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Antimicrobial resistance now causes more deaths than HIV/AIDS and malaria worldwide – new study

Antimicrobial resistance is spreading rapidly worldwide, and has even been likened to the next pandemic – one that many people may not even be aware is happening. A recent paper, published in Lancet, has revealed that antimicrobial resistant infections caused 1.27 millions deaths and were associated with 4.95 million deaths in 2019. This is greater than the number of people who died from HIV/AIDS and malaria that year combined. Antimicobial resistance happens when infection-causing microbes (such as bacteria, viruses or fungi) evolve to become resistant to the drug designed to kill them. This means than an antibiotic will no longer work to treat that infection anymore. The new findings makes it clear that antimicrobial resistance is progressing faster than the previous worst-case scenario estimates – which is of concern for everyone. The simple fact is that we’re running out of antibiotics that work. This could mean everyday bacterial infections become life-threatening again. While antimicrobial resistance has been a problem since penicillin was discovered in 1928, our continued exposure to antibiotics has enabled bacteria and other pathogens to evolve powerful resistance. In some cases, these microbes are resistant even to multiple different drugs. This latest study now shows the current scale of this problem globally – and the harm it’s causing. Global problem The study involved 204 countries around the world, looking at data from 471 million individual patient records. By looking at deaths due to and associated with antimicrobial resistance, the team was then able to estimate the impact antimicrobial resistance had in each country. Antimicrobial resistance was directly responsible for an estimated 1.27 million deaths worldwide and was associated with an estimated 4.95 millions deaths. In comparison, HIV/AIDS and malaria were estimated to have caused 860,000 and 640,000 deaths respectively the same year. The researchers also found that low- and middle-income countries were worst hit by antimicrobial resistance – although higher income countries also face alarmingly high levels. They also found that of the 23 different types of bacteria studied, drug resistance in only six types of bacteria contributed to 3.57 million deaths. The report also shows that 70% of deaths that resulted from antimicrobial resistance were caused by resistance to antibiotics often considered the first line of defence against severe infections. These included beta-lactams and fluoroquinolones, which are commonly prescribed for many infections, such as urinary tract, upper- and lower-respiratory and bone and joint infections. This study highlights a very clear message that global antimicrobial resistance could make everyday bacterial infections untreatable. By some estimates, antimicrobial resistance could cause 10 million deaths per year by 2050. This would overtake cancer as a leading cause of death worldwide. Next pandemic Bacteria can develop antimicrobial resistance in a number of ways. First, bacteria develop antimicrobial resistance naturally. It’s part of the normal push and pull observed throughout the natural world. As we get stronger, bacteria will get stronger too. It’s part of our co-evolution with bacteria – they’re just quicker at evolving than we are, partly because they replicate faster and get more genetic mutations than we do. But the way we use antibiotics can also cause resistance. For example, one common cause is if people fail to complete a course of antibiotics. Although people may feel better a few days after starting antibiotics, not all bacteria are made equal. Some may be slower to be affected by the antibiotic than others. This means that if you stop taking the antibiotic early, the bacteria that were initially able to avoid the effect of the antibiotics will be able to multiply, thus passing their resistance on. Likewise, taking antibiotics unnecessarily can help bacteria to evolve resistance to antibiotics faster. This is why it’s important not to take antibiotics unless they’re prescribed, and to only use them for the infection they’re prescribed for. Resistance can also be spread from person to person. For example, if someone who has antibiotic-resistant bacteria in their nose sneezes or coughs, it may be spread to people nearby. Research also shows that antimicrobial resistance can be spread through the environment, such as in unclean drinking water. The causes driving this global antimicrobial resistance crisis are complex. Everything from how we take antibiotics to environmental pollution with antimicrobial chemicals, use of antibiotics in agriculture and even preservatives in our shampoo and toothpaste are all contributing to resistance. This is why a global, unified effort will be needed to make a difference. Urgent change is needed in many industries to slow the spread of antimicrobial resistance. Of the greatest importance is using the antibiotics we have smarter. Combination therapy could hold the answer to slowing down antimicrobial resistance. This involves using several drugs in combination, rather than one drug on its own – making it more difficult for bacteria to evolve resistance, while still successfully treating an infection. The next pandemic is already here – so further investment in research that looks at how we can stop this problem will be key.

