ceo communication audit - jason wyatt, marketplacer

CEO COMMUNICATION AUDITJason Wyatt, Marketplacer

DRAFT FOR DISCUSSION

2


This audit has been prepared for Jason Wyatt, CEO at Marketplacer.

It is a broad review of CEO communications, with the aim of building front-of-mind thought leadership.

This audit reviews:

Current communications:

Where you’re starting from today

(from page 4)

How the market thinks about you

and your business (from page 6)

The key fundamentals of

thought leadership (from page 10)

Your current narrative as

communicated to market

(from page 16)

Prioritisation of key audiences, themes

and topics (from page 19)

Coherence of content style,

language and tone (from page 25)

Summary and recommendations (from page 29)

Introduction and overview

CEO Communication Audit - Table of contents:

Communications requirements differ substantially by stage of the organisation and individual profile. We review CEO communications relative to current stage of the company and existing public profile.

1. Current communications – Where you’re starting from today.

• Quick CEO capability review across speaking, inbound (media), outbound (publishing) and social channels

2. Current awareness and positioning - How the market thinks about you and your business

• Benchmarking you vs. comparable organisations and leaders for current awareness (and brand vs. CEO awareness)

3. Thought leadership fundamentals - Great CEO communicators are trusted, interesting and visible

• Detailed review of five recent CEO communications for thought leadership fundamentals (interest, trust and visibility)

4. CEO and company narrative - Identifying and strengthening your current narrative

• Review of your current narrative as communicated to market

5. Stakeholder review and prioritisation - Identifying your key audience(s)

• Prioritisation of Marketplacer’s different audience groups for CEO communications

6. Topic prioritisation - Identifying the most important themes and topics to communicate to stakeholders

• Defining broad theme/topic prioritisation based on audience group prioritisation

7. Content analysis and recommendations - Reviewing the coherence of language, tone and style

• Recommendations as to the tone and style of thought leadership content to achieve best results

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Marketplacer Jason Wyatt

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CEO – Moderateindustry

awareness

Company –Moderate Industry

awareness

Current brand and CEO awareness:

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1.  Current communicationsWhere you’re starting from today


CEO communications capability– Jason Wyatt

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Speaking capability

Why it matters? Speaking is the bedrock of all communications. Speaking capability is the foundation on which all other channels and mediums depend.

We start with a quick assessment of communications capability, across the four key communications pillars for the modern CEO.

Rare Occasional Frequent

Frequency of speaking appearances:

Fundamentals:

Presents as enthusiastic and full of energy:

Tells stories:

Is interesting (never boring):

Naturally uses facial expressions and hands (isn’t stiff or wooden):

Uses a full range of emotions:

Controls the room / engages the audience:

Uses humour appropriately:

Has vocal control and is engaging to listen to:

Inbound (media) capability Why it matters? Traditional PR skills still matter. As the content creation and consumption cycle accelerates, it’s critical to deliver concise, clear, on-topic messages for print, radio, TV and online publications.


Frequency of media appearances:

Fundamentals:

Has clear rationale for speaking to the media:

Guides the journalist to what’s really important:

Stays authentic, doesn’t change speaking style for the medium:

Is visually engaging and interesting to watch:

Is prepared. Knows the questions that are likely to be asked:

Comfortable and never perturbed. Often having fun:

Maintains control and is not reactive:

Outbound (publishing) capability

Why it matters? In today’s media environment, every individual is a publisher. Given the fractured media landscape, it’s never been more important to build a direct (owned) channel to communicate to all key stakeholders.


Frequency of publishing:

Fundamentals:

Has built an engaged audience:

Publishes frequently to build rapport:

Publishes proactively, not just reactively:

Writes conversationally (doesn’t use corporate jargon):

Uses descriptive, engaging headlines:

Integrates multiple multimedia (video, images):

Provokes discussion and sharing:

Social (engagement) capability

Why it matters? Key stakeholders (including customers, partners and employees) increasingly expect to find the CEO on social media. People increasingly look to build trust in individuals before brands.


Frequency of social engagement:

Fundamentals:

Active on LinkedIn, Twitter and Youtube:

Provokes discussion:

Demonstrates curiosity:

Incorporates personal passions. Talks about more than just work:

Connects to corporate resources where appropriate:

Stays positive (doesn’t engage with trolls):

Shows emotion:

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2. Current awareness and positioning

How the market thinks about you and your business


Where is Jason Wyatt most commonly positioned at present?

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On this slide, we’re looking to see how a broad set of your stakeholders think about and position Jason Wyatt. On the left, we’ve visualised individuals who feature alongside Jason in prominent press articles. Larger bubbles represent more frequent mentions alongside Jason. Those positioned most commonly alongside Jason are a combination of established Australian businessmen and young entrepreneurs. This positioning has been heavily influenced by startup funding announcements, and the lack of industry based newsflow.

Source: Google News Archives, Top 50 results (see page 30)

Where is Marketplacer most commonly positioned at present?

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Source: Google News Archives, Top 50 results (see page 30)

On this slide, we’re looking to see how a broad set of your stakeholders think about and position Marketplacer. On the left, we’ve visualised organisations who feature alongside Marketplacer in prominent press articles. Larger bubbles represent more frequent mentions alongside Marketplacer. There is no consistent positioning – with a range of Australian online businesses positioned alongside the company.

