Thought leadership marketing is one of the most powerful marketing strategies a business can adopt, but executing an effective thought leadership marketing campaign requires a skilled team. To help businesses find an external partner who can build and manage their thought leadership for them, our team has evaluated and ranked the top thought leadership marketing agencies based on 6 factors. In order of relative weight in our analysis, those factors are:
- Notable Clients: We consider work history to be the strongest indicator of ability to successfully execute thought leadership marketing, as a portfolio of clients that are currently seen as thought leaders is a clear reflection of agency skill.
- Average Review Score: The second-most important factor in our analysis is client reviews left on independent, third party sites such as G2 and Clutch, though we weight it lower than client history due to the inherent difficulty in obtaining reviews from high-profile clients
- Leadership Experience Score: We consider leadership experience to be an important indicator—particularly if an agency’s executives are considered thought leaders in their own right.
- Median Employee Tenure: Employee turnover leads to loss of institutional knowledge, and thought leadership marketing is highly skill-dependent. As it requires longer training times than other forms of marketing, we’ve found longer employee tenures to positively correlate with overall agency performance.
- Year Established: While age doesn’t always correlate with skill, more experienced have demonstrated their ability to continue achieving success in a variety of market conditions.
- Founder Status: We consider whether or not an agency’s leadership is actively involved in their management and day-to-day operations to be a minor indicator of their commitment to ongoing excellence.
We also provide a one-sentence summary of each agency’s specialty, as well as a brief analysis of each agency below:
The Top Thought Leadership Marketing Agencies
| Rank | Company | Established | Founder Led | Leadership Experience Score | Average Review Score | Median Employee Tenure | Notable Clients | Specialty |
| 1 | First Page Sage | 2009 | Yes | 4.8 | 5.0 | 4.3 Years | Salesforce, Cadence, US Bank | Thought leadership content development for B2B businesses |
| 2 | Stern Strategy | 1985 | Yes | 4.5 | 4.8 | 6.6 years | Cisco, Moretrench, The Leapfrog Group | PR for speakers, advisors, and executives |
| 3 | iResearch Services | 2008 | Yes | 3.9 | 3.7 | 3.6 years | Accenture, Brandpie, Philips | Thought leadership marketing via webinar |
| 4 | Channel V Media | 2008 | Yes | 3.7 | 5.0 | 6.8 years | Breezometer, Bluecore, Bitrise | Full service communications and strategic storytelling |
| 5 | Polymath Marketing | 2015 | Yes | 4.0 | 4.2 | No data | Looking Glass, Booster Pro, Honor My Decisions | Digital marketing with thought leadership services |
| 6 | Profile | 2014 | Yes | 3.8 | 4.3 | 7.3 years | Oracle, Payally, Gymshark | Thought leadership provider for PR and social media-based campaigns |
| 7 | Transmission Private | 2014 | Yes | 4.1 | 5.0 | 2.8 years | Not disclosed | Building thought leadership profiles for executives and business leaders |
First Page Sage
First Page Sage is the #1 thought leadership marketing agency on our list, owing to a combination of their high customer reviews and their direct focus on creating thought leadership content. Their approach centers on learning their clients’ industries exceptionally well, and they have consistently succeeded in positioning clients as industry leaders. An example is SoFi, who was relatively unknown prior to their engagement with First Page Sage, but are now considered the leading social lender. First Page Sage’s most notable successes have been in highly technical industries such as SaaS, engineering, financial services, and medical devices, but is also reflected in their own position as a marketing thought leader, as well as their founder Evan Bailyn’s status as a leading expert in SEO.
- Notable Clients: Salesforce, Cadence, US Bank
- Leadership Experience Score: 4.8
- Year Founded: 2009
- Average Reviews: 5.0
- Specialty: Thought leadership content development for technical B2B businesses
- Contact: First Page Sage website
| Summary of Online Reviews |
| First Page Sage’s clients report that they “are unparalleled in learning the ins-and-outs of complex industries” and turning “expert insights into authoritative content.” Their approach results in “excellent brand recognition and long-term ROI.” |
Stern Strategy
Stern Strategy’s focus is on executive visibility and positioning their clients’ executives as highly sought-after thought leaders. Because they also serve as an agency where businesses can connect with speakers and advisors, they can effectively promote their thought leadership clients and help lesser-known executives gain speaking experience and secure higher-profile bookings. This trickle-down approach can be highly effective, as audiences connect more to individuals than businesses, but suffers from the inherent risk of an executive deciding to leave the business.