Two glasses of wine might add more sugar to your diet than eating a doughnut

Soft drinks have been the focus of the UK government’s attempts to curb people’s sugar intake in recent years, but the same approach has not yet been applied to the sugar content in alcoholic drinks. The government introduced “sugar taxes” on soft drinks in 2018, meaning manufacturers are charged a levy of up to 24p per litre of drink if it contains eight grams of sugar per 100 millilitres. This was done in order to attempt to reduce the public’s sugar intake in light of increases in childhood obesity. But a new report from Alcohol Health Alliance UK has suggested that just two glasses of wine contains enough sugar to meet the maximum recommended daily intake level – even more than a glazed doughnut. The report found that some bottles of wine contain as much as 59 grams of sugar per bottle. A standard bottle of wine contains 750 millilitres, which is equivalent to three large glasses of wine. This means in some cases a single large glass of wine can contain just under 20 grams of sugar, almost twice the sugar content of that glazed doughnut. So, when it comes to alcoholic drinks, how much sugar do they contain? Consumption of sugar-sweetened drinks has been linked to an increased risk of weight gain and obesity, and associated conditions such as type 2 diabetes. Most research into sugary drinks has focused on soft drinks, such as colas. Alcohol, or ethanol to give it it’s proper name, is itself calorific. Alcohol is second only to fats in terms of its calorie content per gram. On top of this potentially significant calorie content is the sugar that is contained in many alcoholic drinks. This includes the non-fermented starches and sugars found in beers and wines, or sugars added to some drinks such as cocktails or mixers to add flavour. It is unsurprising therefore that alcohol consumption has been associated with weight gain. Sugar levels in cocktails Surveys have reported that alcoholic drinks account for 10% of daily intake of added sugar in the UK for 29 to 64-year-olds, and 6% for the over 65s. This difference may be explained by the alcoholic drinks chosen by these different age groups. Near the top of the list of sugary drinks is likely to be the recent phenomenon of pre-made cocktails in a can, with some containing a staggering 49 grams of sugar per serving. Other more traditional cocktails also fare poorly when scrutinised for sugar content, a summer fruit cup cocktail, for example, may contain more than 25g of sugar per serving. This figure could be higher at home, depending on who makes the drink, and what is considered a serving. Having several of these cocktails won’t just make you merry, but will also provide more sugar than eating several chocolate bars. Wine can vary dramatically in sugar content, with the seemingly healthier lower strength alcohol wines often having more sugar and therefore not necessarily being healthier. In general, dry wines or red wines generally have lower sugar levels. For those of us who enjoy beers and ciders, these drinks can contain even more sugar per serving than wine. A pint of cider, for example, contains more than 25g of sugar, with some ciders containing an eye watering 46g of sugar per serving. Because spirits such as gin, vodka, whisky and rum are highly distilled their sugar content should be negligible. Without mixers, these drinks are clearly the healthiest in terms of both sugar and calorie content. The mixers they come with can however be sugar-sweetened so if you want to avoid sugar, having your gin neat or on the rocks is the best way forward. Better labelling It is clear that more can be done to alert people to the sugar content of alcoholic drinks. The first step would be to mandate that alcohol producers accurately label their products, not just with alcohol content by volume, but also sugar and calorie content, so consumers can make informed choices. Equally, altering the sugar levy to target alcoholic drinks more specifically would likely cause drinks manufacturers to alter their recipes to have less sugar content. The levy on soft drinks has shown this can work, with significant reductions in consumption of sugar-sweetened non-alcoholic drinks since 2018. The government claimed that the tax on soft drinks resulted in more than 50% of manufacturers reducing sugar content in drinks between March 2016, when it was announced, and its introduction in 2018. In the UK more than 20% of people regularly drink alcohol at levels that increase their health risk. People should also be aware of the less obvious risks posed by drinking alcohol, including the sugar content, and take this into account when choosing their tipple, especially if they are trying to lose weight.

Vitamin D2 and D3: what’s the difference and which should you take?

