Acing the Execution: How to Pull Off Your Most Successful Investor Day Yet

In our recent post on Why and How to Invest in an Investor Day for Maximum ROI, we teed up Investor Days as critical strategic tools for delivering refreshed messaging and fostering engagement with the Street. But even the most diligently crafted messaging can fall flat if the execution is lacking. When it comes to pulling off such a high-profile event, the devil is in the details. And it’s essential to give the day-of logistics and nuances just as much time and attention as you put into achieving your communications objectives.

Be sure to consider the following in order to position yourself for successful execution on your next Investor Day:

• Start sooner than later. Planning an Investor Day is always a significant undertaking for a company. It requires months of careful preparation and collaboration from various stakeholders, both across your organization and externally through third-party providers. In the best-case scenario, this process starts four to six months before the event to afford adequate time to prepare your team, secure logistical needs, craft your messaging, and target your audience. Regardless of how much time you have, building a timeline is critical for mapping out essential milestones and keeping your team on track and on budget throughout the planning phase.
• Set the right date. Give some thought to when your event will take place. You will want to steer clear of specific dates such as peak earning times and holidays. But you should also look for opportune dates that may be better than others—such as dates where key attendees may already be congregated together. For example, scheduling your event around an adjacent industry conference will ensure a higher likelihood of in-person attendance. Being proactive about avoiding scheduling conflicts and promoting ease of commute is a small way to make a big difference in getting your story to the right people and setting up your event for success.
• Pick a compelling venue. In addition to timing, selecting the right venue is another catalyst for the day’s success. Traditional venues are always an option. But alternate locations should be considered if your focus is on the quality versus the quantity of attendees. Think about ways to directly showcase your company’s recent transformation, shift in strategy, or added capabilities. Examples include hosting the event near a new facility or providing on-site tours related to a new product launch. These interactive experiences are highly effective ways to attract long-term investors and can provide a deeper level of understanding for the Street while helping to weed out fast money investors.
• Opt for a hybrid approach. While there’s no substitute for in-person face time, today, the most influential Investor Days utilize a hybrid approach to accommodate both in-person and virtual guests. This gives virtual attendees equal access to stream the event live and fully participate through on-demand interactive tools and the ability to submit questions to the panel during Q&A.
• Factor in attention span. A half-day style format, with a healthy mix of presentations, panels, and interactive media, is generally best to keep the audience engaged throughout the event. Compelling visuals that cater to your hybrid audience will also be important. From corporate videos to virtual product demos, and presentation-friendly slides, keep in mind that everything should be viewable live, streaming, and on-demand for investors to revisit later.
• Set the stage, literally. Give ample attention to the run of show. Carefully plan the cadence of speakers, presentations, breaks, and videos, remembering that seamless transitions and timing can make the difference in how well your message resonates with attendees. Leading up to the event, you will also need to carefully craft the space format, including positioning of presentation screens, confidence monitors, microphones, and seating.
• Practice makes perfect. Presentation training and coaching can go a long way in polishing execution and ensuring your team has the comfort and confidence to deliver a compelling and cohesive story. Such training often makes the difference between merely presenting slides and fully taking command of the stage.  At a minimum, be sure to host individual and group practice sessions, being thoughtful to ensure all speakers are comfortable. This is paramount to keeping the message consistent and flowing and empowering speakers to interactively engage the audience. The day before the event, conduct a live dress rehearsal with all participants. This is your chance to test-run the layout and address any technical issues, so they don’t trip up your speakers on the day-of.
• Take questions—and have a plan for delivering the answers.  Appropriate time for Q&A is an absolute must for a first-rate Investor Day. While there is added value in breaking this up and allowing each speaker some time to field questions immediately following his or her remarks, the conclusion of your presentation should always include a full panel where you can showcase the entire team. Make sure you allow all participants to submit questions equally. For example, in-person attendees can use a QR code while remote attendees can use the online portal.  Consider using a moderator—perhaps your head of IR—to manage the queue of in-person and virtual questions. The moderator should help screen, consolidate, and prioritize questions, coordinating the appropriate speakers to deliver each response while simultaneously being mindful of showcasing the competence of the entire team.  The moderator’s most important role is to make sure the team doesn’t miss a single opportunity to reinforce your key messages.
• Make post-event plans. With attendees ranging from top shareholders, sell-side analysts, banks, rating agencies, board members, and the occasional walk-ins, post-event plans ensure management can spend quality time with all key stakeholders. Having the right mix of management exposure is essential and can be implemented subtly, such as with strategic seating arrangements during lunch. Management teams should expect to answer additional follow-up questions and be ready to leave a lasting impression that showcases your firm’s culture during these after-hours events.

It’s the details that will help you stand out

You’re investing in an Investor Day because you have an important, well-crafted message to deliver to stakeholders. So, it’s well worth giving that message every opportunity to resonate. Thorough execution planning ensures that no overlooked detail undermines your delivery. Be sure to start the process early, set clear objectives, choose the right setting and timing, and integrate visual aids or interactive elements to keep your audience engaged. And if you need help—with the strategic messaging, the execution tactics, or both—give us a call. Our team offers full hands-on support for every aspect of Investor Days, down to the very last detail.