The Agency Model is Broken

The Agency Model is Broken

When a company makes the important decision to go public, they not only have financial and operational considerations, but communication considerations. Historically a company gets IPO ready, they only needed to shape their story towards hedge funds and the major investment firms. This assured good exposure to buyers and a stable and positive IPO. This is no longer true. In the world of connectivity, where markets are more accessible, apps like Robinhood, eToro and Trading212 have democratised finance. More and more ordinary people are getting involved in trading. Due to this titanic shift in investor scope, it's time for companies to change how they approach communicating their IPOs. Traditional agencies are ill equipped for the task at hand.??

Let's break down the stone cold facts of some of the clients of a well known investor relations communication business:?

1. Riskified ($RSKD)

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Riskified went public on the NYSE on the 29th of July, 2021 asking for $26. Reasonable given their incredible services targeting the cybersecurity community. Things progressed as you would expect initially, prices went up to an All Time High (ATH) not long after on the 30th of August 2021. From there it was all downhill. It's become apparent that their communication approach was lacking. The stock price has plummeted to $9.06 as of 07/12/2021 with no improvement in sight. The social discussion around the stock is negative with many retail investors abandoning them in favour of projects that present their plans in a more relevant and transparent way.

2. Doma Holdings ($DOMA)

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DOMA holdings similarly started with high ambitions and a great idea. Make real estate closure and sales easier for everyone involved. Who wouldn't be excited about a better solution in real estate transactions. They opened at $10.18 on the NYSE after working with the same communications company as Riskified. The stock immediately shot up to an ATH of $10.64, before falling all the way down to the $5.74 price it trades at today. There are no social accounts for the brand, and as such comms to the retail investor are non-existent. The social narrative around the stock is all a unanimous sell and the outlook is bleak. Serious work is needed by the company to control their narrative, and inspire people to believe in them.

In both examples, the companies have a great story to tell, yet the antiquated communications industry is ill equipped to help them tell it.?

Flight Story

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Flight Story’s model is built on helping companies tell their story in the most impactful way, and doing that with the view of sustainable success. We understand the trials and tribulations of ensuring your IPO is properly publicised. We understand that building a team with the right tools for the job can be daunting and confusing when you have 100 other things to focus on. Flight Story is here to guide you through the process so that companies can get the credit they deserve.?

[email protected]

Igor Kim

CEO & Co-Founder | Owner Ptolemay | Life is too short to build shitty things

1 年

Oliver, thanks for sharing!

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Ian Münzberger

Global & Strategic Partnerships.

3 年

Very interesting and a very insightful post.

Keith Osola

Mentor || I'm all about people || Creativity || Ideas || Purpose || Passion || Clarity II 'there's nothing wrong with challenging, in the right way...'

3 年

Great article and insights. Quite frankly everything is changing, and it's not just the investor route, but the whole way brands, whatever, need to communicate with their audiences. And what's really interesting about what's happened, especially in the last couple of years, is the impact that the #generationz's, and younger, have had everywhere, and throughout everything. And they'll continue to do so, just look at the meteoric rise, and dominance of TikTok, that's all largely down to #genz's and younger. So, where they'll move into next is going to be fascinating to watch, as their voices are just getting louder and louder. And what's really impressive to me, is how tech savvy they are, how informed they are, how connected they are, and how untrusting they are; for they can see straight through stuff far more easily than some prior generations. So, the next couple of years are going to be really fascinating.

Ash Jones

Personal Brand Strategist & Founder at Great Influence.

3 年

Great read ????

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