Vitamin D is important for maintaining health, as it has many roles in the human body. But there is more than one form of vitamin D, and recent research suggests that these forms may have different effects. So what are the different types of vitamin D, and is one really more beneficial than the other? Although medical conditions later associated with vitamin D deficiency, such as the bone disease rickets, have been known about since the 17th century, vitamin D itself wasn’t identified until the early 20th century. This discovery led to Adolf Windaus winning the Nobel prize for chemistry in 1928. The vitamin D family actually includes five molecules, with the two most important being vitamin D2 and D3. These molecules are also known as ergocalciferol and cholecalciferol, respectively. While both of these types of vitamin D contribute to our health, they differ in how we get them. Dietary vitamin D2 generally comes from plants, particularly mushrooms and yeast, whereas we get vitamin D3 from animal sources, such as oily fish, liver and eggs. Both forms of vitamin D are also available in dietary supplements. What most people probably don’t know is that most of our vitamin D comes from exposing our skin to sunlight. When our skin is exposed to the sun, ultraviolet rays convert a precursor molecule called 7-dehydrocholesterol into vitamin D3. This important effect of exposure to the sun explains why people living at more extreme latitudes, or people who have darker skin, are more prone to vitamin D deficiency. Melanin, a pigment in the skin, blocks ultraviolet rays from activating 7-dehydrocholesterol, thus limiting D3 production. Wearing clothing or sunscreen has a similar effect. Both vitamins D2 and D3 are essentially inactive until they go through two processes in the body. First, the liver changes their chemical structure to form a molecule known as calcidiol. This is the form in which vitamin D is stored in the body. Calcidiol is then further altered in the kidneys to form calcitriol, the active form of the hormone. It is calcitriol that is responsible for the biological actions of vitamin D, including helping bones to form, metabolising calcium and supporting how our immune system works. Technically, vitamin D isn’t a vitamin at all, but a pro-hormone. This means the body converts it into an active hormone. All hormones have receptors (on bone cells, muscle cells, white blood cells) that they bind to and activate, like a key unlocking a lock. Vitamin D2 has the same affinity for the vitamin D receptor as vitamin D3, meaning neither form is better at binding to its receptor. Different effects on the immune system A recent study found that vitamin D2 and D3 supplementation had different effects on genes important for immune function. These findings are significant, as most previous research has failed to find much difference in the effect of supplementation with either vitamin D2 or D3. Most of the research published to date has suggested that the main difference between vitamin D2 and D3 supplementation is the effect on circulating vitamin D levels in the bloodstream. Studies have repeatedly shown that vitamin D3 is superior at raising levels of vitamin D in the body. These findings were supported by a recent review of the evidence which found that vitamin D3 supplementation increased vitamin D levels in the body better than vitamin D2. But not all studies agree. Very few studies support vitamin D2 supplementation being superior to vitamin D3. One trial showed that vitamin D2 was better at treating immune issues in patients who were on steroid therapy. However, other than increasing vitamin D levels in the body, there is not much evidence that vitamin D3 supplements are better than vitamin D2 supplements. One study found that vitamin D3 improved calcium levels more than vitamin D2. But we need more research to provide definitive answers. So which should I take? Vitamin D deficiency is now more prevalent than ever, with around a billion people worldwide being vitamin D deficient. It is important that people at risk of vitamin D deficiency – older adults, people living in less sunny climates and people with darker skin – take vitamin D supplements. Health professionals recommend that most people take 10 micrograms of vitamin D a day, especially in winter. It would appear that vitamin D3 supplements are the superior option for maintaining vitamin D levels, but short exposure of the skin to the sun, even on a cloudy day, will also help you keep healthy vitamin D levels.

Villa Vision provides over 2,000 inner-city children with the tools to improve educational prospects

Villa Vision, an innovative collaboration between Aston University, the Aston Villa Foundation and optical lens supplier Essilor Vision For Life is celebrating the end of its second year having engaged with around 4,500 individuals to raise awareness around the importance of eye health and equip inner-city children with the tools to learn in order to enhance their educational experience and help with their longer-term prospects. Launched in 2020 and delivered by the Aston Villa Foundation, the initiative was the first of its kind in the UK and sought to deliver a programme of eye-health awareness lessons in the classroom, free vision and colour vision screening, followed by a more comprehensive eye test and free glasses to those children who require them, using a fully operational custom-designed mobile eye care unit. With the successful completion of Villa Vision’s second Autumn Term in December, a challenging yet successful year means that the project has now benefited schoolchildren in many local inner-city schools, including: Over 2,200 children receiving the Villa Vision workshop across 30 schools Almost 1,800 children having a vision and colour vision screening check in local primary schools Approximately 280 children (around 16%) being flagged for further investigation Around 100 fully comprehensive eye tests being conducted at schools using the Villa Vision eyecare van Nearly 120 pairs of glasses being provided to children requiring them, helping to support both their educational and social development. Nikhil Sonpal, Villa Vision Project Manager and optometrist at Aston Villa Foundation, said: “The Villa Vision team is extremely proud to have directly reached several thousand local children in supporting their visual health and eye care knowledge through the Foundation’s established network of local primary schools and community organisations.” Leon Davies, professor of optometry and physiological optics in the School of Optometry at Aston University and Vice President of the College of Optometrists said: “We are delighted to see the results that our clinical and research expertise in evidence-based eye care is providing our local community. “The provision of free eye care and raising awareness of the importance of eye health is vital in increasing the long-term prospects of schoolchildren and I am looking forward to future developments of the project in 2022.” Funded by the Premier League, the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) and Aston University and delivered by the Aston Villa Foundation, the project is designed to fill a crucial lack of knowledge surrounding the importance of having an eye test and how preventative measures can ensure, among a host of benefits, a lifetime of good vision.

