So, I'm Matthew Leopold and I work for LexisNexis, a global legal technology and legal intelligence supplier. I look after everything that's related to top of funnel. So, I won't list it all, but advertising, brand, communications, thought leadership, content, social media, copywriting, etc.
I see my job as ensuring that LexusNexis isn't just front of mind with our key customers when they're thinking about buying legal technology and legal research solutions, but about making sure that they have a positive view of our brand and our business. In particular, I'm seeding the transformational role of AI with lawyers and trying to get them familiar with the technology and the impact of it.
LexisNexis is a 200-year-old business, and we started off as a legal publisher creating and crafting legal content that lawyers use to do their job. Over the last 20 years or so, we've become a legal publisher that uses technology to distribute that content. And over the last three, four, five years, we've become a legal tech company that's grounded on that content.
I have to be honest, I've long since abandoned any ambitions of changing an industry, and believe me, I've really tried. When there are a thousand marketers, there are a thousand different views on what good marketing looks like. Over the last few years, I've realised that trying to change an entire industry is actually unrealistic, particularly when that industry doesn't want to change. I hate to break it to you, but sadly, I don't think the B2B marketing industry wants to change.
My ambition to change things remains unchanged, though. In my more mature years, I've become more pragmatic. I've realised I'm not going to change an industry, no matter how many articles I write, interviews I do, or conference stages I pound. The penny-drop moment is understanding that my opinion on what needs to change is just that - an opinion. Now, I try to influence those around me to think differently and act with courage. This means leading by example and engaging people in constructive debates to challenge assumptions.
One of the big challenges in the B2B world is that unless there's a directly attributable lead, the value of brand marketing is often downplayed or overlooked. Businesses tend to work on shorter annual or quarterly cycles, making it tough to get commitment for long-term thinking.
This drives both problems and opportunities. Many marketers focus on what marketing works - in B2B, we're good at rattling off channels, metrics, and ROI. But in my opinion, marketers need to think more deeply about how marketing influences customers to change their opinions and why it makes people want to buy. That's the core of what I'm trying to shift.
I love the word provocative—it’s a beautiful word. Let me give you an example of something I’m working on at the moment, a content marketing example. I want to walk the line between contentious and controversial. It’s a delicate balance. Get it wrong, and you’re in a career-ending spiral. Get it right, and people sit up and think differently.
I don’t necessarily want people to agree with what we write, but I don’t want them to outright disagree either. I want to provoke a reaction—where they’re lying in bed, tossing and turning, because the insight we shared is so relevant, so cutting, so true, that they can’t stop thinking about it.
One thing I try to do with our thought leadership is challenge assumptions. I really dislike assumptions—they’re dangerous, although I’m human, I make them too!
One thing I try to do with our thought leadership is challenge assumptions. I really dislike assumptions—they’re dangerous, although I’m human, I make them too! As a non-lawyer, a complete outsider, I often ask, “Does that even make sense? Why are you saying that?” With that mindset, through interviews, surveys, and thorough research, we can uncover that golden nugget of insight. If you look hard enough, ask the right questions, and dig deep enough, you’ll eventually find it.
For example, last year I was reflecting on something I kept hearing from managing partners and senior leaders of law firms. They told me their junior lawyers were less loyal to their firms than previous generations—or compared to their own generation.
Now, as a marketeer, whenever someone mentions loyalty, it raises a red flag for me. One of the first lessons you learn in branding is that loyalty doesn’t really exist. Customers aren’t loyal; they simply don’t care that much. Those who are loyal are easy—they’re not going anywhere anyway. But as soon as something shinier, cheaper, or better comes along, people will leave.
So, this idea of loyalty intrigued me—especially in the legal market, where newly qualified solicitors are earning six-figure salaries from day one. Something didn’t add up. We researched it, and, sure enough, senior leaders were convinced their junior lawyers were far less loyal than before. But when we asked the juniors themselves, they had no intention of leaving. They were as loyal as lawyers could be.
That disconnect became the insight we explored further. Why do the leaders perceive a lack of loyalty when the juniors feel the opposite? It was a fascinating gap to analyse.
Following on from this, the legal industry is one that changes very slowly. What we found was a common assumption held by senior leaders in law firms that if a junior lawyer didn’t follow the traditional, tried-and-tested pathway, they must be disloyal. That pathway goes something like this: you start as a newly qualified solicitor, then progress to become a senior associate, a managing associate, a legal director, and finally, if you’re successful, an equity partner at the top of the hierarchy.
But what we’re hearing from today’s generation of junior lawyers—is that they’re questioning if they want to follow a 500-year-old career path just because it’s always been done that way. They’re saying, “You pay me very well, and you’ll keep paying me well, but why should I climb that specific ladder?” Instead, they’re looking for different ways to develop their careers and gain experience.
This was such a fantastic insight, and we’ve been able to unpack it in so many ways—through blogs, videos, interviews, and conference presentations. There’s nothing better than standing on a stage in front of senior leaders and breaking down a deeply held assumption, using data and a well-crafted argument. It’s so much fun! I’ve never seen an audience nod their heads as enthusiastically during a presentation. You can see the penny drop. That moment is absolutely fantastic.
My immediate answer is measurement and attribution. In B2B marketing, you often hear, if you can’t measure it, it doesn’t count. As a brand strategist, that’s one of the most painful things to hear. It’s so easy for marketers to just accept that attribution is what it is. Why put your budget into something like brand-building when it’s so much simpler to chase the short-term spiral of performance marketing?
