Investor Days Come in All Shapes and Sizes; What Type of Venue is Best for Yours?
Are you looking ahead to your next investor day? It is never too early to start planning and you will have lots of details to consider before you even begin the work of developing your presentation. The choice of venue might seem like the easiest task but consider your strategic goals for the event carefully before committing to a space.
Geographically speaking, New York City is always a safe choice, but your industry might have a high concentration of investors and analysts elsewhere, such as San Francisco for technology or Boston for life sciences. Once you decide on a location, keep the following guidelines in mind to pick the right venue.
- Hotels: Hotel function rooms are an obvious choice and large cities will offer many suitable options. Ideally, you will want to do a walk-through before signing an agreement but, at a minimum, make sure the hotel’s events team understands the logistics of the event. Aesthetically and functionally, a “ballroom” is usually much different from, say, a “convention center.” Moreover, if the team cannot name a recent investor day or similar corporate event that they hosted, they are unlikely to be able to anticipate all of your needs.
- Conference Centers: These stand-alone, purpose-built spaces are very popular and for good reason: they take much of the heavy lifting out of the process, both literally and figuratively. In addition to having a business-appropriate aesthetic, they typically offer in-room integrated audio and video technology, including multi-camera capabilities and large displays, usually with an in-house production team to ensure that everything runs smoothly. These venues can fill up quickly during the busy seasons of spring and fall, so we recommend nailing down the date for your big day at least six months in advance.
- The Exchanges: Both Nasdaq and the NYSE offer function rooms of various sizes and can accommodate large investor events – and at a lower cost than hotels or convention centers. As a bonus, you might be able to schedule a bell-ringing for your management team at the open or close of that day’s trading session. The catch is that the exchanges are always a popular choice and you will typically need to reserve a spot many months ahead. Get in touch with your exchange representative as soon as your plans begin to take shape to see what may be available.
- The Stay-at-Home Option: Do you have a corporate facility that is worth showing off, or perhaps a new manufacturing plant or a state-of-the-art R&D center? Hosting your own event can provide audiences with a unique perspective on your operations, particularly if a product or technology demonstration would be unfeasible elsewhere. If that sounds like your kind of event, consider the logistics thoroughly. Where is the nearest airport? What are the local hotel options? Would you need to provide a shuttle? Do you have space that can accommodate the number of investors you are expecting? What about refreshments? When done well, this can be the kind of event that investors will remember for years, but you will be working with little to no margin for error to ensure that every logistical detail comes together as planned. If that sounds like more than you’re willing to handle, consider offering a facility tour as an optional excursion, if a traditional investor day can be held within a reasonable driving distance.
- Video Webcasting: Hybrid events that blend the best of in-person and virtual formats are the new normal, so be sure to leverage the latest in webcasting technology to engage with those who cannot attend in person. While online-only investor events are not unheard of, they are better suited for “thematic” or smaller-scope events, such as an update on a particular line of business. For an event that will be your management team’s first investor day, or the first after a significant event (e.g., leadership change, strategic shift, major M&A), an in-person format is your best choice. A live video webcast will maximize the number of participants but there is no substitute for face-to-face interaction with prospective investors and analysts.