An Opening Day Predicament—Will Baseball Fans Side with Billionaire Owners or Millionaire Players?

A percolating labor showdown between well-heeled Major League Baseball team owners and well-paid baseball players threatens spring training and Opening Day. For the time being, it is an amicable negotiation to carve a new Collective Bargaining Agreement in time for the 2022 season, but it could turn sour, as these things tend to do. As usual, the fans are in that empty, helpless space between billionaire owners and millionaire players. “There’s still a little bit of time here before panic and pressure set in,” said Mike Lewis, Goizueta professor of marketing and a national expert on fandom who also serves as the faculty director of the Emory Marketing Analytics Center (EmoryMAC). “If we get to Opening Day and there is no baseball that is going to be a major shock to the system, and it is going to have major ramifications.” Lewis explains, “Fandom is built by the epic moment, the walk-off home run and the spectacular catch, but fandom is also hurt by the epic failure, such as canceling Opening Day. You might not see it in the data for this season, but it is going to be a hit on the fans’ long-term appreciation for their team.” So, whose side should fandom be on? The billionaire owners or the many millionaire players? The Baseball Collective Bargaining Agreement, Explained Lewis spells out the current baseball dilemma. Players want to reduce the time they have to wait to enter full free agency, which is currently six seasons. The players also want teams to be able to spend at least $245 million a season, per team, on salaries before MLB hits the clubs with a luxury tax, which is a way to keep rich teams from buying all the talent. The luxury tax ceiling is currently $210 million. Players are not happy with the luxury tax because it resembles a “soft” salary cap, or a limit on their pay. “A lot of what the players are looking for is the freedom for the owners to spend,” Lewis says. “And more freedom for the owners to spend is going to make the competitive balance issues in Major League Baseball worse.” Do the fans really want that the players to win this labor fight? Major League Baseball instituted a luxury tax system in 2002 with a new Collective Bargaining Agreement that charged a fee to teams whose payrolls passed a certain threshold. It was done to keep clubs like the Yankees, Red Sox, Dodgers, and Cubs with their massive local television revenues from stockpiling all the stars, Lewis explains. He goes on to say that the luxury tax penalty has slowly lost its effectiveness because revenues have grown in MLB. The rich teams shrug at the tax and the results have been awful for competitive balance in the game. Fans of less wealthy teams despair in this state of oligopoly in baseball. There have been as many 100-loss teams in the past three full seasons (2018, 2019, 2021) as there were from 2007-2017 combined (11). Good players flee the less wealthy teams, losses pile up, and fans are put off. If we move back to the wild west with the market it is going to be harder to keep the franchise superstar in town. “We know what the system’s going to look like with a more open market. It’s going to look like the New York Yankees dominating, as they did in the late 90s and early 2000s. It’s going to look like Alabama in college football.” If the players have their way in this latest bargaining, they will be “stuck” for just three or four years with the team that drafts them, not six, before they hit free agency. Morgan Ward, Goizueta assistant professor of marketing with a research focus on consumer behavior, said the labor tussle between wealthy owners and wealthy players is a “rich people problem” that threatens the “folklore” of the game. “I think it could have a really alienating effect overall on the general public just because it changes the focus of the game, it takes something very communal and familial and makes it very transactional,” Ward says. “It can be very distancing for the fans and, if anything, illustrates the schism between the fans and these players. These are not your friends or neighbors. They are in a very different place in life.” So, Will Fans Side with the Owners? It’s more complicated than that. “The fans have an emotional attachment with the players and no real emotional attachment with the owners,” Ward says. What the Major League Baseball Players Association, or the union, better not count on, Ward notes, is the fandom rallying to the players just because we have seen a national shift toward worker’s rights that arrived with the COVID-19 pandemic. One of those shifts was college athletes, at last, being able to make money off their name, image, and likeness. Labor has been humanized on a certain level, but even though the baseball players are “labor” and in a “union,” Ward says there is no comparison between the fight for college athletes against the majordomo NCAA, the governing body of college athletics, and baseball players against baseball owners. “The public is sympathetic with people in low-wage, high-service industries that finally have the ability to negotiate,” Ward says. “But it’s hard for me to see the same victimization of baseball players that happened with college athletes.” The last time there was a prolonged labor dispute between the owners and players, which was in 1994, it was disastrous for baseball. The players went on strike in August that season, which canceled the World Series. Average attendance per game that season was a then-record of 31,256. It took 10 years for baseball to average more than 30,000 fans to a game because fans became disgusted with the owners and players. “How much should we expect fans to endure this time?” Lewis asks. “They just came off Covid when there were restrictions on attendance and a shortened season,” Lewis said. “This stuff adds up. The fan is going to say, ‘Why am I loyal to these guys?’” If you're a reporter looking to know more - then let us help. Professor Mike Lewis is an Associate Professor of Marketing at Emory University’s Goizueta Business School and is an expert in sports analytics and marketing.  Morgan Ward is an Assistant Professor of Marketing at Emory University’s Goizueta Business School and is an expert in consumer behavior. Both experts are available to speak with media  - simply click on an icon to arrange a discussion today.

