New AI-Powered Offering from NPG Unlocks Community Intelligence For Tech-Centered Brands

The Next Practices Group (NPG) firms 104 West and Ringer Sciences are launching a proprietary service for B2B tech and health tech brands that utilizes AI and data science to unlock actionable intelligence from hundreds of communities where technology leaders discuss current and new ideas and trends.

The new intelligence service, called CLAIR (Community Learning AI Research), identifies where discussions of technology occur, often within tech forums, development communities and other online discussion groups. These public groups frequently represent the initial places where smaller groups of experts develop, debate and discuss new ideas.

“We are bringing together the discipline of AI, machine learning, algorithms and research-driven content strategies to untangle decentralized data and convert it into actionable intelligence and programs,” said Patrick Ward, founder & CEO, 104 West Partners.

Decentralized conversations accelerate innovation, since they provide a forum for innovators to share ideas, learn about failures and help each other figure out problems. But, this benefit of the internet has also led to blind spots for technology leaders, as fragmented conversations in niche communities are easily missed by traditional monitoring platforms—even though the communities possess some of the deepest knowledge, influence, insights and valuable data.

“The growing usage of complex technologies — from AI to blockchain to augmented reality to quantum computing to myriad digital health technologies — is expanding the number of unique communities that are not traditionally monitored in any methodical way,” explained Bob Pearson, chair, The Next Practices Group (NPG). “Depending on where and who is driving a new technology, we must be as fluent in understanding what is happening in Discord or Telegram, as we are in Tom’s Hardware or Stack Overflow.”

”The best informed B2B tech and health tech brands can now know the pulse of their communities and will be more apt to align their interests with developers and customers for the short and long-term,” he continued.

The ability to deepen learning is why CLAIR combines data science/analytics and research to form intelligence.

“Audiences and thought leaders are engaging across more and more non-traditional places, and that splintering of legacy social media is creating new ‘conversational data blind spots’ for brands who employ traditional listening platforms, even as they need to understand their audiences better and motivate them more,” said Yash Gad, founder and CEO of Ringer Sciences. “With CLAIR we have identified that sweet spot between traditional research and behavioral data, so that we can turn insights into actions for our clients.”

CLAIR is able to parse and analyze several types of data including:

• Niche, community-specific channels, like GitHub and Discord, that may not be necessarily conversational but more behavioral
• Platforms, like LinkedIn, that have largely been black boxes because of data restrictions
• A custom list of technology forums that match the language or expertise or other requirement of a tech-centered brand.

“We have used data to drive communications programs for years, but traditional data sources — like surveys or aggregated third-party data — don’t offer or capture the kind of timely, robust, dynamic and evolving industry insight clients need and want,” Ward also said. “The content, programs and communications become more impactful when we better understand what is driving informed conversations across a representative range of niche communities, which are incredibly influential in tech.”

CLAIR is addressing business-to-business technology communications and health tech because the market is acutely experiencing the effects of media contraction and audience fragmentation. CLAIR supports several use cases, including the following:

• Insight-led audience and story development
• Data-based distribution strategy and programming
• Executive positioning strategies & thought leadership
• Account-based Marketing Strategies (ABM)
• Content creation
• Media outreach and media relations
• Identify emerging online voices

To learn more about CLAIR, visit: https://www.104west.com/

About Ringer Sciences

Based in Austin, Texas, Ringer Sciences is a data-driven, AI-native analytics advisory firm that makes intelligence actionable, providing consulting services backed by proprietary AI-enabled technology and services to unlock capabilities for clients through the democratization of data science and the development of their own AI solutions.

For more information, please visit http://www.ringersciences.com.

About 104 West Partners

104 West is a communications agency for innovative companies. It brings deep expertise in B2B technology and a narrative-first philosophy that connects with key audiences and produces proven, measurable results — where they matter most. The agency helps organizations large and small drive powerful, strategic communications programs for their technologies, products, people and ideas. 104 West is headquartered in Denver, CO, with a presence in Austin and the San Francisco Bay Area. For more information, please visit www.104west.com.

For more information, please visit https://www.104west.com.

About The Next Practices Group

The Next Practices Group (NPG) is a founder-driven “nextwork” of firms with 270 team members that work together to solve problems and utilize proprietary media and analytics models to craft the right solution for each client. Firms within the network specialize in communications, marketing, public affairs, security, software, analytics, brand purpose, digital transformation and PESO digital media. For more information, please visit https://nextpracticesgroup.com/.

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