On Our Minds

A new survey by RBC Direct Investing reported that very few Canadian online investors read formal disclosure documents like annual reports for investment information.

So where are they getting their information? About 62% stated that they use online resources other than their brokerage websites.

What does this mean for your investor relations and marketing departments?

Print and PDF financial documentation remains a legal necessity but has weak MARCOM value. At Zenergy, we suggest reallocating budgets to web-based resources. Invest in your IR website and use social media channels like Twitter to reply to questions during IR conference calls and distribute presentations via SlideShare.

–     About two-thirds of moms are online, and the vast majority of them spend at least two hours a day reading blogs, playing games, researching products and downloading coupons before making a purchase

–     iPhone owners are more likely than Android smartphone owners to open emails on their phones

–     Adults 65 and older spend at least 1.5 hours a day using multiple media outlets

–     81% of air travelers have forgotten to pack a toothbrush or other toiletry item

–     Most Canadians would choose no news over paying for news online - and that’s bad news for some media outlets

–     75% of tweets on Twitter are created by 5% of Tweeters!

–     In North America, Netflix is now 29.7% of peak downstream traffic and has become the largest source of Internet traffic overall

Think about how those stats have an impact on your MARCOM activities – the Zenergy team considers these things all the time!

Here are some reasons why you should consider outsourcing your event management needs:

1 > Simple Execution – Outsourcing corporate events saves time, reduces confusion and makes putting on events a simple public relations activity.

2 > Strong Agenda – Agencies have journalistic experience and hold intellectual content making them most effective at putting together a strong agenda.

3 > Finding a speaker – Easier said than done.  Finding the perfect speaker that understands the idea of what is needed requires the work of an experienced professional.

4 > On-site Logistics – Corporate staff should enjoy the event. Let the agency’s staff take care of the logistics such as vendors, speakers, moderators as well as individual participant issues.

To ensure that great ideas deliver great results you must identify the best way to communicate with your target audience.

Here’s a snapshot of the Established Professional market segment in Canada:

–     They are men and women, aged 35+ working as full time professionals with an average household income of $75,000+

–     They listen to just over 3 hours of radio a day and spend about the same amount of time watching TV

–     They are online multiple times a day

–     They shop online

–     They are considered moderate media consumers

The best way to reach this group is as follows:

–     For written communications – it’s email all the way

–     They are most influenced by direct marketing messages

–     For women, use new digital channels

1 – Objectivity is the essence – it shouldn’t read like a sales brochure and information should be presented objectively.

2 – Be clear and concise – you aren’t writing a book, make sure that you attract your audience.

3 – Design and programming – include graphics but don’t go overboard.

4 – Monitor and track – make sure to track and monitor your e-newsletter’s open rate, links that generated the most interest, etc.

5 – Promote your e-newsletter – it should be part of your PR strategy, send it out to clients, prospects, suppliers, etc. and make sure that people can subscribe and unsubscribe easily.