UCI expert sources for the Russia/Ukraine Conflict

On Friday, Feb. 25, 2022, UCI’s School of Social Sciences hosted a webinar titled, “Understanding the Russia-Ukraine Crisis.” Several of the experts below offered perspective on key issues surrounding the escalating conflict between Russia and Ukraine. You can watch or listen to the webinar here: https://www.socsci.uci.edu/newsevents/news/2022/2022-02-25-understanding-the-russia-ukraine-crisis.php UCI faculty members available to comment, and their areas of expertise, are found below. Matthew Beckmann, Associate Professor, Political Science. Professor Beckman studies the organizational structures and operational strategies presidents can use to pick their team, invest their time, focus their attention, channel their effort, discipline their thinking, coordinate their subordinates, and, most importantly, make decisions. Contact: beckmann@uci.edu Jeffrey Kopstein, Professor, Political Science. In his research, Professor Kopstein focuses on interethnic violence, voting patterns of minority groups, and anti-liberal tendencies in civil society, paying special attention to cases within European and Russian Jewish history. As pertains to the Russia/Ukraine conflict, he can speak to politics in Russia and Ukraine, Authoritarianism, NATO and the transatlantic alliance, and European Union policy. Contact: kopstein@uci.edu Erin Lockwood, Assistant Professor, Political Science. Professor Lockwood’s research areas include international political economy and global financial politics. She can speak to questions related to economic sanctions, financial sanctions/financial infrastructure and payments systems more generally (for example, the prospect of cutting off Russian access to the SWIFT financial communications system.) Contact: eklockwo@uci.edu David Meyer, Professor, Sociology, Political Science and Planning, Policy & Design. Professor Meyer’s research examines the relationships between social movements and the political contexts in which they emerge. Topics surrounding the Russia/Ukraine conflict that align with his expertise include sanction strategy; the resistance strategy that might emerge in Ukraine in the face of occupation; the history of the Cold War and its influence today; and the possibility of a powerful peace/isolationist movement emerging in the U.S. Contact: dmeyer@uci.edu Gustavo Oliveira, Assistant Professor, Global & International Studies. Professor Oliveira is a specialist in global political economy and critical geopolitics, focusing on the BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) and international commodity markets, especially agricultural trade and natural resource governance. He can speak to the basis of the Russia/Ukraine conflict on natural resources, and the repercussions of the conflict for international commodity markets, inflation, and disruptions to global food supply chains. He can also speak about the anti-war movements in Russia, Europe, the United States, and broader political repercussions of the conflict in Brazil, Latin America, and the U.S. Contact: gustavo.oliveira@uci.edu Stergios Skaperdas, Professor, Economics and Director of the Center for Global Peace and Conflict Studies. His general area of research is political economy, the interaction of economics and politics. Among other issues, he has studied conflict and wars, the role of the modern state in economic development, and the interaction of globalization and geopolitics. Contact: sskaperd@uci.edu Etel Solingen, Distinguished Professor, Political Science and Thomas T. and Elizabeth C. Tierney Chair in Peace and Conflict Studies. Solingen studies the reciprocal influence between international political economy and international security, globalization and its discontents. She can discuss the crisis in terms of historical precedents (of international crises), the utility of sanctions, bargaining in crisis, Russia’s economic decline and how it bears on the current crisis. Contact: etel.solingen@uci.edu Media Contacts: • Tom Vasich, Communications Officer, UCI | 949-285-6455 | tmvasich@uci.edu • Heather Ashbach, Executive Director of Marketing and Communications, School of Social Sciences | 719-651-3224 | hashbach@uci.edu

