Gartner & 1to1 Media Partner to Define Excellence in Delivering the Customer Experience

Gartner, Inc. and 1to1 Media announced today that they have joined forces to launch the Gartner & 1to1 Customer Awards. The goal of the partnership is to establish a standard of excellence for customer-focused organizations and honor those companies that reach that level by delivering optimal customer experiences. Nominations are now being accepted for the inaugural Awards.

For the past six years, Gartner has honored companies with the Gartner CRM Excellence Award. Meanwhile, 1to1 Media, the globally-recognized authority on customer strategy, has presented the 1to1 Impact Awards over the past seven years to companies that have generated bottom-line impact from their customer strategy initiatives. Now, this combined awards program will highlight companies that are providing value to customers and shareholders by effectively bringing together strategy, technology and execution to deliver ideal customer experiences.

"CRM is critical for every business and is not some fad to be swept away by a new business process," said Adam Sarner, principal research analyst at Gartner. "A relationship with your customers must be developed, improved upon and nurtured or you cannot sustain a business, in good times or bad."

Enterprises are invited to enter and work within a case study framework to describe their CRM initiatives and why they demonstrate CRM excellence. Winners will be honored in the following seven categories and one will be nominated by their peers for the User's Choice Award for excellence in delivering outstanding customer experiences:

-- Customer Strategy -- Excellence in establishing an enterprisewide customer strategy

-- Enterprise CRM Optimization -- Excellence in the use of full-suite technology

-- Marketing Optimization -- Excellence in the use of marketing automation

-- New Media Optimization -- Excellence in the use of new media

-- Organizational Transformation -- Excellence in establishing an enterprisewide customer strategy that creates a win-win for company and customers

-- Sales Optimization -- Excellence in the use of sales force automation

-- Service Optimization -- Excellence in customer service and support that is enabled by technology

A panel of judges including Gartner analysts, 1to1 Media and business and academic experts will review all nominations and choose Gartner & 1to1 Media Customer Award winners in each category, as well as three finalists for the User's Choice Award. All winners will be presented with their awards at the Gartner Customer Relationship Management Summit, taking place September 8-10 in Washington D.C. The User's Choice finalists will present their cases to attendees at the event who will select the winner of the Users Choice award. Winners will be featured in the September/October 2008 issue of 1to1 Magazine, in a special issue of 1to1 Weekly and on both the Gartner and 1to1 Media Web sites.

"1to1 Media is dedicated to showcasing excellence in customer strategy," said Ginger Conlon, editor in chief, 1to1 Media. "Our partnership with Gartner allows us to take that commitment to the next level."

More information on the Gartner & 1to1 Media Customer Awards and the online entry forms are available at http://www.gartner.com/it/summits/611509/crf10_awards.jsp or on the Gartner CRM Summit Web site at www.gartner.com/us/crm. The deadline for submissions is May 16, 2008.

About Gartner Customer Relationship Management Summit

The Gartner CRM Summit will be held at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in Washington, D.C. The Gartner CRM Summit is a comprehensive event offering the latest customer strategies and technologies, how those technologies affect your customer relationship initiatives, and what organizational and cultural changes must occur to meet your company's goals. Additional information is available at www.gartner.com/us/crm. Members of the media can register by sending an e-mail to Christy Pettey at christy.pettey@gartner.com.

About 1to1 Media

1to1 Media is dedicated to helping organizations realize the greatest value from their customer base. We provide resources that deliver current and relevant information on the latest thought leadership regarding customer strategy and marketplace trends. Led by 1to1 Magazine, 1to1 Media's print, electronic and custom publications explore the best practices, trends and developments from companies who are using customer initiatives to drive bottom-line impact. Backed by Peppers & Rogers Group, the globally-recognized leader in customer strategy and relationship marketing, 1to1 Media combines thought leadership, field experience, editorial expertise and global brand awareness to deliver the content needed by our audience of more than 150,000 decision-makers and practitioners. 1to1Media and Peppers & Rogers Group are divisions of Minneapolis-based Carlson Marketing Worldwide.

About Gartner

Gartner, Inc. (NYSE: IT) is the world's leading information technology research and advisory company. Gartner delivers the technology-related insight necessary for its clients to make the right decisions, every day. From CIOs and senior IT leaders in corporations and government agencies, to business leaders in high-tech and telecom enterprises and professional services firms, to technology investors, Gartner is the indispensable partner to 60,000 clients in 10,000 distinct organizations. Through the resources of Gartner Research, Gartner Executive Programs, Gartner Consulting and Gartner Events, Gartner works with every client to research, analyze and interpret the business of IT within the context of their individual role. Founded in 1979, Gartner is headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, U.S.A., and has 4,000 associates, including 1,200 research analysts and consultants in 75 countries. For more information, visit www.gartner.com.

SOURCE: Gartner, Inc.

Gartner
Christy Pettey, 408-468-8312
christy.pettey@gartner.com