Many AR professionals work with industry analyst firms to learn about their research plans for the upcoming year, plot project dates on their calendars, and coordinate the calendars of their execs and SMEs. And it’s important to make your internal marketing, sales, and public relations contacts aware of when relevant research is planned to be published so they can plan their time and arrange budgets to promote the research outcomes. But project dates and topics may change, so this can be a moving target!  It’s important to remember to check in with the analysts’ client services contacts to stay up-to-date with any changes and adjust internal calendars. In the case of NelsonHall, we have made it easy to nail down project dates and stay updated about changes by visiting our AR Portal, selecting the ‘Plan Ahead’ tab, and viewing the project scheduler.

My analyst colleagues might not thank me for this, but it’s also not too late to suggest additional research topics. While the analyst firms’ research schedules are primarily set for the year, there might still be opportunities to add topics or influence the scope of planned projects.

In addition to planning for budget funds to promote report outcomes, budget planning also needs to occur for subscriptions, report rights, speaking engagements, webinars, strategy days, custom projects, and other needs. While many AR professionals have an AR budget, some need to add funds from other department budgets; and others do not have an AR budget at all and rely entirely on funds from other departments. This can be another moving target. I know funds can be earmarked for your AR-related projects, but if it is not spent early in the year, it can be taken away!  When I was in AR, I learned this the hard way and so started spending my funds early in the year on key analyst subscriptions, custom projects, and report rights.

It’s also a good idea to mark your AR calendar with the major events your company is planning, such as product launches, new delivery location openings, and any other events that will require major external communications. This will enable you to tie your messaging into what the analysts are working on and ensure that your key events are covered during interactions with analysts throughout the year, including meetings, strategy days, briefings, inquiries, or even an e-mail or a quick phone call.

A big part of the AR calendar is planning time to meet with the industry analysts in person, including strategy days and industry analyst days. Getting these dates into the calendar early is critical, as it can be difficult to make the stars align for your executives/SMEs and the analysts themselves if this is left to drift. Check to see if analysts are attending key industry events and if you can connect them with your execs/SMEs who are also attending. Generally, it is important to check in with the analysts throughout the year to keep updated on their travel plans: will they be near your office locations, or other locations your executives are travelling to so that a meeting, lunch or dinner can be arranged? Industry analysts are spread across the world, some office-based, some in remote home locations, so there are likely to be opportunities for meetings in more locations than you think. Keep in mind where your key analysts are based and check in with your executives/SMEs on their upcoming travel to see if you can make a meeting work where the analyst is based.

Finally, it’s important to remind colleagues that the AR calendar is a dynamic document that changes often, so that you can hit the moving targets and meet your goals. You’ll find yourself updating and re-sharing it with your internal team regularly. I wish you all the best as you make and update your plans.