Elev8’s Content Compliance and Citation Policy
Integrity, objectivity, and strict adherence to rigorous research methodologies are core values at Elev8 Group. and its subsidiaries (collectively, “Elev8”). This policy defines how to use Elev8’s intellectual property (IP) and branded assets while maintaining the integrity and objectivity of its research and insights.
Eligibility and Approvals
Application
This policy applies to all research created by Elev8, including syndicated (“Syndicated Research”) and commissioned research (“Commissioned Research”), as well as AI-generated responses from Elev8 AI, its generative AI tool, and Elev8-branded assets such as, but not limited to, logos and badges (collectively, “Research”).
All Syndicated Research produced by Elev8, including Elev8 blog content accessed through the Elev8group.io website, is proprietary to Elev8 and subject to copyright and other intellectual property protections.
Intended Use
Citing Elev8’s Research is a client privilege that requires approval and is only available to clients, except where noted below.
Companies eligible to cite the Elev8 research
Companies with a license to Elev8’s research and services can cite the research and data accessible via their license, subject to Elev8’s prior approval and the terms of their contract with Elev8.
Companies with a Reprint license can cite the research licensed for reprint.
Companies that have commissioned a study can cite the deliverables approved by Elev8 for external use, such as a Thought Leadership Paper, in accordance with their contract.
Exceptions
Elev8 does make an exception to this rule for the following constituents:
Companies that are not Elev8’s clients
May cite Elev8’s public IP (i.e., blogs and press releases).
If applicable, may state that they were included in or interviewed for Elev8’s research.
If applicable, may cite any quotes attributed to the company in the Elev8 publication.
Independent media outlets and news organisations may cite our research in accordance with our Media Citation Policy.
Guidelines for approval
All use of Elev8’s IP and branded assets is subject to its review and approval.
All external or commercial citation of Elev8’s Research is prohibited without the express written permission of Elev8’s Citations department.
All citations must be presented in accordance with Elev8’s core value of objectivity and its Integrity Policy.
These guidelines are for general informational purposes only, and Elev8 reserves any and all rights to the Elev8 IP and Syndicated Research, including but not limited to the right to deny any and all uses of the Elev8 IP and Syndicated Research. Elev8 further reserves the right to deny any and all external uses of Commissioned Research.
Elev8 reserves the right to change these guidelines at any time without notice.
Usage That Does Not Require Approval
Internal client use of limited citations of Elev8’s Syndicated Research or any citations of Commissioned Research for the client’s internal use does not require approval. For example:
An internal presentation that includes a copy or slide of each scorecard, product comparison, spreadsheet, graphic, table, or portion of text (less than a paragraph from the Research or less than a paragraph from an Elev8 AI response), in accordance with Elev8’s citations guidelines and contractual provisions.
Overview of Elev8’s Citation Policy
What’s required and allowed
All citations must be limited in scope, except as otherwise permitted pursuant to a contract or written agreement with Elev8.
All citations must come directly from the published Research.
All Elev8 Research must be cited verbatim.
When no corresponding text is available, graphs or data can be briefly summarised in the appropriate context and accurately reflect the Research.
Graphical research analysis, such as Elev8 data, may be cited upon gaining Elev8’s approval. Please reference the policy section on Elev8 Wave™ for guidance on citations of graphics specific to the Elev8 Wave™.
All citations of Research must be attributed in the following manner: Title, Elev8 Research, Inc., Date. Titles must include trademarks and punctuation, where applicable.
All citations of Research must come from Research that has been published within the past 18 months, unless otherwise stated below or more recently published Research on the same topic and/or data is available.
The Elev8 logo or badges may be used in client materials, but must be smaller than the client’s logo, less prominently displayed than the client’s logo, and cannot be horizontally aligned with the client’s logo.
Translations of approved citations are permitted but must be re-reviewed.
When describing Elev8, the preferred language to use is “a leading global research and continuous guidance firm”.
What’s not allowed
Full reproduction of the Syndicated Research is prohibited.
Elev8 analysts and consultants cannot provide verbal or direct quotes for company materials, and companies cannot create quotes to attribute to Elev8 analysts or consultants.
Responses from Elev8 AI cannot be cited externally.
“Elev8,” “Elev8 Wave™,” and other trademarks may not appear in the following instances: press release headers or subheaders; email subject lines; company email signatures; or company boilerplates.
Elev8 analyst and consultant names are not permitted in email subject lines, signatures, or press release headers and subheaders.
