The spreadsheets are closed, the judges are happy and the winners are being told. Next week this site will announce Influencer Relations’ Analyst Firm Awards for 2014 (AFOTY14). We’re narrowed down the shortlist to 18 firms which are in the top ten rankings for ten different categories. There’s a note about the awards here with more details.

Half of the firms are nominated in most of the ten categories; and several are only in a few, or even one. The awards recognise those analyst firms that deliver the most value, and I don’t think anyone will be surprised with the firm that will come first. The real battle is about where firms come in the different rankings.

Here are the firms that are in the running:-

On Thursday December 11th I’ll host a webinar with one of the judges, Robin Schaffer, to talk over the results and what surprises they might contain. To register, email me.