Awards categories

A breakdown of each category with useful resources to help you craft an award-winning entry

Have you recently dealt with an unexpected event threatening your company's business or reputation? Tell us about your ‘crisis ready’ plan, the strategy you implemented when the storm hit, and how the IR team’s actions successfully protected or restored shareholder value.

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Companies face growing demands to inform investors about the risk and opportunities - they face from a range of ESG issues. Describe how your company was able to meet the demands of shareholders looking for substance in ESG reporting?

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In this catch-all category, judges are looking for IR teams who have had to think out of the box in the past 12-18 months to update their shareholder communications campaign and keep up with the evolving needs and wants of the investor community. We’re looking for that tiny little spark of innovation that sets your company apart!

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Finding new ways to collaborate with investors and other buy-side participants is a core part of every IR program. In this category, we're looking for examples of how teams have found new routes to reach and work alongside the buy side, whether that's through providing an innovative corporate access opportunity, creating new communications materials or introducing a new event format.

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Did you hold a capital markets day, site visit or other investor event that made your company stand out from the crowd? Tell us how you came up with an original initiative, the way you managed its organization, and how your audience’s expectations were met; audience feedback is also welcome. Both virtual and in-person events can be considered for this award.

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How Stella-Jones’ Stephanie Corrente put on an award-winning investor day
The Blue Whale buyside view on investor events and why Instagram can deliver IR success
Ford Motor Company on its award-winning investor event

Have you gone above and beyond to reach new investors and tell your company story? Have you recently changed your targeting strategy to reach new prospects, adapt to adversarial circumstances, or get a better return from your investor engagements? Our judges will look for innovative use of data and analysis to optimize your marketing schedule and provide better returns on your IR department and management's time on the road and at conferences.

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How did your IR team go above and beyond to support a recent corporate transaction? Let us know the details. We’ll be looking at the IR team’s involvement in crafting/releasing the messaging for the financial markets and how it organized outreach and dialogue to gain approval from key shareholders.

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The IR website is the first point of contact for an IRO’s audience. We want to hear from companies that have developed a best-in-class website displaying top-notch customer experience, engaging content that meets analysts’ and investors’ needs, and multiplatform access.

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Working closely with analysts is a core part of many IR programs, but it can pose a challenge when thinking about how to prioritize your time and focus on your company's sell-side followers. In this category we are looking for teams that have implemented new strategies for keeping up with the sell side, working with analysts and deriving the most from their relationships to best serve their corporate strategies.

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IR teams have recently started to pay attention to and service the traditional blind spot in their shareholder base – the retail investor block. In this category, we’re looking for IR campaigns that include a retail shareholder communication strategy, how it differed from the usual program and the results of these efforts.

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Have your IR teams increased visibility and engagement digitally through the use of different communication channels? Describe the innovative ways you have incorporated video, audio, infographics or webcasts into your IR program. Judges will be looking for evidence of the quality of output, use of creativity and heightened investor and analyst engagement via these channels.

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Have you harnessed cutting-edge technology like AI to enhance your IR efforts? In this new category, we want to hear about how you have used tools to overcome IR challenges, create efficiencies, enhance intelligence or improve the quality of your IR activities. Judges want to hear about the tools you have used in your IR efforts, how you used them and the measures implemented to ensure safe and responsible use of technology.

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This award seeks to honor individuals who bring fresh thinking and a unique approach to the profession. This category is open to anyone who has been working in IR for less than 10 years and has less than 15 years of professional experience.

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Awards by research

Alongside our awards-by-nomination categories, we also have a selection of awards-by-research categories.

The nominees for these types of awards are determined by the input of hundreds of analysts and portfolio managers, who give their opinions on which companies provide them with the best IR service in the US.

More information on the awards-by-research categories can be found by clicking here.

Should you have any questions on these awards, please contact research@irmagazine.com.