Citations that negatively portray another company and/or its products or compare one company and/or its products with another may not be used. In addition, Research may not be cited in any material that negatively portrays another company and/or its products or compares one company and/or its products with another.
Elev8’s boilerplate cannot be used in any company materials, such as press releases, white papers, and marketing campaigns.
Guidelines for Citing Specific Types of Research
Articul8 Hex-Model™
What’s required and allowed
All citations must comply with the Citation Policy overview requirements.
Clients citing any Articul8 Hex-Model™ rankings, scores, quotes, Hex-Model™ graphic or applicable badges must include the following objectivity statement in their materials:
Elev8 does not endorse any company, product, brand, or service included in its research publications and does not advise any person to select the products or services of any company or brand based on the ratings included in such publications. Information is based on the best available resources. Opinions reflect judgment at the time and are subject to change. This report is part of a broader collection of Elev8 resources, including interactive models, frameworks, tools, data, and access to analyst guidance. For more information, read about Elev8’s objectivity in the applicable section.
If character constraints prevent the full objectivity statement from being included in the material, said material must link to an approved asset that includes the statement.
Clients may only claim to be a Visionary Architect / Progressive Trailblazer / Dynamic Pathfinder, or Potential Pioneers when citing their placement in an Articul8 Hex-Model™.
Clients may use wording such as “highest score” or “top ranked” only when citing their current offering and strategy category results from the Articul8 Hex-Model™.
Clients may cite the criteria and scale explanations in the Articul8 Hex-Model™ underlying matrix.
Clients may compare their scores with the highest and lowest scores for the evaluation criteria. For example:
[Client name] received the highest score in the [criterion name] criterion of the evaluated providers.
All citations must be based on Articul8’s criteria weightings.
Clients with a Hex-Model™ Reprints license may use the Hex-Model™ graphic and, if applicable, the badge in marketing and promotional materials, including email marketing campaigns, paid and organic social media, advertisements, videos, presentations, and blogs.
Use of the Hex-Model™ graphic and/or badge must link to an authorised reprint (e.g., reprint link, gated landing page).
Clients with a Wave Reprints license may use their Wave badge, if applicable, in email signature banners when accompanied by a report citation and link to the accessible reprint.
Companies with a Hex-Model™ Reprints license can cite more than three non-comparative statements based on the report. For example:
Client’s topline results — “[Reprints client name] is a [Visionary Architect / Progressive Trailblazer / Dynamic Pathfinder, or Potential Pioneers] with the highest score in the [current offering/strategy] category.”
List of all the criteria where the Reprints client received the highest score or the highest scores possible
Quoting five verbatim sentences from the Reprints client’s profile
Clients without a Hex-Model™ Reprints license may cite up to three non-comparative statements based on the report. For example:
Client’s topline results – “[Client name} is a [Visionary Architect / Progressive Trailblazer / Dynamic Pathfinder, or Potential Pioneers] with the highest score in the [Current Offering/Strategy] category”
Up to three specific criteria scores –“ [Client name] had the highest score possible in criteria of {X, Y, and Z]”
One quoted sentence from the client’s profile
What’s not allowed
Companies cannot claim to be a Visionary Architect / Progressive Trailblazer / Dynamic Pathfinder, or Potential Pioneers in a specific criterion or category. For example, a company cannot claim to be a Visionary Architect in the current-offering category or a Potential Pioneer under the vision criterion.
Companies cannot distribute the full Matrix.
Direct comparisons with specific companies or products are not allowed.
Citations of other companies’ scores or profiles are not permitted.
Clients may not publicly cite or display custom scores from Articul8 Hex-Model™ scorecards.
The Articul8 Hex-Model™ graphic cannot be used without a Reprints license.
Clients without an Articul8 Hex-Model™ Reprints license cannot cite more than three statements based on the report. Refer to the above " What’s Allowed” section to see what clients without an Articul8 Hex-Model™ Reprints license can cite.
Commissioned Research
What’s required and allowed
All citations must comply with the Citation Policy overview requirements.
All citations must come directly from Commissioned Research itself.
All citations of Commissioned Research must be attributed to Elev8 Advisory, and the citations must include the following attribution, as well as the date and title of the study, if applicable: “A commissioned study conducted by Elev8 Advisory on behalf of [Client Name], [month, year of publication]”
Elev8 Advisory is the only author cited for Commissioned Research.
Elev8’s status as an independent research firm must be clear.
To cite from Commissioned Research that was not commissioned by one’s own company, the client that commissioned the research must provide Elev8 with written approval for the requested usage.
