before you decide what activity comes next.