Thought Leadership as a Trust Strategy in Global Markets: Goldman Sachs’ Promotion of the ‘BRICs’ in the Marketplace of Ideas

Thought leadership has become an important means of building trust in global markets. The term, used to describe the intellectual firepower assembled and published by organisations, is frequently linked with public relations (PR) activity. This article examines Goldman Sachs’ highly-successful campaign to promote the BRICs concept, exploring the firm's use of thought leadership as a trust production strategy. It is concluded that trust production is a shared performance by a range of experts, including PR practitioners. This shared performance helps promote certainty in companies’ skill and experience, paving the way for new products and processes, market expansion, and company profits.