(46%, 96%)

(100%, 100%)

As a result, we’re benchmarking the following comparables

Matt Barrie Scott Farquhar Collis Ta’eed

Relative CEO and brand awareness:

Internal metrics

LTM revenue:

C. $50 M

Valuation: na

Employees: 260

External metrics

Search volume (Brand)

92%

Search volume (CEO):

0%

Alexa rank: 1,141

Internal metrics

LTM revenue:

$26 M

Valuation: $456 M

Employees: 470

Internal metrics

LTM revenue:

$600 M

Valuation: $8bn

Employees: 1,988

External metrics


46%


96%

Alexa rank: 827

External metrics


100%


100%

Alexa rank: 1,513

50% 75% 100% 25% 0%

0%

50%

100%

75%

25%

Brand presence

CEO presence

(1%, 0%) (92%, 0%)

CEO centric Risks around succession

and long-term awareness

Brand centric Not humanised, risks

around trust,

•  This chart benchmarks relative awareness for both brand and individual CEO

•  All numbers are Google search volumes for “Organisation” and “CEO name”. 100% represents maximum search volume for any term over last 12 months.

Source: Annual reports, Google Trends (LTM max search volume), Alexa

We’re benchmarking the following comparables:

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Internal metrics

LTM revenue:

na

Valuation: na

Employees: 27

External metrics


1%


0%

Alexa rank: 941,588

Jason Wyatt

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3. Thought leadership fundamentalsGreat CEO communicators are trusted, interesting and

visible


Great CEO communicators are trusted, interesting and visible

3. Visible

1. Interesting 2. Trusted

2. Trusted Signals we look for: •  Shows appropriate vulnerability •  Individually relatable •  Consistently communicates the

same narrative over time •  Connected to society as a whole,

not just the business •  Has a clear purpose

See page 14 for a relative assessment

1. Interesting Signals we look for: •  Human first •  Talks with full range of emotions •  Tells stories •  Short messages, consistent long-

term narratives •  Talks about the future •  Appropriate mix of crazy and

inevitability •  Avoids robo-speak / corporate

language

See page 13 for a relative assessment

3. Visible Signals we look for: •  Is accessible across a range of platforms •  Addresses multiple audiences •  Has public views on corporate, industry and

societal issues •  Regularly quoted by third parties See page 15 for a relative assessment

Interesting and visible is a trap that many politicians and CEOs fall into. It’s relatively easy to build this position with strong reactionary positions. Whilst this positioning does lead to airtime and profile, it leads to very little influence and action because there’s no underlying foundation of trust.

Trusted and visible is a position that’s hard to achieve without substantial conferred status and trust (i.e. the position of Governor General). Anyone with this positioning will always achieve stronger communications performance by being more interesting.

It has never been more important to get the right balance of interest and trust. Old media PR strategies typically focused excessively on interest factors, which translate poorly in an always on, authenticity

driven new media environment

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Content examples we’ve analysed in depth

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As a basis for this audit we’ve picked five typical market facing communications featuring or authored by Jason. This analysis is our basis for understanding current CEO communications to stakeholders (including story, narrative and style) The content we’re using in this audit:

•  Dynamic Business - A Great Business Idea Is Only The Beginning

•  26 August 2016 •  http://

www.dynamicbusiness.com.au/entrepreneur-profile/a-great-business-idea-is-only-the-beginning.html

•  LinkedIn – Understanding network effects for online marketplaces

•  12 December 2016 •  https://www.linkedin.com/

pulse/understanding-network-effects-online-marketplaces-jason-wyatt?trk=prof-post

•  Marketplacer Blog - More than ever, we need bipartisan support to grow Australia’s digital economy

•  9 November 2016 •  http://marketplacer.com/

2016/11/09/13962/

•  LinkedIn – Understanding the growth of niche markets and the tribes that grow with them

•  26 October 2016 •  https://www.linkedin.com/

pulse/understanding-growth-niche-markets-tribes-grow-them-jason-wyatt-1?trk=prof-post

•  Marketplacer Blog - How marketplaces benefit new e-commerce entrants

•  18 October 2016 •  http://marketplacer.com/

2016/10/18/how-marketplaces-benefit-new-e-commerce-entrants/

How Jason performs on the interest benchmark

Human first:

Talks with full range of emotions:

Tells stories:

Short messages, consistent long-term narratives:

Appropriate mix of crazy and inevitability:

Avoids robo-speak / corporate language:

Communicates concisely, on consistent topics. Evidence of long-term narrative.

Evidence of your personal values and beliefs. Talking about your personal life, sharing and celebrating special events.

Regular evidence of communication with a full range of emotions.

Communicates through stories, not messages.

Strategic content that is equal parts crazy and inevitable. Takes strong opinions.

Talks in simple, conversational language.

Talks about the future

16 (57%) Total score: (/28)

Talks strategically. Does not only communicate on a reactive basis.

How each factor builds interest:

In a social media era, it’s expected that all opinions can be condensed to 140 characters. The length of story is shorter than ever. But those messages must sit inside consistent long term narratives – otherwise the messages will come off as shallow, short term and un-coordinated.

As humans we’re built to be interested in humans first. Whatever your job, role or company, humans are most interested in human stories. As a result, it’s important to communicate as a human first. Before you’re a CEO, you have to show that you’re a real person, just like your audience.

Humans respond to stories that engage them on an emotional level. Communicators that highlight appropriate emotions will always outperform dry corporate communication. Talking with a full range of emotions doesn’t mean consistently “happy”, “sad” or “angry” – rather expressing emotions on the extreme end of the spectrum as appropriate.

People have always communicated through stories, rather than repeating messages or sound bytes. Today’s stakeholders are suspicious of corporate messages that are increasingly dry and fail to capture the imagination. Communicating through stories ensures memorability and action.

