Is it really "thought leadership" -- or just great design?

I just read a Booz & Co piece (authored by Munich-based partner Gregor Harter), entitled "Who Would Ever Want to be a CMO?" This white paper is targeted to the consumer goods world. Harter says, "Simply dazzling consumers with great creative is not enough anymore." 

It gets me wondering about how PSF marketers approach the packaging of thought leadership. Stay with me here....

Senior marketers know how hard it is to encourage their revenue-generating practitioners to develop truly cutting edge intellectual capital. And today's hypercompetitive markets require a continuous feed of new thought leadership output for search engines and opt-in marketing programs.

Won't PSF marketers inevitably have to fall back on nifty packaging and cool graphic design to catch clients' attention? Are we distributing thought leadership that really isn't good but sure looks good? Are we about to fall into the same trap that consumer goods marketers did?

What can we do to avoid it?

(I know what I would do .... what about you?)