Smart Decision Guides™
Put your brand at the center of better buying decisions.
Independent research, targeted visibility and guaranteed qualified leads in one turnkey sponsorship program.
Smart Decision Guides combine original market research, authoritative buyer education and qualified lead generation. Produced by Starfleet Research, each guide helps technology decision-makers understand an important solution category, evaluate their options and make better-informed purchasing decisions.
Your sponsorship brings together independent buyer research, distribution into your target market, qualified leads matched to your criteria and a licensed edition your team can keep using. Starfleet manages the research, production and campaign, while your company gains visibility with the decision-makers you want to reach.
2027 sponsorship opportunities
Explore the 2027 Smart Decision Guide series.
The planned 2027 series builds on established technology categories and new buyer priorities across hotels, restaurants, retail and healthcare. Explore the planned topics and find the research initiatives that align with your market and growth priorities.
- Hotels
- Restaurants
- Retail
- Healthcare
If your company is considering sponsorship, we can discuss the topics relevant to your business, target audiences, research plans and program structure. We confirm publication timing and sponsorship availability for each guide.
What underwriters receive
Research, promotion and qualified leads in one program.
Each Smart Decision Guide program combines research authority, market visibility, qualified demand and reusable content rights. Starfleet manages the research, editorial development, design, production, promotion and qualified lead delivery, so your team can participate without having to coordinate separate providers.
Research-based thought leadership
Associate your brand with independent research, market intelligence and best-practices guidance from Starfleet Research. Give prospective buyers an educational resource with the third-party perspective and authority that conventional vendor-created content cannot easily replicate.
Guaranteed qualified leads
Receive an agreed minimum number of qualified leads through a managed lead generation program powered by Starfleet Velocity. Target prospect criteria are established with your team before the campaign begins, and leads are reviewed and validated before delivery.
Prominent brand visibility
Your company receives prominent branding on the shared Smart Decision Guide, along with a company profile and links to relevant resources. Your company is also featured in campaign promotion.
A perpetual licensed edition
Receive perpetual licensing rights to your own version of the guide, featuring your individual branding and company profile. Put it to work in demand generation, sales outreach, trade shows and other marketing initiatives.
Extended media exposure
Reach buyers through Starfleet’s own publications, including Hotel Technology News and Restaurant Technology News, and a network of leading industry publications, content distribution and syndication partners. Email outreach, publication newsletters, digital advertising and other targeted channels extend your reach. The channel mix reflects the agreed market and program.
Additional media benefits
Underwriters may also receive publication credits and preferred access to additional Starfleet Media opportunities, including contributed articles, press releases, customer success stories, Spotlight Interviews and advertising programs. These benefits depend on the agreed program.
Value beyond the campaign
A shared guide and a licensed edition for your own campaigns.
Your sponsorship combines the reach of a multi-sponsored program with a licensed edition for your own marketing. Both draw on the same independent research: one generates qualified demand through Starfleet Media; the other keeps working across your own channels.
Build visibility through the shared program.
A small group of technology solution providers underwrites the independently produced guide. Your branding, company profile and resource links sit alongside authoritative category research.
Starfleet Media manages promotion and lead generation, with a guaranteed minimum number of qualified leads based on your target prospect criteria.
Keep using the research in your campaigns.
Your edition features your logo only on the cover and your company profile only in the appendix, with perpetual licensing rights. Use it for sales outreach, nurture campaigns, account-based marketing, event follow-up, website conversion and social promotion.
Use the licensed guide on your landing pages and website to generate additional leads beyond the primary campaign. The research, content and credibility can continue supporting marketing and sales conversations long after launch.
Licensed examples
The 2025 Smart Decision Guide to Hospitality Revenue Management
Evaluation criteria and practical guidance for selecting AI-powered hotel revenue management solutions.
Licensed versionCourtesy of Revenue Analytics
Read PDF
The research behind the program
Authority that starts with evidence.
Starfleet Research benchmarks best practices in technology-enabled business initiatives in selected niche markets, including hospitality, retail and healthcare IT. Our independent and unbiased research examines how top-performing organizations achieve their desired business objectives.
We look at how their technology choices, people, organizational structures, business processes, data and performance measures support those objectives. The findings become actionable insights, practical advice and expert recommendations that decision-makers can apply to their own specific needs to drive continuous performance improvement.
Smart Decision Guides translate this research into practical buyer guidance, including market trends, capabilities, evaluation criteria and questions to ask before making an investment. Starfleet Research manages the process from research design and qualified respondent recruitment through data analysis, editorial development, graphic design and final production.
The editorial approach is independent and educational, while the research addresses the technologies and business issues that matter to prospective buyers. Participating underwriters can review drafts and provide input, but Starfleet Research maintains editorial control so the finished guide remains a credible decision resource rather than a sales brochure.
Large language models have made polished white papers and eBooks faster and less expensive to produce. Original research, qualified respondent recruitment, meaningful analysis and the credibility of an established research organization are much harder to replicate. That research foundation gives buyers a reason to read and your company a valuable way to demonstrate thought leadership.
Explore the research methodology →A proven program
Built on 12+ years of research and repeat participation.
Smart Decision Guides have been part of Starfleet Media’s content and lead generation programs for 12+ years. Established titles have been refreshed as their technology categories evolve, giving buyers and underwriters access to new market intelligence.