The most interesting thought leadership content balances equal parts crazy and inevitability. As a thought leader, you're speaking about ideas that are dramatically different to current "best practice". This means that there's always a risk that you'll be perceived as somewhat 'crazy’. You can mitigate this risk by positioning your ideas as the inevitable future - whether the reader/listener accepts this or not.

All stakeholders have become increasingly suspicious of “corporate speak”. CEOs must communicate in simple and conversational language that builds a human connection and rapport with all their audience. Buzz words and corporate speak do nothing but drive disengagement.

Today’s stakeholder is suspicious. To be a leader you must set direction for the future. Thought leadership is about moving beyond the reactionary day-to-day… instead focusing more on a long term agenda for the future. For the company, the industry and society as a whole.

What we’re looking for:

Consistently Regularly Occasionally Rarely

4 3 2 1

Source: Benchmarked on basis of publically available articles and reports.

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Jason communicates consistent messages about the tech start up scene – but the narrative around Marketplacer is less clear.

Rarely cited. Personal passions and values need to be integrated more often in Jason’s content.

Relatively dry. Showing more emotions in published content and videos will make the arguments more compelling and drive engagement.

Rare use of stories across the benchmarked content (though you always feel that they’re sitting underneath the surface).

Jason regularly publishes strategic content but the positioning is largely conservative.

Language is a strength. Uses simple words in all published content.

Jason regularly talks about Marketplacer’s future expansion plans and entering new markets.

Assessment:

1

1

1

2

4

3

4

1

How Jason performs on the trust benchmark

Shows appropriate vulnerability:

Communication that shows appropriate vulnerability (failures, mistakes and shortcomings in the context of your current success).

Individually relatable:

Connected to society as a whole, not just the business:

Has a clear purpose:

Consistently communicates the same narrative over time:

Source: Benchmarked on basis of publically available articles and reports.

Consistent messaging, stories and narratives over the medium to long term.

Does the audience feel like they know you as a person? Do they understand and empathise with your passions, wants and flaws? Do you talk with your audience or down to your audience?

Discussing issues bigger than the business (whether industry, societal or personal).

Strong and believable individual purpose.

11 (46%) Total score: (/24)

Content that shows you're vulnerable strengthens your credibility and signals that you’re both genuine and honest. Both of these signals lead to trust. If you’re willing to share your failures, mistakes and shortcomings, it makes it easier for any audience to connect with you and trust what you’re saying.

Consistency is critical for building trust. In the same way that we don’t trust people that we’ve just met, we don’t trust narratives that we’ve just heard. It takes time and repetition to build trust. This is established through consistently communicating the same narrative over an extended period of time. Whilst your messages and stories can change over time, these should stay inside a consistent overarching roadmap to build trust (this is your narrative).

Trust is built on a foundation of individual likeability. We like people who we can easily relate to. Relatability can be easily measured by asking questions such as “Would you like to have a beer with this person? Or “Would you invite this person round for dinner?”

Focusing on issues bigger than just the business helps stakeholder trust. It improves relatability by demonstrating alignment of interests - you’re motivated by the greater good (for employees, the industry, society). Talking about issues beyond the business makes it much easier for stakeholders to find points of agreement and alignment with you as the CEO.

Many stakeholders are sceptical of CEOs as being excessively profit motivated. Having a clearly stated and believable purpose makes your motivation clear to all stakeholders. This purpose needs to be simple and a “higher calling” to be believable. If this purpose isn’t contextually coherent with the CEO and company’s actions, then it can appear duplicitous and damage trust (rather than improve it).

How each factor builds trust: What we’re looking for:

Consistently Regularly Occasionally Rarely

4 3 2 1

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Rare to find anything personal in Jason’s content. Definite opportunities to start building trust and authenticity.

Consistent topics focused on start-up advice and policy.

Directly discussing more personal passions (i.e. bikes, family) would make Jason more relatable and drive engagement.

Start-up policy is a focus, but needs to be extended to whole-of-society impacts.

In reading Jason’s content it’s implied that Jason is committed to building both Marketplacer and the Australian startup ecosystem. There is a disconnect as these are never discussed at a personal level.

Assessment

1

2

4

3

How Jason performs on the visibility benchmark

Is accessible across a range of platforms:

Addresses multiple audiences:

Has public views on corporate, industry and societal issues:

Regularly quoted by third parties:

Jason’s content is largely focused on startup policy makers. There are opportunities to integrate the broader stakeholder set.

Rarely quoted.

Visible and accessible across both LinkedIn and Twitter.

Jason doesn’t regularly engage on topics outside the e-commerce/startup sphere. Even so, there’s opportunities to connect to whole-of-community impact.

9 (34%)

Search volume: (score /10)

4

0

Total score (/26)

Current low visibility relative to comparables (see page 9)

Presents your expertise across a broad range of issues. Shows custom understanding and perspectives related to the issues of each stakeholder group.

Visibility is substantially driven by how others talk about you. We’re looking for evidence that you’re regularly treated as an authority in your space.

In an increasingly fragmented media environment, consistent presence across multiple channels increases visibility and provides proof of authenticity. Stakeholders expect a CEO to communicate through a range of channels (not just press releases).

For both visibility and trust the CEO must engage the full spectrum of corporate, industry and societal issues. Speaking across a broader range of issues increases the number of opportunities for you to appear, and for your audience to see you.

Ultimately, the best predictor of future visibility is current visibility. The more visible you currently are, the more opportunities for future visibility will present themselves.

How each factor builds visibility: Assessment:

Source: Benchmarked on basis of publically available articles and reports. Consistently Regularly Occasionally Rarely

4 3 2 1

15


Addressing a broad range of stakeholder groups including customers, employees, investors, NGOs and government.