- Notable Clients: Cisco, Moretrench, The Leapfrog Group
- Leadership Experience Score: 4.5
- Year Founded: 1985
- Average Reviews: 4.8
- Specialty: PR for speakers, advisors, and executives
- Contact: Stern Strategy website
| Summary of Online Reviews |
| Stern is a “perfect fit” for executives who want to promote themselves for speaking opportunities, and “understand what clients are looking for.” |
iResearch Services
iResearch Services focuses on using data science for thought leadership marketing. They advise their clients on how to design research programs that will test innovative products and ideas, validating them and translating them into compelling insights. Because of their research focus, iResearch’s approach is best suited for companies who are able to wait longer before seeing a return on their investment.
- Notable Clients: Accenture, Brandpie, Philips
- Leadership Experience Score: 3.9
- Year Founded: 2008
- Average Reviews: 3.7
- Specialty: Research program design and execution for thought leadership marketing
- Contact: iResearch Services website
| Summary of Online Reviews |
| Clients report that iResearch brings “a varied perspective” to thought leadership, and their strategy “resonates deeply.” |
Channel V Media
Channel V Media offers PR services and strategic storytelling for businesses who want to position themselves as thought leaders. They create PR strategies and brand narratives that attract media coverage, and connect their clients to ongoing news stories. As a full service PR agency, Channel V also handles press releases and crisis communications for clients, and are particularly adept at helping international businesses break into the US market.
- Notable Clients: Breezometer, Bluecore, Bitrise
- Leadership Experience Score: 3.7
- Year Founded: 2008
- Average Reviews: 5.0
- Specialty: Full service communications and strategic storytelling
- Contact: Channel V Media website
| Summary of Online Reviews |
| Channel V’s clients say that the agency “secured a consistent cadence of mentions and industry trade features” that made them “the known brands they are today.” |
Polymath Marketing
While Polymath doesn’t place their main focus on thought leadership, they are a one-vendor option for companies that want a single agency who also offers paid advertising, sales enablement, and customer retention services. This generalist approach can result in more coordinated marketing strategies when investing in multiple channels, but lacks the focus of a dedicated thought leadership agency.
- Notable Clients: Looking Glass, Booster Pro, Honor My Decisions
- Leadership Experience Score: 4.0
- Year Founded: 2015
- Average Reviews: 4.2
- Specialty: Digital marketing with thought leadership services
- Contact: Polymath Marketing website
| Summary of Online Reviews |
| Polymath Marketing’s clients place “a strong level of trust” in them, reporting that teams are “well-organized” and produce “high-quality work.” |
Profile
As with Polymath Marketing, Profile takes a multi-channel approach to thought leadership marketing but places more emphasis on the thought leadership itself. They’re particularly adept at using social media marketing to increase the reach of video thought leadership content, and while they’re based in London, their portfolio includes clients in both the US and India.
- Notable Clients: Oracle, Payally, John Mills
- Leadership Experience Score: 3.8
- Year Founded: 2014
- Average Reviews: 4.3
- Specialty: Thought leadership provider for PR and social media-based campaigns
- Contact: Profile website
| Summary of Online Reviews |
| No reviews available. |
Transmission Private
Transmission Private is a communications agency that works with business leaders to find a resonant idea, build content around that idea, and amplify their message across podcasts and social media. Their focus is on building a personal brand rather than a business’s, which can lead to more personal identification from audiences. While they have high customer reviews, they do not disclose the names of any clients leading to their lower placement in this report.
- Notable Clients: Not disclosed
- Leadership Experience Score: 4.1
- Year Founded: 2014
- Average Reviews: 5.0
- Specialty: Building thought leadership profiles for executives and business leaders
- Contact: Transmission Private website
| Summary of Online Reviews |
| Transmission Private’s clients report that the agency is “subtle and intelligent,” and helped “radically overhaul [clients’] online profile[s].” |