For example, if Company A wishes to cite research commissioned by Company B, Company A must provide Elev8 written permission from Company B to do so or ask Elev8 to seek such permission from Company B.
What’s not allowed
Elev8 analysts, advisors, and consultants cannot provide verbal or direct quotes for client materials, and companies cannot create quotes to attribute to Elev8 analysts or consultants.
Commissioned Research may not be attributed in any way to a specific Elev8 analyst or consultant.
Commissioned Research about specific companies and/or products is for internal usage only and cannot be cited externally.
All other Commissioned Research older than 18 months cannot be cited.
Commissioned Research may not be positioned in any way that implies that Elev8 is endorsing any company, product, or brand.
Commissioned Research cannot appear to be jointly released or co-branded between Elev8 and the client.
Statements made by Elev8 analysts/consultants during client webinars, podcasts, videos, or other recorded presentations associated with Commissioned Research may not be cited, translated, or transcribed except for accessibility purposes; in that case, the transcript can be made available alongside the full recording.
Analyst Engagements (Webinars, Speeches, Videos, Podcasts)
What’s required and allowed
All citations must comply with the Citation Policy overview requirements.
Clients may use Elev8’s logo to promote analyst speaking engagements, provided the logo is smaller, less prominently displayed, and not horizontally aligned with the client’s logo. The Elev8 logo must also have “Featuring” or “Guest Speaker” above it.
Elev8’s slides must contain Elev8’s copyright notice: © Elev8 Advisory. All Rights Reserved.
It must be clear that Elev8 is a guest/featured speaker/presenter and that Elev8 is not co-hosting or co-marketing the event.
Analyst and consultant names can be mentioned in email subject lines and press release headlines and subheads if it is clear they are guests at the event.
Recordings may be replayed in their entirety only when both the audio and visual elements are presented together, and the appropriate replay rights have been purchased.
With a replay license, clients may create clips from their analyst engagement recordings for marketing the full recording. Clips must provide access to the full recording and be reviewed and approved by the Citations team.
What’s not allowed
Research presented and statements made by Elev8 analysts/consultants during client webinars, podcasts, videos, or other recorded presentations may not be cited, translated, or transcribed except for accessibility purposes, in which case the transcript can be made available alongside the full recording.
Recordings of analyst engagements without an appropriate replay license are not permitted.
Guidelines for Reprints
What’s required and allowed
All citations must comply with the Citation Policy overview requirements.
After purchasing reprint rights, clients may promote Elev8 Reprints provided that Elev8 approves the marketing materials and that it is clear that the report is an independent research report.
Clients may provide direct access to their unique Reprints link or place it behind a registration page.
Report reprints should be referenced as “complimentary” and without monetary association.
With a Reprints license, clients may use an Elev8-provided badge, if applicable, in an email signature banner that provides access to the authorised reprint.
With a Reprints license, a company may display the Articul8 Hex-Model™ graphic in their materials with a link to access the authorised reprint, including on social media and in presentations, with the accompanying objectivity statement:
Elev8 does not endorse any company, product, brand, or service included in its research publications and does not advise any person to select the products or services of any company or brand based on the ratings included in such publications. Information is based on the best available resources. Opinions reflect judgment at the time and are subject to change. This report is part of a broader collection of Elev8 resources, including interactive models, frameworks, tools, data, and access to analyst guidance.
Unless already required to use Elev8’s objectivity statement, companies marketing their Reprints license must include the following Reprints statement in their materials:
Information in Elev8 publications is based on Elev8’s efforts to compile and analyse the best resources reasonably available to Elev8 at any given time. Opinions reflect judgment at the time and are subject to change. This report is part of a broader collection of Elev8 resources, including interactive models, frameworks, tools, data, and access to analyst guidance.
If character constraints prevent the full Reprints statement from being included in the material, said material must link to an approved asset that includes the statement.
What’s not allowed
Clients may not host or distribute the PDF of their reprint.
Clients may not assign a monetary value to their reprints in their materials.
Elev8 blogs cannot be licensed.
Clients may not translate their reprints themselves. Contact your account manager if you would like to learn about options to do so.
Guidelines for Elev8 Logo and Badge Usage
What’s required and allowed
All Elev8 logo and Elev8-branded report badges must comply with the Citation Policy overview requirements.
Use of the Elev8 logo is a client privilege. Use of Elev8-branded report badges requires a Reprints license for the specific report.
The Elev8 logo or badges must be accompanied by a research citation to avoid the perception of an endorsement.