MEDIA RELEASE: Auto Insurance 101: CAA Insurance releases guidebook to help Ontarians understand their policy

Confused about your auto insurance? You’re not alone. According to a recent CAA study, over half of Ontarians (53 per cent) found their auto insurance policy difficult to understand. To help consumers navigate the confusion, CAA Insurance Company has launched an Insurance Guidebook that breaks down everything all Ontario drivers need to know about auto insurance and their policy. Consumers can get ‘back to basics’ with CAA’s new Insurance Guidebook and gain the knowledge to feel comfortable having more advanced conversations about their policy with an agent or broker, regardless of their provider. The Guidebook reflects common terms and issues related to Ontario’s auto insurance system and policy and is designed to help educate Ontario drivers regardless of who their insurer or broker is. The purpose? To empower consumers to seek out the best, most cost-effective insurance that adequately meets their coverage needs, and to better understand what is included in their auto insurance policy. “While motorists know that they are required to carry valid auto insurance in Ontario, our research shows they may not fully understand what their policy coverage means. We often see motorists learn about their coverage once they need to make a claim,” said Elliott Silverstein, director, government relations (insurance), CAA Club Group. “It was important for us to create a resource with easy-to-understand wording that informs motorists about the terms in their auto insurance policy and how it affects them so they can get the most out of their coverage.” The Insurance Guidebook was created after the study revealed Ontarians ranked insurance companies the most responsible for educating individuals about the auto insurance industry. CAA Insurance consulted with insurance experts to identify and simplify the most important terms that consumers need to know when it comes to understanding auto insurance. “The launch of the new Insurance Guidebook is just another example of how CAA is dedicated to putting consumers first,” said Silverstein. “We are very proud to be taking the initiative to educate all Ontario motorists so they can navigate their auto insurance policy with confidence.” CAA’s Insurance Guidebook is available online to download at https://www.caainsurancecompany.com/auto or can be picked up at CAA stores across south-central Ontario.

5 Ways Expertise Marketing Supports Digital Transformation

Digital transformation is much more than merely redesigning your website or moving your files to the cloud. It’s about harnessing digital technologies to elevate your business. Specifically, digital transformation is strategically adapting your business processes to change company culture, empower your staff and keep up with rising consumer demands. Organizations of all sizes are taking on transformative initiatives to meet today’s expectations in the digital space, but research by IDG has concluded that we still have some growing to do: “IT leaders are making steady and sequential progress to becoming digital-first organizations – though not at the same breakneck speed that the technologies themselves are proliferating. For many organizations, the foundational pieces are in place, and they’re actively working on adopting newer technologies like AI and IoT. But successful digital transformation will also require equal attention to change management and workforce strategy for the entire organization.” Supporting the Bigger Picture It’s easy to get hung up on the technology but successfully transforming your business means thinking about everyone involved – including your experts. Here are five ways expertise marketing supports digital transformation: It aligns people. Most companies aren’t particularly good at telling their people that their expertise is valued and many employees don’t understand the role they play as brand ambassadors. On top of that, outdated biographies on the company website fail to share the work that these experts with the audiences who are looking for it. A well-constructed expertise marketing program helps get experts and executives aligned on how they can help the brand – and it helps marketing teams feed the content beast. It tracks data. Metrics on visitor behaviour are critical to calculating ROI and ensuring your content is working. That said, most organizations don’t have an intuitive way of tracking internal contributions to the corresponding engagement data – making it difficult to determine which people and topics are driving results. Expertise marketing programs are designed to capture essential metrics on employee contributions and ensure that leads are captured and routed to appropriate individuals and departments for prompt follow up and reporting. It enhances search and SEO. Part of digital transformation is creating a sustained online presence. By harnessing your collective expertise, you can quickly publish a large volume of quality, searchable content that boosts your owned content footprint. It also provides a way to capitalize on earned media opportunities related to breaking news and emerging trends. It drives collaboration. Many organizations corporate policies and standards tend to lack guidelines for generating and promoting individual experts. As a result, individual groups within the organization are forced to fill the void and essentially, do their own thing. This leads to a disconnected set of expensive, custom projects. Organizations with structured expertise marketing programs consistently report an increase in collaboration and organizational alignment. It minimizes risk. It’s becoming more and more important to ensure adherence to corporate brand standards and editorial guidelines, as well as regulatory standards such as accessibility compliance. By centralizing your content and utilizing a federated content management structure, you’re not only providing your employees with a common source for branded assets and templates, but you’re empowering them to get things done in the simplest way possible. This approach mitigates risk, speeds time to market and dramatically lowers costs to implement a program. Filling the Gaps with Expertise As mentioned above, digital transformation is a comprehensive business strategy with many moving parts. While expertise marketing is one component of this organizational change, it works in tandem with your other programs and complements any initiative aimed at boosts your digital presence. In fact, it’s proven to support many of the activities that organizations have yet to complete. IDG’s 2018 State of Digital Transformation Expertise marketing is a powerful tool for enabling and elevating digital transformation. By encouraging company-wide participation, it’s shown to increase internal uptake, generate higher-quality content and ultimately, drive better results in terms of ROI. If digital transformation is in your future, then you need to start thinking about your experts today.  Download the Complete Guide to Expertise Marketing For a comprehensive look at how expertise marketing benefits the entire organization and drives measurable return on investment, follow the link below to download a copy of ExpertFile’s Complete Guide to Expertise Marketing: The Next Wave in Digital Strategy or download one of our tailored Guides for Corporate & Professional Services, Higher Education Institutions, Healthcare Institutions or Association & Not-for-Profits.

