UPM: PILOTING A GLOBAL THOUGHT LEADERSHIP FRAMEWORK
I led UPM Corporate’s first centralised thought leadership pilot, bringing together inputs from distinct business units—including Pulp, Energy, Biomedicals, Timber, and Specialty Papers. By creating a two-tiered editorial board model, we moved away from product-focused messaging towards macro-trend positioning, producing in-depth editorial pieces, social media visual assets, and hero video campaigns centred on key themes such as sustainability, circularity and renewable materials.
Thought Leadership Strategist | Editorial Lead | Account Director | Multimedia Producer
2021
Delivered via Spoon Finland, the creative & strategic communications agency
WHERE WE STARTED
When UPM Corporate sought to launch its first global thought leadership initiative, the organisation focused on four key operational goals:
- Cross-departmental coordination
Diverse divisions—including Pulp, Energy, Biomedicals, Timber, and Specialty Papers—needed a structured way to bring their distinct insights to the same table.
- Establishing a thought leadership framework
As UPM’s first initiative of this kind, the organisation needed a clear model to align corporate comms with business unit stakeholders.
- Moving beyond product messaging
Traditional communications focused heavily on technical product specs rather than broader industry megatrends.
- Building a consistent cadence
Content creation required a steady rhythm to map quarterly priorities and keep monthly production on track across units.
HOW I HELPED
I led the pilot project in close collaboration with Corporate Comms and business unit teams, introducing a thought leadership and editorial working model to drive content and communications:
- Two-tiered working model
Established a strategic layer meeting quarterly to map high-level themes, alongside a monthly operational layer to manage content production, refine messaging, and analyse performance.
- Editorial board leadership
Brought key stakeholders from Corporate Comms and individual business units together under a shared thought leadership editorial board for the first time, and facilitated ideation and alignment.
- Strategic theme mapping
Shifted messaging towards thought-provoking topics like Industrial Revolution 5.0, circularity during the age of mass consumption, and the role of renewable materials, aligning UPM’s internal expertise with global industrial megatrends.
- Multi-format asset suite
Conceptualised and produced long-form editorial deep-dive articles, social media visual assets, and flagship hero video assets.
CAMPAIGN VIDEO SUITE
Flagship video assets conceptualised and produced to anchor key campaign narratives across COP26 climate mitigation, sustainable automotive innovation, and circular e-commerce.
COP26: The Last Hope for Climate Action?
Sustainability & The Car of the Future
Making E-Commerce & Black Friday Sustainable