360DigitalInfluence

The Technology Practice at Ogilvy PR today announced the launch of ACE (Analyst Community Engagement), a new global service designed to give technology companies an informed, strategic and measurable approach to industry analyst relations.

Why launch an AR service in 2012?

Two main reasons:

• Analyst Relations is truly global. Take Gartner’s analyst coverage, for example. It’s more by industry than by market. Yet, most of the firms supporting AR are still working in silos, market by market.

• I also believe that AR and PR practitioners are still not speaking the same language, which causes an “I am being misunderstood” feeling.

We are launching ACE because Analyst Relations is the most global of all marketing functions, and we believe we have the global coverage and expertise needed to support any kind of company on their AR needs. With a global team based in New York, San Francisco, Chicago, London, Hong Kong, Beijing, Singapore and Sydney.

Ogilvy PR has a unique PoV that can really help AR and PR work better together and speak the same language, making AR a strong asset for marketing, sales and, why not, corporate communications as well. We believe that the analyst world consists of “Deal Makers” and “Perception Makers”, and that the true value of AR is in knowing how to distinguish between the two, and tap the right ones to influence sales cycles as well as shift market attitudes and perception. In other words, in the first instance, AR support sales, while in second one, AR supports reputation, and therefore PR.

If you want more information you can read our press release and check out this video.

I’d love your comments on this and what you see at your firm, regardless of whether you are in-house or on agency side.