Building Trust with Expertise Marketing

With advancements in technology and a number of new channels, it’s important to remember that at the end of the day, people want to deal with people. Studiesconsistently show that we’re more likely to trust other humans when making decisions. While many organizations leverage brand personas to fulfill that human connection, they often overlook the power of their people to lead and support conversations. If your audiences are looking to connect with people, then it only makes sense to give them our best.  Who Is Looking for Expertise? As mentioned in last week’s blog, the ‘About Us’ section of a website is the second most visited area next to the homepage and the reasons for this are simple: people want to see who is behind the scenes. From prospective customers to journalists looking for an expert source, there are a wide range of audiences who want to know who you really are before they engage with your business. Here are just some of the audiences who are taking a close look at your expertise: Customers & Partners: Subject-matter experts are consistently rated as one of the most influential sources of information for buyers (Source: ITSMA), and a whopping 78% of B2B buyers start with a Google search (Source: Demand Gen). Media: Experts who serve as media sources are in high-demand with newspapers, broadcasters and digital outlets – and it’s not just research they want. They often require a plain language explanation of how something works, or insights to help them localize a story for a regional audience. Conference Organizers: Conference organizers and industry associations are constantly looking for experts who can educate their attendees as a panellist, workshop leader or keynote speaker. Alumni & Donors: For institutions, showcasing the relevant work that experts and staff are doing helps alumni better connect to your mission and makes it easier to fundraise and drive larger donations. Government & Foundations: Government bodies and foundations rely heavily on experts to conduct research, develop policy and implement the various programs they fund. They are increasingly focused on reporting the social and economic impact stories of the research they are funding. Better Digital Conversations When we look at audience engagement, your success boils down into three critical stages: Attention, Interaction and Trust. Each of these areas can be addressed by making experts and their content more visible with a sustained, amplified digital presence. Don’t underestimate the value of rich expert profiles; today’s audiences will quickly scroll past a list of names and titles. Expertise marketing is about providing individual credentials and sharing what their collective experience represents for your organization. The richer offering, the more trust you can build. Plus, experts who serve as brand ambassadors are more likely to drive personal, relevant and authentic connections with key audiences. The following framework outlines how you can create an expertise marketing program that empowers your people to better navigate the customer journey: Creating Touchpoints for Expertise Whether it’s a research page on your website or an upcoming speaking engagement, you need to develop touchpoints for key audiences to interact with your experts and their content. This often requires businesses to step back and determine how visible your experts are across your physical and digital environment. As you go through the auditing process, you not only surface gaps in your delivery but in many cases, you’ll also find a wealth of expert content hidden in personal websites, social media and external publications. It surprises many businesses to discover that your experts are already engaging with audiences – just not from within your organization. Make your expertise more coherent by turning a disconnected group of experts into a powerhouse of brand ambassadors. In addition to aggregating their existing content, you’ll need to speak directly with your experts and develop an expertise marketing program that aligns with their professional objectives and incentivizes their continued efforts. This collaborative approach will mutually benefit both your business and your experts while simultaneously generating excitement and buy-in throughout the whole organization. Download The Complete Guide to Expertise Marketing For a comprehensive look at how expertise marketing benefits the entire organization and drives measurable return on investment, follow the link below to download a copy of ExpertFile’s Complete Guide to Expertise Marketing: The Next Wave in Digital Strategy