Regular quotes by third parties show that you’re providing interesting and relevant commentary on topics that media and influencers find interesting.

Authentic communication across multiple channels of communication including press, owned media, events/conferences and social media.

Communicates on across a full range of business, industry and societal issues.

In this case we’re measuring current visibility relatively, through Google Trends search results.

What we’re looking for:

1

2

2

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4. CEO and company narrativeIdentifying and strengthening your current narrative


What is a CEO narrative (and why does it matter)?

Difference

Purpose

Future Past Narrative

What’s the difference between messaging and narrative? Messaging •  Emphasises key messages that are

used repetitively through all communications

•  Messages tend to be rote delivered and have low ability to respond to context

•  Can sound scripted Narrative •  Emphasises an underlying story that’s

used repetitively through all communications

•  A narrative is flexible and adapts to the context

•  Easily remembered •  Sounds authentic

Your individual narrative should build on the strengths and differentiators of the business. It must be intellectually

aligned but individually unique and meaningful.

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Thought leadership and all CEO communication is grounded on a strong narrative. A narrative combines your past, future, difference and purpose into a short and compelling framework to guide all your communication.

Identifying ways to strengthen Jason’s CEO narrative

Past Key narrative questions: 1.  Where has the company come from? 2.  What was the problem the company set

out to solve? 3.  How has your journey shaped you and the

company today?

Purpose Key narrative questions: 1.  Why is the CEO driven to make this

company succeed? 2.  What is the company’s purpose? 3.  What values differentiate the company and

its culture? 4.  What are your obsessions?

Difference Key narrative questions 1.  How is Jason meaningfully different to

other CEOs in the competitive set? 2.  What do customers uniquely love about

the business? 3.  What opportunities are open to Jason and

Marketplacer as a result of the positioning of competitive set?

Future Key narrative questions: 1.  Where is the company going in the future? 2.  What’s the publically stated direction of

the company? 3.  What’s the world changing ambition or

goal of the company? 4.  How is the unique future that Marketplacer

is creating meaningfully different from the competitive set?

Key company and market commentary: “We are unique. There is no other successful marketplace platform that has opened their technology up for others to use. We accelerate marketplaces 10 years in a day” - Lifehacker, Sep 2016 “The biggest reward was seeing over 30 million annual customers from eight countries around the world use our online marketplaces. Our team has created a business that can scale and help the shopping experience be more enjoyable and it’s great to see that this is resonating with our global customers” - Advance, May 2016

“The one thing that I’ve learnt over a short career and owning a business, I’ve only been here for 10 years, if you can create that sense of belonging and get those strong values and belief and have people drive them through and actually help create your values and belief, then that’s the most powerful thing you can do in any community” - Management Disrupted, Sep 2016

“Separate yourself as a founder and focus on what’s best for the company” - Business Insider, July 2015

Key company and market commentary: “If you can create an organization or you can create a business where you can get customers to feel that they belong and they have that sense of belonging, then you’re not worried about the day-to-day grind KPIs because they passionately care about your community, whether that be your internal teams, whether that be your internal structures, whether that be your customers” -Management Disrupted, Sep 2016 “We’ll continue to take good strategic stakes where we can leverage our tech processes, knowledge and access to capital” -Startup Smart, June 2016 “We had a fantastic year in 2015 with BikeExchange globally. In the USA we launched about this time last year. We’ve got about 400 retailers now who are showing products through BikeExchange in America. To put that in perspective, it took a good three to four years in Australia to get that level of retail engagement, so we see a huge amount of momentum in that American market and it’s obviously a huge opportunity. America is a much larger market and population” -Bicycling Trade, Jan 2016

Key company and market commentary: “We have been building marketplaces since 2007 and we understand what it takes to win. With 2 million people using our marketplaces monthly, we have created successful marketplaces globally such as www.BikeExchange.com.au, HouseofHome.com.au, TiniTrader.com.au and Outdoria.com.au” -Lifehacker, Sep 2016 “We’re trying to leverage our tech processes and really enable people to create beautiful and scalable marketplaces globally” -Startup Smart, June 2016 “When creating a marketplace, you just can’t go grab a Shopify off the shelf and spin it up and get a marketplace. It doesn’t work like that. There are those core components. You need a technology platform, business processes that are custom built for a marketplace and its philosophies. Then you need to understand the community and the heartbeat for the marketing and customer perspective” -Management Disrupted, Sep 2016

Key company and market commentary: “I see us as a borderless businesses with an Australian heartbeat and culture. Hard working, smart, driven and looking after your mates is the Australian DNA we are exporting all over the world” - Advance, May 2016

“It’s an understandable enough assumption to make, for example, that Marketplacer is a company that creates a technology and business platform for marketplaces. (And we’re very good at that.) But that’s sort of the surface view of what we do. In our case, what the software we create is really about is bringing people together – it’s about tribes” - Marketplacer Blog, March 2016

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Jason’s narrative is clearly defined and regularly referenced across past, difference and future. More regularly connecting to purpose would

dramatically strengthen Jason’s narrative

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5. Stakeholder review and prioritisation

Identifying your key audience(s)


What are the key audience groups for all CEO communication?

The next page presents an audience prioritisation analysis for Jason Wyatt…

There’s six broad audience groups that CEOs must engage through communication. The relevance and prioritisation of each audience group depends on both industry and company stage:

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1. Customers

•  Targeting potential customers. Where sales are based on trust, it makes sense for the CEO to leverage a digital platform to build recognition in advance of physical sales activity.

