AR 101 Series: John Lyotier on scheduling analyst briefings

John Lyotier, marketing manager at Marqui, wrote this post on its blog back in 2005.
We like it so much, we thought we'd give it a wider audience. Thanks John!
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For the last week or so I've been busily making arrangements for Marqui to speak with industry analysts from a number of well known groups, such as AMR Research, Gartner, IDC, etc. Now, many companies are under the impression that the only way to get any attention from such firms is to pay them.

This is absolutely incorrect.

Granted, it may be easier to get multiple meetings if you are a paying client (it's part of the service after all), but all of the reputable firms will take at least 1-2 briefings without charging a dime -- in fact, most of them accept briefings on a yearly basis from non-paying companies.

The exact process varies depending on the firm but typically companies will be asked to submit some basic information via e-mail or an online form. This usually includes:

• A brief company overview, including employee headcount, headquarters address, etc.
• The objective for the meeting (e.g., is it for a general introduction or perhaps a product update)
• A list of company representatives planning to attend the meeting
• The names of the analyst(s) you'd prefer to meet with (NOTE: the process will move much faster if you have researched and correctly identified 1-2 relevant analysts. Most groups post analyst bios and a list of recent reports on their web sites so it shouldn't be too difficult to find this information.)
• A few dates and times for a meeting

The process takes anywhere from 48 hours to 2-3 weeks so I'd highly recommend starting a month in advance if you are trying to arrange briefings around a major corporate or product launch.

In terms of how to get things started with some of the biggies:

• For Gartner, send an e-mail to vendor.briefings@gartner.com. Within 24 hours, you'll receive a briefing request form to complete and send back.
• For AMR Research, click here and fill out the form.
• For Forrester, click here and fill out the form.
• For IDC, click here and fill out the form (NOTE: The form varies depending on whether or not your company has briefed IDC in the last 12 months, so be sure to follow the directions.)

If you've worked with a particular group before or have a PR agency (or analyst relations firm) that has, you might be able to bypass all of the forms by sending an e-mail directly to the appropriate analyst. However, given how many e-mails and briefing requests these folks receive it might actually be faster to go through the formal process.