How to Choose a Thought Leadership Agency: An Honest Guide from Someone in the Space

This guide is our attempt to map the current agency landscape as we see it, including where we at Campfire Labs fit and where we don't. In it, we're be direct about the tradeoffs between different types of agencies. If you're a senior content leader evaluating partners, you don't need convincing that this decision matters. You need a framework for distinguishing between agencies that all sound competent on paper.

Full transparency—we're a thought leadership agency writing about thought leadership agencies. Which could get a little… awkward. We've tried to be as objective as possible about the competition, and about ourselves.

The three types of thought leadership agencies

Most agencies in this space cluster into three categories. Knowing which type you need narrows the field fast.

Research-driven shops

These agencies lead with original research, like surveys, data analysis, benchmark reports, and build content around proprietary findings. The output tends to be high-authority, citable content that positions your company as a source of industry insight.

Best for: Companies with longer sales cycles, complex products, or buyers who need to build internal consensus. The research becomes a sales asset, not just a marketing one.

The tradeoff: These engagements move slowly. Expect 8-16 weeks for a research report. You're paying for rigor, not speed.

Agencies in this category: Campfire Labs, iResearch Services, Man Bites Dog, FT Longitude, Hinge Marketing, Hanover Research.

Executive visibility specialists

These agencies focus on building individual leaders' profiles by securing speaking engagements, placing bylined articles, growing social media presence, and managing media relationships.

Best for: Founder-led companies, firms where the CEO's personal brand drives deals, or executives preparing for a book launch, board positions, or career transition.

The tradeoff: The work centers on one or two people, not the company. If your visible executive leaves, the investment walks out the door with them.

Agencies in this category: Stern Strategy Group, CSuite Content, Profile

Content production and distribution

These agencies emphasize volume, consistency, and reach. They maintain teams of writers who can produce thought leadership content at scale across distribution platforms, often with strong SEO capabilities.

Best for: Companies that need consistent content output across multiple channels, or global organizations requiring content adapted for regional markets.

The tradeoff: Scale can come at the cost of depth. The content will be professionally written, but lack the insider specificity that comes from deep domain expertise.

Agencies in this category: Animalz, Goodman Lantern

Where we fit (and where we don't)

Campfire Labs sits in the research-driven category, with a specific focus on B2B SaaS. Our strength is translating products and their USPs into narrative-driven content built on original research and SME interviews.

Our work is research-intensive and collaborative by design. We partner closely with your subject matter experts to surface insights that couldn't come from a generalist writer working from a brief. If you're looking exclusively for high-volume production or executive visibility campaigns, other agencies on this list might be better suited to what you need. But if you want content built on proprietary data and genuine expertise, backed up by multimarket, multichannel distribution planning and execution, that's our lane.

The agencies: What actually distinguishes them

iResearch Services

What they do well: Rigorous, large-scale research programs. They run the Thought Leadership for Tomorrow awards and work with Fortune 500 clients on multi-phase research campaigns. If you need a statistically significant global survey with credible methodology, they're built for that.

Considerations: Timelines might be longer than with others on this list. This is an investment that pays off over 12-18 months, not a quick campaign. Smaller companies may find the scope and pricing inaccessible.

Best for: Enterprise organizations building long-term authority through data, willing to wait for ROI.

Man Bites Dog

What they do well: Research-driven campaigns that tackle big, often socially relevant topics. Their Aquanomics campaign, quantifying the economic impact of climate events, won multiple industry awards and generated significant media coverage. They're particularly strong at connecting thought leadership to sustainability, inclusion, and industry-wide challenges.

Considerations: Premium pricing and a bias towards impact-driven work. If your thought leadership goals are purely commercial, the fit may be awkward.

Best for: Companies that want their thought leadership to address major industry issues, not just promote products.

FT Longitude

What they do well: Research and content with Financial Times credibility attached. They combine strategy, research, and editorial execution with access to FT's global audience of senior executives. The brand association carries real weight with certain buyers.

Considerations: The FT affiliation is the differentiator, so if that doesn't matter to your audience, you're paying for prestige that won't move the needle. Less accessible for smaller companies.

Best for: B2B brands targeting C-suite executives globally, where FT credibility opens doors.

Hinge Marketing

What they do well: Research-backed marketing specifically for professional services firms. Their annual High Growth Study has become an industry benchmark. They offer full marketing services beyond thought leadership—branding, websites, paid campaigns—which can be valuable if you want one partner for everything.

