Ogilvy PR Launches ACE, a Global Industry Analyst Community Engagement Service

NEW YORK, Oct. 16, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Ogilvy Public Relations (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.

Ogilvy PR's ACE service will be driven by a global team based in New York, San Francisco, Chicago, London, Hong Kong, Beijing, Singapore and Sydney.

"Analyst Relations is the most global of all the marketing disciplines," said Luca Penati, managing director of the Global Technology Practice at Ogilvy PR. "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 tapping the right ones to influence sales cycles and purchase decisions as well as shift market attitudes through increased exposure."

"Working with industry analyst and influencer communities is strategically important, particularly in emerging technology categories," said Dee Anna McPherson, vice president of marketing, Yammer. "Ogilvy PR's ACE service is compelling because it bases AR decision making on data and provides a baseline to measure effectiveness."

Partnering with KCG, an analyst relations strategy firm serving the technology sector, Ogilvy PR has designed a new approach to analyst relations, creating ACE as a comprehensive solution for in-house AR departments that need to engage analysts locally, regionally and globally.

"We have been partnering with Ogilvy PR on analyst relations projects for over six years," explained Stephen England, president and partner at KCG. "We share the same vision for AR, have trained and certified many of their practitioners, and seamlessly offer our mutual clients KCG's highly complementary targeting, training and research metrics services."

England added, "It's great to now formalize this partnership under ACE. ACE builds on Ogilvy PR's analyst relations expertise, having worked with leading technology companies in the software, semiconductor, telecom and web services sectors."

The partnership is unique and valuable to clients because it offers:

• An approach based on the needs of the client and an understanding of the business of analyst relations firms, and how AR fits into the overall business and communications strategy.
• A comprehensive solution for in-house AR departments spanning strategy and planning, retained analyst services, analyst briefings, ongoing analyst relations, training, presentation development, event management, media references and measurement.
• A global coverage perspective with Ogilvy PR expert AR practitioners, with a collective 50+ years of experience in AR as well as trained and certified in analyst relations by KCG.
• Recommendations and insights that are informed by KCG assets including a 400+ firm and 2,300+ analyst profile database, unlimited access to 50+ analyst firm's research including all key verticals, and KCG's amassed knowledge from conducting over 500 analyst benchmark projects in 8 years.
• A flexible agency support model to supplement any internal analyst programs, on retainer or project-based, anywhere in the world.

"ACE moves AR from a necessary evil for many companies to a strategic asset that builds business," added Penati. "Clients are eager to have clearer AR strategies and measurement systems that clearly deliver business value."

Other companies currently using Ogilvy PR's ACE service include: Aspect, Canon Singapore Private Limited, HDS, Storage Networking Industry Association, among others.

More information about the offering can be found here, http://www.ogilvypr.com/en/expertise/ace.  

About Ogilvy Public Relations:
Ogilvy Public Relations (Ogilvy PR) is a global, multi-disciplinary communications leader operating in more than 80 offices across six continents. In 2011, Ogilvy won more Cannes PR Lions than any other agency worldwide, was named Global Digital/Social Consultancy of the Year by the Holmes Report, won Specialist Agency of the Year in Asia Pacific (Campaign Asia), and won the WPP global, top award (WPPed Cream, Creme de la Creme) for the fourth time in five years. Ogilvy PR integrates deeply with all Ogilvy & Mather disciplines (advertising, direct marketing, activation, promotional, digital and entertainment) through the proprietary Ogilvy Fusion™ approach to delivering comprehensive, business solutions through content creation, community building, and communications with measurable results. Ogilvy PR is a unit of Ogilvy & Mather, a WPP company (NASDAQ: WPPGY), one of the world's largest communications services groups. For more information, visit our Web site at www.ogilvypr.com or follow us on Twitter at @ogilvypr.

SOURCE Ogilvy Public Relations