Big Sky Communications and ITSMA Join Forces to Deliver Opening Day Presentation at 2006 Customer Reference Forum

Companies to Jointly Address the Business Critical Role of Customer References

San Jose, CA & Lexington, MA – March 28, 2006 – Big Sky Communications , a full-service agency offering integrated public relations, speaking and customer reference programs, and the Information Technology Services Marketing Association (ITSMA), a membership community that helps companies market and sell technology services and solutions, today announced they will co-present at the Customer Reference Forum taking place at the W Hotel in San Francisco, March 30 and 31, 2006. The event brings together top customer reference professionals from leading technology companies including HP, Hyperion, IBM, Intel, Oracle, Lucent, SAP and others, and is designed to help professionals leverage customers for sales, marketing and other strategic corporate activities.

Big Sky partner, Katy Boos, and ITSMA vice president of Member Engagement, Steve Hurley, will be speaking on the growing importance of integrating customer references across marketing initiatives with special emphasis on early stage activities such as brand development, thought leadership, PR, analyst relations and more.

In an October 2005 survey of its members, ITSMA found that reference programs are now seen as the most important customer-facing program companies have. When asked to rate how valuable various strategic account activities were to them, ITSMA members responded that customer reference programs ranked first, and rated these programs 4.6 on a scale of 1 to 5.

“The Customer Reference Forum reflects our ongoing commitment to demonstrating the business value of customer reference programs,” said Katy Boos, partner at Big Sky Communications. “We are honored to share the stage with ITSMA, an organization with deep expertise working with leading technology companies to provide valuable insights to improve marketing impact, sales performance and business results. With our complementary services, we look forward to presenting and discussing new ideas, trends and best practices for leveraging references for awareness and credibility.”

“Customer references are no longer a nice to have in marketing and selling technology solutions. They have become a necessity for companies, large and small, to validate the value of their offerings,” commented Steve Hurley, vice president of Member Engagement, ITSMA. “The Customer Reference Forum underscores the importance of effectively managing and promoting customer references as a vital part of a company’s marketing programs.”  

Big Sky and ITSMA collaborate to deliver end-to-end solutions for Customer Reference Programs. ITSMA brings management consulting, assessment and analytical insight to Customer Reference Programs, while Big Sky specializes in the strategy, management and full-service execution of these programs.

More information about the third annual Customer Reference Forum can be found at: www.customerreferenceforum.com.

About Big Sky Communications, Inc.
Big Sky Communications, Inc., based in San Jose, California, designs and executes highly effective Customer Reference, Public Relations and Speaking Programs. For more than 12 years, Big Sky has worked with industry leaders such as Adobe, Apple, HP, Microsoft, Netscape and Sun Microsystems, as well as numerous notable start-ups. Based on years of real-world, hands-on experience, our best practices take our clients’ programs to the next level. For more information about Big Sky Communications, visit www.bigskypr.com.

About ITSMA
ITSMA specializes in helping companies market and sell services and solutions more effectively. As a membership organization, we work with the world's leading technology, communications, and professional services providers to generate increased demand, strengthen customer relationships, and improve brand differentiation. ITSMA members include business leaders such as Accenture, BT, Cisco, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Microsoft, SAP, and Tata Consultancy Services, among others. Our comprehensive research, consulting, and training on topics including ITSMA Account-Based Marketing ^SM, Brand Positioning, and Solutions Development provide the insight and experience companies need to improve business results. ITSMA is based near Boston, and has offices in London and Tokyo. Learn more at www.itsma.com.