Hosting an investor day can have a positive impact if you know the secrets to a successful investor day —both during the event and in the following weeks and months. It can be a great way to raise management visibility and credibility, highlight the depth of your management team, and clarify your company’s growth strategy. Here are some insights to guide you thru the process.
DEFINE YOUR OBJECTIVES
Why are you hosting the event at this particular time? What messages do you want to communicate? Who should deliver prepared remarks? There’s nothing that says an investor day must be held every year. In fact, they shouldn’t be held annually if there’s no new or exciting information to share. Companies should feel free to hold the event when the timing is right, and the information is relevant. Ensure the event is appropriate; don’t want the information to get too stale for the investment community.
For example, if you are planning an investor day around a major announcement, you can provide investors with an additional incentive to attend the event. It also can make sense to include third-party speakers in addition to your management team, depending on the focus of your investor day. For example, a company recently announcing a new medical device might invite a physician to discuss its benefits.
PICKING THE LOCATION AND TIME
Many companies like to have their investor day at their headquarters because it allows them to show off their facilities, equipment, and operations. It can be helpful to reach out to your sell-side analysts and key shareholders in advance for their opinions about the timing or location you are considering.
Companies can boost attendance, awareness, and participation by taking the event to a location that is more likely to draw attendance. Cities like Chicago, New York, San Francisco, or Miami can be big draws because they’re convenient and attractive destinations. One idea to encourage attendance is to piggyback off a big industry conference or trade show. If analysts are already in town for the meeting, they may be willing to stay one extra day for the investor event.
A company could promote the event online by giving the event its splash page or even its mini-site. The site could contain the event’s agenda, speaker bios, and check-in info. When the event ends, attendees could reference the place to listen to the audio or download slide decks and other relevant information, such as the event transcript. The microsite or splash page will work best if designed with all the other event collateral, including invitations, save-the-date emails, and presentations. A design company with experience marketing investor days can create a cohesive package that accurately reflects a company’s brand and captures the event’s theme.
USE TWITTER TO BUILD ATTENDANCE
Only some companies are up to speed on the power of Twitter. However, many of the attendees likely use Twitter regularly. Live tweeting the event serves two purposes. First, it relays information to those not in attendance and builds buzz around the event. However, it also provides a documented transcript of the day’s happenings. If a company creates and pushes an event-specific hashtag, it can monitor and review all tweets surrounding the event. Those tweets can provide critical information about how the day was received and what information should be communicated better going forward.
PREPARE AND REHEARSE
Rehearsing for the investor day is essential. It allows your speakers to practice their delivery and ensure they are successfully communicating the key messages you want stakeholders to take away from the presentations.
An investor day can be as fun and original as a company wants. Far too many companies fall into a default program that isn’t compelling and provides too little helpful information. By thinking creatively and embracing non-traditional ideas, a company can make its investor day a positive experience for the business and the attending analysts and investors.
Properly executed investor day can help companies build and maintain market value. Working with our experienced team at OTC PR Group allows companies to achieve solid and positive results from their IR initiatives.