2. Partners

•  Engaging potential and current partners. Given partnerships are built on trust, it makes sense for the CEO to leverage a digital platform to reinforce build relationships/dialogue and reinforce commitment to key partners

3. Recruiting

•  Targeting potential and existing employees. Builds trust and alignment.

• Most relevant where there is a large recruiting requirement from a relatively small or unknown organisation.

4. Investor relations

•  Targets existing and potential investors. Most relevant in public markets – however there is relevance ahead of fundraising events to build awareness and demonstrate traction.

5. Regulators

•  Targets regulators and their stakeholders.

• Companies facing specific regulatory challenges. Whilst the end target is regulators, an approach here may focus on the general public or other stakeholders.

6. Industry influencers

•  Targeting industry analysts and thought leaders.

• Designed to translate to recognition in ‘industry leader’ lists, speaking at conferences and front of mind recognition.

What are the key audience groups for Jason Wyatt and Marketplacer?

Industry influencers/analysts Regulators/Government Investors Employees

Customers

None/Low Some influence Many/most read

Influence of influencers on customer behaviour?

0 5 10

Leading player Emerging player New entrant

Current industry positioning?

5 10 15

Current investors - Total score:

low priority

0-5

moderate priority

5-10

high priority

10-20

highest priority

20+

Low Medium High

Risk of medium term changes in industry based regulations or requirements?

0 5 10

Insignificant/Low

Moderate Substantial

Current impact of industry or company specific compliance/regulation on profitability?

0 5 10

0-10 10-100 100+

Number of external investors?

0 5 10

Unlikely Possible Highly likely

Additional capital requirement over next 24 months?

0 5 10

Below expectation

At expectation Above expectation

0 5 10

Returns to current investors?

Customers maintain multiple relationships with competitive set

Strength of competition?

5 10

Recurring Project One-off

Nature of customer relationship?

5 10 10

Customers maintain only one relationship with

competitive set

Next 12 months revenue growth goals?

Channel Physical sales Inside sales

Primary means of customer acquisition

5 10 10

B2C (Impulse) B2C (Complex/high value) B2B Product complexity / trust required

0 5 10

Digital

10

0-10% 10-30% 30-100%

3 5 10

100%+

20

Size of organisation

Low Moderate High

Level of industry and organisational change

0

5 10

Extreme

20

0-30 30-100 100-500

0

2 5

500-1000

10

1000+

20

0-3% 3-10% 10-30%

Forecast employee growth over next 12 months?

0 3 10

Low Moderate High

0 5 10

Competitiveness in target talent markets?

30%+

20

Current customers Potential customers

Current Employees Potential employees Potential investors Current investors

Low Moderate High

0 3 5

Current customers

Potential customers

Current employees Potential employees

Current investors

Potential investors

Hig

hest

pr

iorit

y

Hig

h p

riorit

y

Mod

erat

e

prio

rity

Low

pr

iorit

y

Employees

Industry influencers

Investors

Regulators

21


Partners

Negligible Low

Risk of partner churn?

0 5

Typical time to close?

Non-exclusive Exclusive Nature of partner relationship?

0 10

0-3 months 3-12 months 12 months+

3 5 10

Current partners Potential partners

0-20% 20-40% 40%+

Percentage of current revenue delivered through partners?

5 10 15

Moderate

10

Part

ners

Current Partners

Potential Partners

Highest

priority

High

priority

Moderate

priority Low

priority

low priority

moderate priority

high priority

highest priority

0-5

5-10

10-20

20+

Current customers – Total score:

low priority

moderate priority

high priority

highest priority

0-5

5-10

10-20

20+

Current customers – Total score:

low priority

moderate priority

high priority

highest priority

0-5

5-10

10-20

20+

Potential partners – Total score:

low priority

moderate priority

high priority

highest priority

0-5

5-10

10-20

20+

Current partners – Total score:

Potential investors - Total score:

low priority

0-5

moderate priority

5-10

high priority

10-20

highest priority

20+ Current employees - Total score:

low priority

0-5

moderate priority

5-10

high priority

10-20

highest priority

20+ Potential employees - Total score:

low priority

0-5

moderate priority

5-10

high priority

10-20

highest priority

20+ Industry influencers - Total score:

low priority

0-5

moderate priority

5-10

high priority

10-20

highest priority

20+ Regulators - Total score:

low priority

0-5

moderate priority

5-10

high priority

10-20

highest priority

20+

B2C (Impulse) B2B Product complexity / trust required

0 5 10

Liquidity of investment?

B2C (Complex/high value)

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6. Theme/topic prioritisationIdentifying the most important themes and topics to

communicate to stakeholders


What are the themes that CEOs should communicate on?

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Priority for Jason Wyatt High Highest High Highest Moderate Highest Low High Low High

Proportional allocation for Jason Wyatt:

10% 14% 10% 14% 14% 14% 2% 10% 2% 10%

1. Product/service level

• 1A. Customer problems and benefits • 1B. Highlighting customer success / case studies

• 1C. Key customer problems • 1D. Product direction / launching new product and services

• 1E. Differences vs. competition • 1F. Differentiating beliefs

2. Company level

• 2A. Financial results • 2B. Celebrating success • 2C. Working at company • 2D. Company culture • 2E. Purpose and vision

3. Industry level

• 3A. Competitive landscape • 3B. Industry level challenges and opportunities

• 3C. Industry level regulation and policy • 3D. Future of the industry

4. Society level

• 4A. Company benefits to society • 4B. Economic trends • 4C. Public policy discussions • 4D. Personal views on societal issues • 4E. National and global issues

Nearly all themes are relevant for multiple audience groups, for example:

