Category: 2. Drive – AR strategy

Drive is the strategy stage of the IDEAL model. It turns business goals into measurable communications objectives that are supported by evaluation and effective messaging.

Why is it so difficult for startups and intrapreneurs to identify analysts to talk to? [Startup Saturday]

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rocket-for-startups.jpgOne of the most difficult tasks for a startup or intrapreneurs (functions like an entrepreneur within large companies) is to identify who the heck in the analyst community they should be targeting for interactions. Often the first few analysts that are contacted flatly turn the startup down leading to discouragement or a suspicion that it’s a pay-to-play situation. That is usually not the case, but frankly it is much more difficult for startups to identify the appropriate analysts. […]

Analyst integrity issues – the urban legend that won’t die

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On Monday the 31st, Zack Urlocker a blogger/columnist for InfoWorld had a nicely provocative headline Other Underreported Stories: Analyst Integrity?  Of course, the rumors – urban legends – about pay-for-position or pay-to-play have been around forever. In general, these rumors are just that. The easiest way to dismiss them? Common sense. […]

What am I missing? Why would a vendor brief a competitive intelligence firm?

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While an AR director, each time I received a call from a competitive intelligence (CI) firm analyst requesting information, I would politely decline. When asked why I had declined, I would respond “Why would I give you information that you will turn around and give to my competitors?” This CI types often tried to persuade me by suggesting that I did not want them to have out-of-date information because that could cause them to inaccurately inform their clients. “Hmm,” I would answer, “wouldn’t it be better for my company if you were giving my competitors and their sales representatives inaccurate information so they would be less effective in stealing sales from us?”
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The Payback for an Analyst Briefing can be Measured in Minutes

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As part of the ongoing struggle to convince their management about the value of analyst relations, AR professionals often prove the effectiveness of their AR programs by showing written research with mentions about the vendor. This type of metric is often shortsighted because it does not take into account the verbal delivery of research via informal conversations over the phone and at analyst conferences.Because the IT industry analysts that focus on advising IT managers (e.g., AMR, Forrester and Gartner) are on the phone every day with their clients, the payback for a briefing can be nearly instantaneous. […]

Analyst myths revisited – “Analysts know everything” still #1 for IT managers and vendors

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There are several lists of myths about the IT analysts.  These include Tekrati’s Analyze This: 5 Myths About Analyst Briefings; KCG’s Under the Influence: Myths About International AR; and Valley View Ventures’ IT Industry Analysis Myths. There are probably other lists that I don’t know about, but suffice to say that are plenty of myths to go around.
 
SageCircle first published its list in early 2001 and tweaked it later that year. I’ve used that list ever since, including when I was the Director of Corporate AR at HP. While I have been tempted to add or delete myths, this is still a pretty good list.
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BusinessWeek on cloud computing – over 4,000 words with only one analyst quote

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BusinessWeek cover on Google’s cloud computing effortsBusinessWeek cover on Google’s cloud computing effortsBusinessWeek cover on Google’s cloud computing effortsThe BusinessWeek cover story Google and the Wisdom of Clouds weighs in at over 4,100 words over eight prime pages and there is a grand total of one industry analyst quoted: IDC’s Frank Gens with a 19 word tid-bit. Geez. And this lack of analyst quotes is not uncommon in the business press. 
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Should tech startups invest in analyst relations?

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rocket-for-startups.jpgLast night I attended the Marketing SIG monthly meeting of the SDForum (an association for tech startups) because Dana Marks of Weber Shandwick and analyst Rob Enderle were talking about “Analyst Relations — It’s All About Influence.” It was a pretty interesting meeting. Rob was very candid and had a lot of funny stories about dealing with vendors that illustrated important issues.  The most salient point for me was that even in the 21st Century the IT industry analysts are still a mystery to a broad swath of the tech vendor community, especially startups. The questions that were asked by the attendees were to the point and reflected real concerns. Here are some examples: 
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