It’s really easy to focus on hitting those numbers, but that’s not enough. Les Binet and Peter Field’s ideas on long- and short-term marketing are so important here. Long-term brand investment doesn’t just help—it makes short-term performance marketing more impactful and valuable. But to do it well takes time, confidence, and a solid strategy. If your sales cycle is six months, then realistically, it might take a year for long-term brand-building to start making a measurable difference.
I’m constantly looking for ways to balance short-term marketing with longer-term brand. I don’t always win the argument, and I don’t expect to.
So, what am I doing about it? I’m constantly looking for ways to balance short-term marketing with longer-term brand. I don’t always win the argument, and I don’t expect to. But if I can get more people to think about how long-term brand-building and short-term performance marketing can work together, that’s a success. I’m lucky to work for a business where my counsel is respected.
I’m also pushing for people to recognise the influence brand has on the sales funnel—even if it doesn’t always get direct attribution. At Lexis, for example, we’re starting to talk a lot more about how marketing influences sales from non-marketing channels. While we might not always get the credit in terms of hard metrics, marketing’s work gets recognition, giving us permission to continue with activities that support the funnel but don’t necessarily have attribution. That makes a real difference.
When it comes to getting my team to think more boldly about marketing, I’d say AI has been an absolute joy—not just because it’s a great tool that makes a tangible difference, but because it’s given everyone a reason to stop and rethink their work. It makes us ask: Could I do this differently? Could I do it more efficiently?
In my view, AI almost always offers a better or different way to approach tasks, and it forces you to rethink everything. This applies to me as much as anyone else. It’s all too easy to stick with what you’ve always done without challenging yourself to push harder or think differently.
AI has helped us to reframe our approach. In marketing, we often let perfect become the enemy of good—or even worse, the enemy of done. But AI shifts the focus to what really matters. For instance, I encourage my team to spend less time on tactical tasks like writing emails—AI can handle 70% of that work. Instead, I want them to focus on the impact they’re trying to create.
I ask them to think about the memories we want our customers to hold, the “penny-drop” moments we’ve discussed—the moments where everything clicks for the customer. And I want them to think about how their work impacts every level of the funnel and how to make that as effective as possible.
Ultimately, AI isn’t just a tool—it’s a catalyst for thinking differently. And that, in itself, is a phenomenal opportunity.
I’ve got AI on the brain, so I’m going to go with AI—even though it’s technically two words. Let’s just pretend it’s one! For all the reasons we’ve already discussed, AI is transforming everything. It’s opening up new products, new routes to market, new campaign ideas, and new insights. Honestly, I think this is the most excited I’ve ever been about the intersection of marketing and technology.
The chance to rethink what we’re doing, why we’re doing it, and how we’re doing it is just incredible. AI gives us the opportunity to cut out all the boring, repetitive tasks so we can focus on the high-value work. I use generative AI every single day, multiple times a day.
Take something as simple as tackling work I usually dread—those tasks that are time-consuming, hard, and frankly just frustrating. You know, the ones you keep putting off until the last minute and then rush through. With AI, that blank sheet of paper feeling disappears. Suddenly, 50% of the work is already done before I even start. It’s like a psychological boost: The task is half done, it’s manageable, and I can move on. That’s brilliant.
It’s not just about B2B marketing—it’s about the mindset. Those who embrace AI will move faster and achieve more. So yes, my one word is AI, even if it’s a rather long one!
There are two things that come to mind—one about behaviour, as in what we as humans and leaders should do, and another about the broader industry shift I think needs to happen.
Firstly, for us as individuals: we need to listen more and talk less. Now, I’m aware of the irony here—we’ve been talking for half an hour, and I’ve done most of the talking! But in reflecting on my own end-of-year reviews and feedback, it’s clear that we, as leaders, need to take more time to listen.
Listen to our teams. Listen to our clients. Listen to the industry. The market will tell us what’s working, where the opportunities are, and what’s not quite landing. It’s easy—especially for someone like me, who gets carried away with my own enthusiasm and ideas—to dominate the conversation. But one of the things I’m actively working on is to really listen and not always rush to fill the silence. I think that advice will resonate with a lot of people.
The second piece of advice is about risk. One of the lessons I’ve learned in B2B marketing is that risk plays a bigger role than many of us acknowledge. We often hear that B2B decisions are made with the head, while B2C decisions are made with the heart. Honestly, I think that’s nonsense.
B2B buyers are the same humans who make emotional decisions in their personal lives. They don’t suddenly become robots when purchasing for work. In fact, I’d argue that emotion—or gut instinct—plays an even greater role in B2B purchasing. Here’s why: when you’re buying something expensive in a B2B context, you’re often spending someone else’s money. That should, theoretically, remove emotion from the equation because it’s not your personal cash on the line.
But the stakes are so much higher. If I buy a rubbish TV on Black Friday with my own money, I might be annoyed, my bank balance will take a hit, and my wife might not be thrilled—but it’s a mistake I can recover from. In B2B, though, the consequences of a bad decision are much more significant. It’s not just your reputation or livelihood at stake; it’s the business’s ability to function effectively, its reputation, and potentially millions of dollars.
That’s why I believe brand is so critical in B2B. It’s the brand that makes the buyer feel safer, more cared for, and more confident in their decision. When the stakes are this high, trust and emotional connection with a brand matter more than ever.
To re-form your industry, we must re-form ours first. From our visceral point of view on creativity to our incisive approach to strategy, delve into our provocative thought-leadership on how we’re aiming to subvert B2B’s status quo.
