By Steven Fink, managing partner at MessageBank and Ben Burnside, head of EMEA & director of IR at OpenExchange
It is with great pleasure that MessageBank and OpenExchange are collectively sponsoring the Earnings Calls research report by IR Magazine.
The management of our companies have been providing virtual event and meeting services to the investor relations marketplace for the past 30 years and, in that time, we’ve seen a few major technical and behavioral changes that have impacted the way in which IR activities are conducted.
We were at the forefront of pioneering the concepts related to issuers initially co-ordinating quarterly earnings conference calls in the early 1990s, when touch-tone phone technology allowed sell-side analysts to put themselves in a ‘question queue’ on a conference call for an operator-moderated Q&A session subsequent to scripted prepared remarks.
This dramatically changed the manner in which management teams presented their quarterly results: communications started to happen over the course of an hour rather than the typical week-long process of speaking to analysts and institutional shareholders individually. The audio-conferencing technology became easy to use and cost-effective. And it provided substantial value to analysts and shareholders.
This was further influenced when fair disclosure regulations and governmental policies such as Sarbanes-Oxley mandated equitable dissemination of information for all investment constituents. The result was another transformation, changing how public company information and results were communicated to the marketplace.
Getting the picture The research and results of this IR Magazine report are indicative of an analogous transformative change taking place today. And it can be summed up in one word: video.
The Covid pandemic has fast-tracked the use of technology for virtual business meetings in ways never seen before. The use of Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Skype, FaceTime and other video connection services has exploded since March 2020 and there is no turning back. Video technology has become ubiquitous, easier to use and cost-effective. The richness of information in a video call makes audio-only communications seem antiquated.
It is clear from our own experience working with clients on a daily basis – and further proven by the data in this report – that the primary methods of business communication have changed rapidly and permanently.
Technical advancements along with accelerated adoption due to the pandemic and a realization of the benefits of video technologies – such as richer communication, enhanced analytics and reduced environmental impact due to reduction in travel – have set the stage for another broad-based industry shift.
Shareholders, analysts, journalists, and employees have all come to expect and demand more personal interaction with C-level management. Video technology has enabled this in such a way that management has an opportunity to tell its story in a more impactful manner and, in the process, develop a deeper relationship with these communities.
Specific to earnings communications, it is becoming increasingly clear that audiences want more personal interaction and a closer ‘connection’ to company management than is currently being offered through the traditional conference call or audio-only webcast. Those who miss this opportunity risk being viewed as lethargic and less in tune with evolving investor needs.
MessageBank and OpenExchange are extremely excited about the evolution in our industry relative to widespread acceptance and deployment of video-enabled content in the investor relations marketplace. Be it pre-recorded or live video presentations combined with visual interactivity between analysts and management, the trends are becoming clearer.
We look forward to engaging with you to assist and advise you on a path toward a richer and more meaningful earnings communication process.
MessageBank is a leading provider of customized multimedia event solutions to the IR and financial communications marketplace. The company produces and hosts strategic conference calls and webcasts for global multinational companies, financial PR consultancies and buy-side/sell-side firms. With an emphasis on industry-aligned consultative services and support delivered by the executive management team, MessageBank bridges best practices, consistent value-add and co-ordinated execution for the most sensitive audio, web and video services, allowing C-level management teams to effectively communicate with shareholders, analysts, employees and the media. The company provides seasoned expertise in event management for applications including earnings, off-site investor days, M&A transaction announcements, corporate town hall and employee meetings, crisis/regulatory communications, press briefings and product and service launches/webinars.
More information is available at www.messagebank.com
OpenExchange securely enables virtual communications for the financial industry, using its video expertise, proprietary technology solutions and premiere managed services. OpenExchange bridges the worlds of interactive videoconferencing, live streaming and searchable on-demand video showcases. Based in Boston, New York, London, Hong Kong and Seoul, and anchored by its experience connecting C-suite executives in the professional investment community for more than 10 years, OpenExchange makes it seamless to connect, curate, disseminate and discover vital information critical to driving investment and business decisions.
For more information, please visit www.openexc.com
