A link back to this blog got me thinking. Really Practical Marketing picked up our definition of Authority to Publish as "Expertise plus credibility". Which it is, but perhaps there's another element as well - commitment. Developing your authority will take time and effort. But once it is developed, you have a powerful property. A property that may have value beyond the effort it took to build in the first place.
When we talk great content marketing strategies a favourite example of ours is the Michelin Guide. In 1900 Michelin published a guide to France - where to stay, where to eat, how to change a tyre etc. They made tyres, so they figured that giving people a reason to drive long distances was good for business. And so it was. In 1926 they introduced the Star system and now it is the world's premier food guide. (If you don't believe that, I recommend you read the sad story of Bernard Loiseau in The Perfectionist).
It is a good example. 108 years of consistent publishing grown from a content marketing idea. That's commitment. You could stretch the argument a little to say that Michelin tyres enable travel, therefore they have authority to publish on the subject. It is a stretch though...
Now, let's look at a competitor to Michelin, Pirelli tyres. Here's a story of commitment. In the dark days of the mid-sixties when men were mad and Don Draper was writing your ads, it wasn't unusual to produce a calendar as a promotional device. If your audience was mostly male (and in many garages it still is) it wasn't unusual for scantily clad ladies to be the illustration of choice. So far, so undifferentiated. Then someone said: "You know what, we need to differentiate our calendar from the other ones out there. Let's push it up a level."
Now, the Pirelli Calendar (link a little NSFW) is a record of the photographer, models and style of that year. The VIP distribution list is a badge of honour (I believe Prince Andrew is on it). What right has a tyre company to be a fashion authority? Forty years of commitment.