Guidance for Pre and Post-Release Communications by Vendors

Only organizations that have licensed the relevant GigaOm Research are empowered to publish partial findings of our reports, or refer to their inclusion in a report in social media, newsletters, or external communications. Usage of our graphics, partial findings, research language, and linking back to the report, without reprint rights is a violation of our guidelines and is punishable by the full cost of the research license of the violated report, starting from the initial date of the violation.

Before the report is published, vendors may:

  • State EITHER if they were a Leader or an Outperformer
  • Quote from their capsule and list parts of the report directly as quotes. Analyst quotes must be listed with full name/title, and where possible Twitter or other handle

Before the report is published, vendors must:

  • Only include material from the licensed report, unless via prior approval.
  • Refer to the report as not yet published, and mention the release date. For example: “The full findings are revealed in the yet-to-be-published GigaOm report on X, which is released on ******.”

Before the report is published, vendors must not:

  • Reveal which quadrant they appear in
  • Include any comparison to any other vendor, or reveal information which would allow comparisons with other vendors. For example: “The only outperformer”, “Analysts rated our solution as the highest scoring in x”, “Our solution outscored our competitor X in five major categories” would not be acceptable

Guidance for Post-Release Communications by Vendors

We give the following advice to vendors who have purchased reprint rights and want to promote their results after the report’s publication:

In all communications, vendors should:

  • Avoid statements not directly supported by the published research or an analyst’s verbatim statements. Wording that is always appropriate includes:
    • Identifying by Radar tier (Leader, Challenger, New Entrant) or by forward progress (Outperformer, Fast Mover, Forward Mover).
    • Identifying by Radar hemisphere (for example, Innovator hemisphere) or quadrant (for example, Maturity/Feature Play quadrant).
    • Describing results in the Key Criteria and eval metrics scoring tables (for example, top rated across specific Key Criteria scoring categories).
  • Draw directly, as much as possible, on the analyst’s written statements (either in the report document or in a provided quote). For instance, if the analyst describes Vendor A as “hands down the most innovative provider in the solution space,” this statement may be quoted or the conclusion paraphrased (“Vendor A judged the top innovator in the report”).
  • On first use, refer to our research as the GigaOm Radar Report for [Solution Sector] or the GigaOm Key Criteria Report for Evaluating [Solution Sector].
  • Reproduce the Radar graphic in its original form, without editing or manipulation, with one exception: vendors may “zoom in” to crop a portion of the graphic.
  • Where possible, please use the GigaOm logo in marketing collateral. You can request access to the media kit which has high quality copies of our logo and Analyst Photos by emailing marketing@gigaom.com

In all communications, vendors should not:

  • Draw conclusions about their radar chart position unless affirmed in the text of the report or in a quote from the analyst. For example, Vendor A and B are both well ahead of all other competitors, with Vendor A positioned just slightly ahead of Vendor B in the Leaders circle. The text of the report calls out both Vendors as Leaders that stand apart from all other competitors in the sector. In this context, without a definitive statement from the analyst, it is inappropriate to say that Vendor A “leads all vendors” or “stands alone as the top-rated vendor” or is the “undisputed leader” in the sector.
  • Add superlatives to a vendor’s description or extrapolate too far from the tone of the report. Where possible, please quote directly from the report.

ALL communications sent or landing pages used by vendors that mention GigaOm reports, data, or analysts need to be vetted and approved by GigaOm.

All channels are acceptable for use once materials are approved – social media, press releases, blogs, videos, etc. We are happy to supply GigaOm logos for any materials you require. Please submit a request here.