Acenda Perspectives:
Turning Expertise Into Thought Leadership
BME developed Acenda Perspectives as a more formal approach to thought leadership and expert-driven content. Like many healthcare organizations, BME found that subject matter experts wanted to share their knowledge, but competing priorities and demanding roles made contributing to traditional marketing content difficult.
The Challenge
Acenda has deep expertise across behavioral health, healthcare, prevention, wellness and community-based services. Physicians, nurses, clinicians and other professionals hold knowledge that can educate the community, shape important conversations and strengthen Acenda's position as a trusted source.
The challenge was building a consistent, sustainable way to bring that expertise outside the organization.
Like many healthcare organizations, BME found that subject matter experts wanted to share their knowledge, but competing priorities and demanding roles made contributing to traditional marketing content difficult. The opportunity was to build a model that made participation easier while giving BME a more intentional way to identify, develop and amplify expertise.
The Idea
BME developed Acenda Perspectives as a more formal approach to thought leadership and expert-driven content.
Instead of waiting for individual content opportunities to arise, Perspectives created a framework for identifying relevant topics, engaging subject matter experts, capturing their knowledge, and turning that expertise into accessible content for external audiences.
The goal wasn't simply to produce more content. It was to build a sustainable pipeline of credible, useful information grounded in the real experience of Acenda's professionals.
The Approach
BME built a process designed to reduce the burden on busy subject matter experts while protecting their authentic expertise and voice.
The model includes:
Identifying timely, relevant topics connected to Acenda's areas of expertise
Matching topics with physicians, nurses, clinicians, leaders, and other subject matter experts
Using interviews and guided conversations to capture expertise, rather than relying solely on experts to write finished articles
Developing content in partnership with subject matter experts
Reviewing content for accuracy and appropriate organizational positioning
Publishing and promoting expertise across Acenda's external channels
Identifying opportunities to extend content through media relations, speaking, social media and other thought leadership channels
From Content Strategy to Credibility Strategy
Perspectives wasn't originally built as an AI-search initiative. It was designed to solve a practical communications challenge: how to more consistently share the knowledge that already existed within Acenda.
As search behavior has changed, that strategy has taken on new weight.
People increasingly encounter healthcare organizations through traditional search, AI-generated answers, media coverage, reviews, social content and other third-party sources. In that environment, organizational credibility depends on more than keywords.
Consistently publishing clear, authoritative content tied to identifiable expertise builds a stronger digital footprint and gives search engines, AI platforms, journalists, community partners and consumers more signals about who Acenda is and what the organization knows.
Perspectives has evolved from a content initiative into a core part of BME's broader approach to thought leadership, reputation, search visibility and organizational credibility.
The Results
Perspectives has brought more structure to how Acenda shares its expertise externally and has expanded the organization's pipeline of expert-driven content.
112
Participating
Subject Matter Experts
8
Media
Publications
Increased
Web Traffic by
143%
13
Conferences
Supported
Perspectives content on the Mental Health Resource Center has become a key platform for showcasing Acenda’s expertise, featuring timely, expert-led articles on social and emotional learning, digital habits, maternal mental health, health anxiety, youth mental health during summer break and emotional and behavioral preparation for preschool.
Extending the Expertise
The long-term opportunity for Perspectives goes beyond the articles themselves. A strong piece of expert content can become the starting point for media outreach, social content, presentations, interviews, educational resources and other opportunities to bring Acenda's expertise into broader conversations.