Thought Leadership 2.0: A New Approach

The term “thought leadership” has been exploited by self-proclaimed experts and overuse of the phrase has made the market weary of its practice. But before it was a buzzword, thought leadership was the crown jewel of content marketing. According to the Oxford Dictionary, thought leadership is “intellectual influence and innovative or pioneering thinking.” In practice, thought leaders leverage research and experience-based content to draw in audiences and support their organization’s reputation as an industry authority. This marketing concept has the power to transform product pitches to strategic insights and approaches into best practices, but not everyone found the same success with their programs – and there are a couple of good reasons why. This Is A Classified Project While it’s still true that thought leadership boosts customer engagement, some programs simply lack the depth needed to connect with audiences and see meaningful results. Many organizations are quick to jump on the latest marketing trend, but they don’t always have the vision to turn their expertise into a viable solution for their business. In fact, a leading research and consulting firm, Sirius Decisions, has suggested that “the purpose and process of thought leadership are widely misunderstood and misapplied, causing mixed results.” One of the most significant issues with thought leadership is that the C-Suite and other top-level teams tend to lead programs in a silo from the rest of the organization. It’s not uncommon for executives to outsource their thought leadership activities to special teams and agencies as a series of projects. This approach leads to disconnected outputs that miss the mark when it comes to audience engagement. It not only prevents subject-matter experts from elevating your content, but it also dismisses the wealth of knowledge they have about your audiences. Experts know who is looking for content, where they’ll go to find it and which topics they’ll follow. So when you exclude them from the process, you’re going to miss out on opportunities to drive market visibility, brand reputation and new customer connections. Your Experts Are People Too When you put something on a pedestal, you make it easy for people to see but hard for them to reach – and that’s a problem in the digital world. People want to deal with organizations who provide the information they need on the channels they use, and in a voice they understand. To be successful with thought leadership, it’s vital to understand these needs and take a human approach to your marketing and communications. Unfortunately, many thought leadership programs take a campaign-oriented approach and can mimic the dated marketing practices that centre around products rather than people. They come off as too formal and use “corporate speak” which makes them far less approachable. Worst of all, they often lack the authenticity audiences are looking for – so why not let your people do the talking? Your in-house experts make great brand ambassadors for your organization. By expanding your notions of thought leadership, you open the door for many voices to share your message in a manner that’s inclusive, genuine and accessible. This also makes it easier for you to maintain your online presence and insert diversity into your content marketing. Rather than repeating the same ideas over and over, your broader team of experts will be able to capture varying perspectives and insights – supporting your position as a leader in that domain. Evolving Thought Leadership While the concept of thought leadership still resonates with audiences, it’s time to make a few changes. Here are just a few reasons to transition dated thought leadership projects into profitable expertise marketing programs: Excerpt from the Complete Guide to Expertise Marketing As you can see, expertise marketing takes the best parts of thought leadership and makes it more inclusive, sustainable and agile – and all at a lower cost. On top of this, expertise marketing incorporates human connections as a fundamental component of both the strategy and execution. It surfaces diverse expert perspectives, delivers authenticity and creates two-way conversations between you and your audiences. Most of all, it can easily be adapted as our environments change and new audience needs emerge. If your thought leadership program lacks results, you’ll likely have to broaden your views on expertise and leadership. Take a closer look at all of your people and the value they bring to your business. This inclusive approach to expertise marketing will not only make it easier to manage thought leadership, but it will also deliver the long-term success you want from your marketing. Download The Complete Guide to Expertise Marketing For a comprehensive look at how expertise marketing benefits the entire organization and drives measurable return on investment, follow the link below to download a copy of ExpertFile’s Complete Guide to Expertise Marketing: The Next Wave in Digital Strategy or download one of our tailored Guides for Corporate & Professional Services, Higher Education Institutions, Healthcare Institutions or Association & Not-for-Profits.