Underwriters have included leading technology solution providers in hospitality, healthcare, retail and other specialized markets. Many return for subsequent editions, often across several technology categories. Their feedback speaks to the quality of the content, the leads generated and the value of an ongoing partnership.
From the Archives
We’ve been at this for a while. Here are the first Smart Decision Guides we published for technology buyers in hotels, restaurants, retail and healthcare.
A selection of past and present Smart Decision Guide underwriters.
What client partners say
The quality of the leads is exceptional and the content is always great. It works quite well across different channels.
We’ve participated in almost every hospitality-related Smart Decision Guide program for almost a decade. They’re a terrific investment and we’re always delighted.
Excellent content. Great results in terms of sales-ready leads. It is always a pleasure working with Starfleet Media.
Client partner feedback from previous Smart Decision Guide programs.
What industry practitioners say
Written for the people making technology decisions.
Smart Decision Guides are written first and foremost for the technology decision-makers who use them. The testimonials below come from industry practitioners who downloaded and read a Smart Decision Guide, rather than from sponsoring companies.
Their feedback speaks to the usefulness, clarity and practical value of the research as a decision-making resource. That reader response is one reason the guides have remained valuable to both technology buyers and participating underwriters.
91% of industry practitioners who download and read a Smart Decision Guide rate it as valuable or very valuable.
I find the Smart Decision Guides to be both informative and thought provoking, giving me further insight into the tools that sit at the heart of our business.
I download Smart Decision Guides for up-to-date information and current thinking on hospitality software. The guides make me re-think exactly what I need for my own business.
Extremely useful, with objective up-to-date information and insights for improving hotel operations.
Reader feedback from previous Smart Decision Guide programs. Roles and organizations are shown as originally attributed.
How the program works
A turnkey program you can rely on.
Every program combines independent research and editorial development with targeted campaign activation and qualified lead delivery. Starfleet Media and Starfleet Research manage the process from beginning to end.
Your team contributes its expertise, reviews the content and agrees on the target audience and lead criteria. We coordinate the research, production and campaign work, with agreed delivery commitments and lead-quality checks built into the program.
Research the market
Starfleet Research develops the research framework and gathers input from qualified industry practitioners. We benchmark the practices of top-performing organizations to understand how technology, people, processes and performance measures support business objectives. The research also examines market trends, buyer priorities, adoption patterns and challenges.
Create the guide
Research findings are translated into actionable insights, practical advice and expert recommendations that prospective buyers can apply to their own needs and objectives. Underwriters may review the content and provide feedback while Starfleet Research maintains editorial control.
Activate the campaign
Starfleet Media promotes the guide through its own and partner publications, content distribution and syndication networks, personalized email outreach, dedicated email sends, digital advertising and other targeted channels. The campaign connects relevant decision-makers with research on the technology category.
Deliver qualified leads
Downloads are reviewed, validated and matched against the criteria established with each client partner. Qualified prospects are then delivered to the participating underwriter for follow-up.
Lead generation powered by Starfleet Velocity
Reach buyers who fit your business.
Starfleet Velocity, our next-generation lead generation platform, now powers Smart Decision Guide campaigns. Audience intelligence and AI-assisted prospect research help identify the accounts and decision-makers that match your criteria. Precise segmentation, personalized outreach and coordinated multichannel promotion put relevant research in front of those buyers.
Starfleet runs the platform and campaign for you, with a guaranteed qualified-lead count based on your target prospect criteria. The audience, qualification requirements, campaign scope and delivery commitment are agreed before the program begins.
Turn reader interest into a relevant sales conversation.
Independent research gives prospective buyers a reason to engage. Targeted promotion brings them to a gated landing page where they actively request the guide.
Emily Hart
Director of Revenue Management
- Decision-making authority
- Final purchase approval
- Purchase-decision timing
- Within 3 months
Michael Reed
VP, Commercial Strategy
- Decision-making authority
- Shared decision authority
- Purchase-decision timing
- 3–6 months
Sarah Mitchell
Chief Information Officer
- Decision-making authority
- Technology selection lead
- Purchase-decision timing
- 6–12 months
Every lead form captures standard contact information, the buyer’s role in the purchase decision, and their anticipated purchase-decision timeframe. Every lead is carefully scrubbed and verified before delivery to ensure it meets the sponsor’s agreed target-market criteria.
Starfleet’s researchers, campaign strategists and data specialists oversee the program, from content development and targeting to campaign execution and lead quality.
Define the right prospects
For hospitality campaigns, we draw on extensive, continually updated hospitality contact databases to reach relevant hotel and restaurant organizations and decision-makers. Qualification criteria may include industry, company size, geography, number of locations, job function, seniority and other requirements relevant to your sales strategy.
Delivered leads include standard contact information, the buyer’s decision authority (such as influencer or decision-maker) and their reported purchase-decision timeframe. Your sales team can use that context and the guide’s research topic to prioritize follow-up.
Make independent research part of your growth strategy.
Tell us your technology category and the decision-makers you need to reach. We’ll discuss relevant Smart Decision Guides, research plans, distribution channels, lead criteria and campaign scope, along with a licensed edition your team can keep using.