We can make a broad proportional communications audience allocation:

Customer – Current

Customer – Potential Partner - Current Partner -

Potential Employee -

Current Employee -

Potential Investor - Current

Investor - Potential Regulators Analyst/

influencer

1A. Customer problems and benefits Highest Moderate High Highest Highest Moderate Highest Moderate High Low

Audiences and topics come together for a weighted topic allocation on the following page…

Based on your audience prioritisation…

There’s four broad theme groups that CEOs are expected to communicate across:

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Our recommended theme allocation for Jason WyattCustomer -

Current Customer - Potential Partner - Current Partner -

Potential Employee -

Current Employee -

Potential Investor - Current Investor - Potential Regulators Analyst/

influencer

Weighted proportional

topic allocation

Priority High Highest High Highest Moderate Highest Low High Low High

Recommended allocation for Jason 10% 14% 10% 14% 14% 14% 2% 10% 2% 10%

Product/service level 34%

Customer/partner problems and benefits 4 4 4 4 3 2 2 2 1 3 5%

Highlighting customer/partner success 4 4 4 4 3 1 2 2 1 4 5%

Key customer/partner problems 4 4 4 4 3 1 2 2 1 3 5%

Product direction / launching new products and services 4 4 4 4 4 2 2 2 1 4 6%

Differences vs. competition 4 4 4 4 4 2 2 2 1 4 6%

Differentiating beliefs 4 4 4 4 4 3 2 2 1 4 6%

Company level 25%

Financial results 2 2 2 2 4 1 4 4 2 4 5%

Celebrating success 3 1 3 1 4 4 3 4 1 3 5%

Working at company 1 1 1 1 4 4 3 4 1 2 4%

Company culture 2 3 2 3 4 4 3 4 1 2 5%

Purpose and vision 3 4 3 4 4 4 4 4 2 4 6%

Industry level 22%

Competitive landscape 4 3 4 3 3 3 4 3 3 4 6%

Industry level challenges and opportunities 2 3 2 3 3 3 4 3 3 4 5%

Industry level regulation and policy 3 2 3 2 2 2 4 3 4 4 5%

Future of the industry 4 4 4 4 3 3 4 3 2 4 6%

Society level 19%

Company benefits to society 2 2 2 2 4 4 3 2 3 2 5%

Economic trends 2 2 2 2 2 2 3 3 4 2 4%

Public policy discussions 2 2 2 2 2 2 4 2 4 1 4%

Personal views on societal issues 2 2 2 2 3 4 2 1 2 1 4%

National and global issues 2 2 2 2 3 2 1 1 2 1 3%

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25

7. Content style analysis and recommendations

Reviewing the coherence of language, tone and style


Content style recommendations for Jason Wyatt

Idiocentric: Reader centric:

Practical: Theoretical:

Complex: Simple:

Balanced: Opinionated:

Primarily dedicated to discussing personal feelings and emotions. Inside out, rather than outside in. Characterised by more frequent

use of “I”, “we”, “our”

Focused on what the reader can take from the content. Outside in, rather than inside out. Characterised by more frequent use of “you”, “your”

Arguments justified with theoretical rationale. Concepts rather than examples.

Arguments justified with practical case studies and real examples.

Easy to scan. Many subheadings. Easy to jump in and out of the article.

Flowing article that is interdependent. Will struggle to get value without reading in depth. Will tend to be longer

May take multiple readings to get full value.

Strong opinions. Generally tells only one side of the story. Clear view about what is right and wrong.

Sits on the fence. Tells both sides of the story.

Fundamentally, Jason’s current content does a lot right. It’s well written and structured. However there is a lot of reliance on third party research, which leaves many articles feeling dry and removed from Jason’s personal opinion. Genuine thought leadership doesn’t always require research. As a leader of the industry, it’s ok and expected to carry an article on strength of opinion and personal experience.

Content design

R

R

R

R

C

C

C

C

R

C Jason Wyatt– Current positioning

Jason Wyatt– Recommended positioning

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Content style recommendations for Jason Wyatt

Corporate: Personal:

Formal: Conversational:

Written on a personal level. Could be a conversation. Uses the simplest language choices to convey meaning.

Uses deliberately sophisticated language. Will not always use the simplest language choice.

Simple, descriptive language. Shorter sentences and paragraphs. Speaks like an old friend, assumes trust and agreement. Regular use of “you”, “your”.

Longer sentences and consistent paragraphs. Theoretical, official and formal language.

Doesn’t assume agreement on any points.

Measured: Excited:

Disciplined: Playful:

Mature: Young:

Enthusiastic, eager. Lots of energy. Speaks in an “off the cuff manner”.

Regular and measured language. Thoughtful and planned language. Consistent. Restrained.

Regular jokes, may be self-depreciating. Happy and friendly tone. Evident the author had fun writing the post.

Controlled, consistent, habitual Unlikely to be self-depreciating

Eager and enthusiastic language. Advanced, implies mastery

Self-aggrandising : Self-deprecating:

Regularly makes fun of self. Does not present as being on a pedestal.

Only references to self are in a positive context. Difficult for the reader to empathise with.

Jason’s content makes great language choices. It’s accessible and easy to read.

Language

Tone

R

R

R

R

R

R

C

C

C

C

C

C

R

C Jason Wyatt– Current positioning

Jason Wyatt– Recommended positioning

27


Jason’s content generally suffers from being impersonal. The tone is excessively professional for the stage of business and topics that he’s focused on. More excitement and play throughout are easy ways to introduce more personality – and reflect the current growth stage of the company.