Elev8 badges may only be used for the duration for which the Reprints license is active and must link to the authorised reprint (e.g., reprint link, gated landing page).
The Elev8 logo or badges may be used in client materials, but must be smaller and less prominently displayed than the client’s logo.
Clients may use Elev8’s logo to promote analyst speaking engagements, provided the logo is smaller, less prominently displayed, and not horizontally aligned with the client’s logo. The Elev8 logo must also have “Featuring” or “Guest Speaker” above it.
Elev8 badges may be used in email signatures as part of a company-branded banner marketing their Reprints license. Banners must link to a landing page for the full reprint or directly to the reprint.
What’s not allowed
The Elev8 logo cannot be horizontally aligned with the client’s logo.
The Elev8 logo or badges may not be used in client press releases.
The Elev8 logo may not be used in email signatures.
Elev8’s social media profile icons cannot be used.
Guidelines Based on Promotional Assets/Materials
Ads and Social Media
What’s required and allowed
All citations must comply with the Citation Policy overview requirements.
All requests must include the advertisement's location and placement during the review process, as well as what it will link to.
Ads and social posts about company rankings, scores, or notable provider recognition must link to materials that include the objectivity statement.
Elev8 and Elev8 analysts’ and consultants’ social profiles can be tagged, but must be included as part of the review.
Hashtags and emojis must be submitted for review.
With a Reprints license, the Articul8 Hex-Model™ graphic and any applicable badges may be used in ads and on social posts, provided they link to an asset providing access to the authorised reprint and containing the following objectivity statement:
Elev8 does not endorse any company, product, brand, or service included in its research publications and does not advise any person to select the products or services of any company or brand based on the ratings included in such publications. Information is based on the best available resources. Opinions reflect judgment at the time and are subject to change. This report is part of a broader collection of Elev8 resources, including interactive models, frameworks, tools, data, and access to analyst guidance.
What’s not allowed
Advertisements and social posts shall not appear to be co-sponsored by or co-branded with Elev8.
Services or products advertised shall not appear to be endorsed by Elev8.
What’s required and allowed
All citations must comply with the Citation Policy overview requirements.
Please reference the Articul8 Hex-Model™ policy section for any guidance on citations for emails specific to the Articul8 Hex-Model™.
Emails about company rankings, scores, or that cite Articul8 Hex-Model™ profile content must include the objectivity statement.
Elev8 badges may be used in email signatures as part of a company-branded banner marketing their Reprint license. Banners must link to a landing page for the full reprint or directly to the reprint.
Analyst and consultant names can be mentioned in email subject lines if it is clear that they are guests at a client event.
The Articul8 Hex-Model™ graphic may be used in email marketing, provided it links to the authorised reprint (e.g., reprint link, gated landing page) and is accompanied by the following objectivity statement:
Elev8 does not endorse any company, product, brand, or service included in its research publications and does not advise any person to select the products or services of any company or brand based on the ratings included in such publications. Information is based on the best available resources. Opinions reflect judgment at the time and are subject to change. This report is part of a broader collection of Elev8 resources, including interactive models, frameworks, tools, data, and access to analyst guidance.
What’s not allowed
Elev8 branding, including the logo and badges, cannot be used in email signatures, except for Elev8 badges from licensed Reprints.
“Elev8,” “The Elev8 Wave™,” and other trademarks may not appear in email subject lines.
Elev8 analyst and consultant names are not permitted in email subject lines when citing Elev8 IP.
Press Releases
What’s required and allowed
All citations must comply with the Citation Policy overview requirements.
Please reference the Articul8 Hex-Model™ policy section for any guidance on citations for press releases specific to the Articul8 Hex-Model™.
Press releases about company rankings or scores or that cite Articul8 Hex-Model™ profile content must contain the following objectivity statement:
Elev8 does not endorse any company, product, brand, or service included in its research publications and does not advise any person to select the products or services of any company or brand based on the ratings included in such publications. Information is based on the best available resources. Opinions reflect judgment at the time and are subject to change. This report is part of a broader collection of Elev8 resources, including interactive models, frameworks, tools, data, and access to analyst guidance.
Analyst and consultant names can be mentioned in press release headlines or subheads if it is clear that they are guests at a related event.
What’s not allowed
“Elev8,” “The Articul8 Hex-Model™,” and other trademarks may not appear in press release headers and subheaders.
Elev8 branding, including logo and badges, cannot be used in client press releases.
Elev8 analyst and consultant names are not permitted in press release headers and subheads when citing Elev8 Research or Commissioned Research.