Considerations: Deep expertise in professional services, but less applicable to SaaS or other sectors. The full-service model may include capabilities you don't need.

Best for: Accounting firms, consultancies, law firms, and other professional services organizations.

Stern Strategy Group

What they do well: Getting executives visible at the highest levels, including TV appearances, TEDx talks, and major publication placements. They combine media relations with executive coaching and book promotion. If your CEO needs to become a recognized public figure, they know the playbook.

Considerations: The focus is on individual executives, not company-wide thought leadership. The work is highly personalized, which means it doesn't scale easily.

Best for: C-suite leaders building personal brands, authors promoting books, executives seeking board positions or speaking careers.

CSuite Content

What they do well: Executive communications for founders and CEOs—ghostwriting, social media strategy, and earned media placements. They've built strong relationships with business publications and focus specifically on amplifying leadership voices.

Considerations: Similar to Stern, the work centers on individuals. They're strong at getting founders into publications, less focused on broader content marketing programs.

Best for: Startup founders and CEOs who need a steady stream of bylined content and LinkedIn presence without writing it themselves.

Profile

What they do well: Integrated campaigns combining PR, social media, and content across platforms. They're particularly strong on LinkedIn strategy and have experience building both personal executive brands and corporate thought leadership simultaneously.

Considerations: The integrated approach means more complexity to manage. Some clients might experience a learning curve in coordinating across workstreams, although having PR built in is definitely a bonus for many companies.

Best for: Companies that want executive visibility and corporate thought leadership working together, with strong LinkedIn presence.

Animalz

What they do well: Strategic content marketing for B2B SaaS and tech companies. They've published useful frameworks for thinking about thought leadership (their "five flavors" taxonomy is worth reading) and emphasize quality over volume. Strong SEO capabilities and distribution thinking.

Considerations: Higher pricing than some content agencies, with a stronger suit in SEO than in platform-native distribution.

Best for: Tech companies that want higher volume content with a thought leadership layer over the top.

Goodman Lantern

What they do well: Global content production with distributed subject matter experts. They can adapt thought leadership campaigns for regional markets and maintain cultural relevance across geographies. Strong at scaling content operations.

Considerations: Distributed teams require more coordination. The breadth of coverage may come with less depth in any single domain.

Best for: Global companies needing thought leadership content adapted for multiple markets.

Questions to ask any agency

Before signing, get clear answers to these:

On process:

• How do you source the insights that drive content? (If they can't articulate this clearly, the content will be generic.)
• What does client involvement look like? How many hours per month from our SMEs?
• What's the realistic timeline from kickoff to published content?

On expertise:

• Which of your current clients are most similar to us?
• Can we speak with a reference in our industry?
• Who specifically would work on our account, and what's their background?

On outcomes:

• How do you measure success? What metrics do you report on?
• Can you share results from a comparable engagement?
• What happens if the work isn't landing—how do you course-correct?

On fit:

• What type of client is a bad fit for you?
• Where do you see the gaps in your capabilities?
• Why do clients typically leave?

That last set of questions will tell you more than any capabilities deck.

The real decision framework

Forget the comparison tables for a moment. The decision usually comes down to three questions:

1. What are you actually trying to accomplish?

"Thought leadership" means different things. Are you trying to:

• Build company authority in a category (research-driven content)
• Elevate specific executives' profiles (visibility specialists)
• Maintain consistent content presence (production partners)
• Support sales with credible assets (probably research-driven)
• Win awards and generate PR (impact-focused campaigns)

Different goals point to different agency types.

2. What can you actually commit?

Be honest about internal bandwidth. Research-driven thought leadership requires significant SME time. Executive visibility programs need executives who will actually show up for interviews, review drafts promptly, and engage on social media. If your team is stretched thin, a production-focused partner who needs less input may be more realistic.

3. What's your timeline?

If you need content in 30 days, research-driven shops aren't the answer. If you're building a three-year authority position, don't optimize for speed.

A note on what we didn't include…

This guide focuses on agencies with dedicated thought leadership practices. We didn't include:

• General PR firms that offer thought leadership as one service among many
• Freelance strategists and ghostwriters (often excellent, but a different model)
• Management consultancies that produce thought leadership (McKinsey, Deloitte, etc.—they're not selling this as a service)

If you want help thinking through the build-vs-buy decision, we're happy to talk through it—even if the right answer is building an internal team or hiring another agency on this list. Book a call with our CEO.

This guide reflects our perspective as of early 2026. The landscape shifts. If we've gotten something wrong or missed an agency that belongs here, let us know.