28

Summary, recommendations and next steps

Bringing it all together


Executive summary: Jason Wyatt and Marketplacer

1. Both Marketplacer and Jason have relatively low awareness. This is both a challenge and an opportunity •  Our market scan shows that Marketplacer and Jason have less visibility than Australian comparables. •  There’s little consensus around peers – which opens up the opportunity for Marketplacer to define its own segment.

2. Jason struggles on the trust, interest and visibility benchmarks. Most of these issues can be fixed with more personal content •  It’s rare to find mentions of anything personal from Jason. As a result it’s hard to feel that you know or trust him at an individual level. •  Increasing the frequency of stories and using a full range of emotions will deepen engagement and authenticity.

3. Jason’s narrative is strong, but can be strengthened with more frequent reference to purpose •  Jason’s narrative is clearly defined and regularly referenced across past, difference and future. •  More regularly connecting to purpose will dramatically strengthen Jason’s narrative.

4. There’s a large number of stakeholder groups that Jason needs to address •  Given the early stage of the business, there’s a relatively high priority across customers, partners, employees and investors. There’s a lot of people to

communicate to, which makes strategic topic prioritisation critical.

5. Given the stakeholder mix, Jason needs to communicate across more than just startups and startup policy •  Much of Jason’s current content is focused exclusively on startups and startup policy. This doesn’t speak to the full range of stakeholders, and we’d suggest

looking at a broader set of topics. •  Based on the suggested audience prioritisation, we’d suggest that CEO communication from Jason should be allocated in the following themes/proportions:

Product/service level 34%, Company level 25%, Industry level 22% and Society level 19%.

6. Jason’s current content is generally well executed, but suffers from issues in positioning and topics (as discussed above) •  Fundamentally, Jason’s current content does a lot right. It’s well written and structured. It is worth remembering that genuine thought leadership doesn’t

always require research. As a leader of the industry, it’s ok and expected to carry an article on strength of opinion and personal experience.

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Validation and leveraging this audit

4. Content plan (themes and topics) •  Building a detailed plan of

content themes and topics to capture thought leadership

•  Includes a medium term roadmap of content to be delivered (when and to who)

1. Audience prioritisation

•  Reviewing which audience groups are the most important, and how they think about your business and CEO today

•  Ensures clear prioritisation of the right messages for each audience and stakeholder group

2. Narrative and messaging strategy •  Building a strong narrative

framework (past, future, difference, purpose) to anchor all communications

•  A strong narrative aligns the way that stakeholders think about the business/CEO, and makes all communication more effective

5. Distribution strategy

•  Plan for which channels / mediums should be used for which messages

•  Timing and frequency of communications

•  Concrete return analytics and measurement framework

•  Key actions for increasing sharability of content

3. Content personality, voice and style •  Selecting the right style of content

that speak to customers in a way that builds expertise and trust

•  Assess tone, complexity and voice to ensure you’re building a long term, trusted relationship

•  Includes a content design framework and benchmark to guide all content creation efforts

The TLP approach to thought leadership strategy

•  We use analytics, client interviews and a detailed

workshop process to build a comprehensive thought leadership strategy

•  Heavy focus on validation through customer and stakeholder interviews

•  You receive a comprehensive 90 page report, designed for turnkey implementation and impact through our supported CEO blogging process

•  Results delivered within 14 days

Key components of any successful thought leadership strategy:

This audit is a starting point for CEO thought leadership. Validation and planning are critical for success

30


1. CEO communications audit

2. Thought leadership strategy

3. Supported CEO blogging

‘Build a comprehensive plan’

‘Identify the problems’ ‘Implement and measure’

The roadmap from here

1. CEO communication audit

(this document)

2. Thought leadership strategy

3. Supported CEO blogging

‘Build a comprehensive plan’ •  Get started with a comprehensive

review and plan for success. •  Built on detailed stakeholder

interviews, internal workshops and detailed analytics review.

•  Findings presented in 90 page report with detailed analysis, review and implementation recommendations.

‘Implement and measure’ •  Put strategy into action with our

thought leadership content creation service.

•  Turnkey content delivery – we turn a one hour video interview into a month of content (five video supported articles), Saving you at least 24 hours of writing time each month.

•  Options to build the presence of your CEO and other executives within your business.

‘Identify the opportunities’ •  This audit presents an introduction

to CEO thought leadership strategy. •  We’ve conducted a desktop review

of strengths, weaknesses and potential positioning for thought leadership.

•  Includes individual communications performance and benchmarks against a group key competitors.

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32

Appendix


The press articles supporting this analysis

33


Article Title URL Individuals Organisations

1Marketplacer raises $11 million, led by rich lister Gerry Ryan http://www.afr.com/technology/marketplacer-raises-11-million-led-by-rich-lister-gerry-ryan-20160530-gp6x0m Gerry Ryan, David Paradice Jayco, TiniTrader, House of Home, Outdoria and Tixstar

2 Tixstar aims to give punters the time of their lives http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/companies/tixstar-aims-to-give-punters-the-time-of-their-lives/news-story/414fc9bac5ef373a4a4b26067dfdb291Gerry Ryan, David Paradice, Peter Bartels, Tim Carroll, Shane Delia , Timothy Stonesifer, Patrick Hilditch Jayco, Village Roadshow, Hewlett Packard, Hilditch, Outdoria

3Australian e-commerce startup Marketplacer is going to take on big ticketing companies http://www.businessinsider.com.au/australian-e-commerce-startup-marketplacer-is-going-to-take-on-big-ticketing-companies-2016-2

