Moving online allows investor relations professionals to reimagine investor day events and make them even more impactful. Removed from the confines of a physical event, organizers can customize the experience and raise the production values to better represent a company`s messages and brand.
Here are the key questions that unlock the secrets to a successful virtual investor day event.
1. What does your venue say about the status of the company?
Optics matter. If you’re telling a story of growth and increasing profitability, a TV quality broadcast from a state-of-the-art studio provides more energy and polish than traditional video calls can. If you are looking to signal a more fiscally responsible image, you can consider using your office as the venue, paring it with a professionally managed broadcast team. This approach will ensure the show is run smoothly, but it will remove anything that investors could interpret as frivolous.
2. How can you convey your content in a professional and engaging manner?
These are not just viewers; these folks have made a significant financial commitment to your firm and they deserve a quality experience. Even though, the agenda mirrors your in-person event—introduction, executive presentations, and Q+A—how these elements are produced creates an opportunity to exceed expectations. The investors are incentivized to tune in, but unique and dynamic delivery will keep them engaged.
Prerecording your introductions and executive presentations gives you the chance to get the content just right and gives compliance a chance to review before you go live. Q&A provides another chance to enhance the experience for your viewers and speakers. You can get out from behind the video screen and field questions live in studio creating a more personal and authentic connection to your investors.
3. What platform is right for your virtual investor day?
Be clear on your goals and security requirements before evaluating which is right for you. Focus on ease of use for investors (your attendees), security compliance, and registration management. When in doubt; keep it simple. Some of the most beautiful virtual investor days have used a simple video player on their investor relations page of their company website.
It is remarkable how the investor relations community has adapted to these circumstances and embraced the power of virtual investor days. Many of the same principles apply to executing in person vs online. However, there are more people watching, and the stakes are a little higher. Look at some of the best virtual investor day events in the past year; The Walt Disney Company, Hasbro, and Quest Diagnostics. What you will notice about each of these is the quality of the production. It’s more important than ever that you have a production partner with the creative vision as well as the engineering chops to ensure that your audience is more committed to your brand than ever before.
From disruption comes innovation, going virtual has built a stronger more flexible platform to engage with the stakeholders in your company. Take full advantage!