4 Free delivery a slippery slope for online retailers http://www.afr.com/business/retail/free-delivery-a-slippery-slope-for-online-retailers-20160927-grpk3y Sarah Timmerman, Lana Hopkins, Beginning Boutique, Mon Purse

5Entrepreneurs behind 5 successful Australian companies explain how they turned an idea into a business http://www.businessinsider.com.au/entrepreneurs-behind-5-successful-australian-companies-explain-how-they-turned-an-idea-into-a-business-2016-8

Jess Dadon, Stef Dadon, Marta Higuera, Zoe Pointon, Mark Coulter, Dean Ramler, Martin Hosking

How Two Live Blog, ASOS, The Zoe Report, Maybelline, Sportsgirl, Seed Teen, Big W, TWOOBS, Open Agent, Temple and Webster, Milan Direct, Redbubble

6

“I put my house on the line”: How Stephen Jones assembled million-dollar retailer marketplace Furniture Exchange

http://www.smartcompany.com.au/people-human-resources/leadership/44985-i-put-my-house-on-the-line-how-stephen-jones-assembled-million-dollar-retailer-marketplace-furniture-exchange/ Stephen Jones Furniture Exchange, Australia Post , KPMG,

7Australian start-up Marketplacer completes rebrand, raises $10m

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/technology/australian-startup-marketplacer-completes-rebrands-raises-10m/news-story/48bf333e4fa3633380b966d30905bfdb Gerry Ryan, Timothy Stonesifer HP

8 Eight things that drive small business owners crazy http://www.smh.com.au/small-business/managing/the-things-that-drive-small-business-owners-crazy-20160705-gpytgo.html Neel Morley, Jay Chubb Neel Loves Curls, Nest Coworking9 Furnishing from your armchair http://www.heraldsun.com.au/business/furnishing-from-your-armchair/news-story/2d96746fce431f1adb0898076b5e52c1 Stephen Jones Furniture Exchange, KPMG,

10Marketplacer Raises $7 Million To Power Two-Sided Online Marketplaces http://www.forbes.com/sites/jlim/2015/08/03/marketplacer-raises-au10-million-to-power-two-sided-online-marketplaces/#7b790d94587f Uber, Airbnb, Alibaba

11 Australia Post Aiming at E-Commerce? http://www.australianetworknews.com/australia-post-aiming-e-commerce/ Ahmed Fahour, Andrew Dilenis, Australia Post, Zd. Net, Data 61, 12 5 crucial things to consider when rebranding http://www.businessinsider.com.au/5-crucial-things-to-consider-when-rebranding-2015-7 David Paradice, Gerry Ryan13 Elevator Pitch: Marketplacer http://www.lifehacker.com.au/2015/09/elevator-pitch-marketplacer/

14Marketplacer Turns to Hyperwallet to Improve the Platform’s Global Payout Infrastructure http://www.prweb.com/releases/2016/10/prweb13782268.htm Peter Burridge Hyperwallet

15 Here are 19 Australian startups that had an amazing 2015 http://www.businessinsider.com.au/here-are-19-australian-startups-that-had-an-amazing-2015-2016-1

Hon Weng Chong, Andrew Lin, Nick Austin, Melanie Perkins, Cliff Obrecht, Cameron Adams, Damien Andreason, Paul Lupson, Dean Jones, Audrey Khaing-Jones, Sam Chandler, Nick Bell, Philip Weinman, James Spenceley, Matt Bullock, Taryn Williams,David Vitek and Roby Sharon-Zipser

Atlassian, CliniCloud, Best Buy, Divvy Parking, Canva, Sendle, AirTree Ventures, Starfish Ventures, Design Crowd, Macdoch Ventures, Adcock Group, Law Path, WME, GlamCorner, Biteable Nitro, Invoice2go, Unlockd , Milan Direct, Locomote, Vocus Communications, eWay, WINK Models, hipages

About Thought Leadership Partners

34


At TLP, we’re a specialist agency that builds thought leadership content for C-level executives.

Watch a short video introduction, or read on below:

https://youtu.be/hndoVYfuQdk

We do this through first person videos and blogs, directed at customers, investors and employees.

CEOs that we talk to generally recognise the rationale for thought leadership to:•  Build personal and brand authenticity and trust•  Engage key stakeholders in ongoing conversations•  Shape the industry agenda

But at the same time, we hear from CEOs that they just don’t have the time to sit down and write a blog post. The 4-5 hours it takes to publish a high quality article is time that busy executives just don’t have.

We’ve listened to this and built a video interview led process. Instead of writing, you sit down in front of a camera answering questions. We transcribe that content and a journalist reshapes it into first person content to be published (with video) under your name.

How our process works:1.  We do extensive preparation, on the right topics and articles for you

to publish2.  You’re interviewed on camera about these topics (your commitment

is a one hour interview once a month)3.  Our journalists build five topic focused, transcription driven blog

posts out of the interview4.  Because all content is built on your voice, there’s never ghost-writing

issues with depth and credibility5.  You publish five, 500-700 word articles highlighting your expertise

with video highlights6.  We deliver fortnightly analytics, optimising for engagement from the

right stakeholders

Over and above everything else, our clients love two things about what we do:•  How we genuinely understand the pressures and stakeholders of the

C-suite. We know that every hour has an opportunity cost. We’re incredibly time efficient in producing authentic thought leadership content that drives the success of your business.

•  We’re substantially more analytical and quantitative than any other player in the Comms/ IR / Marketing space. We bring this focus to strategy, campaign design and performance analysis.

+61 3 9111 5659 | www.thoughtleadershippartners.com | Level 17 / 31 Queen St, Melbourne


ceo communication audit - jason wyatt, marketplacer

Leadership & Management