Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Adventures in PR - Investor Relations


Chapter 5 talked all about investor relations, and it got me wondering about how one of the largest companies on the planet right now is handling its investor relations. I'm talking, of course, about Google. After reading the case studies about Enron and Pokemon, and discovering how things can go south very quickly in the world of investments and stock markets, I was curious to do a little investigation into Google's practices.  

Some swift Googling revealed a very accessible IR component of Google's website called "Google's Investor Relations" that was surprisingly easy to follow and understand. In this respect I think Google is on the cutting edge of this discipline because they offer  all pertinent information up front. Unlike Enron, who clouded their financial data by making it obscure and hard to follow, Google is quick to disclose as much information about its financial goings-on as possible. The IR page has helpful sections like News and Events, Financial Information, Corporate Governance, and Company Overview. Literally all the information that potential stockholders would need is right in front of their fingertips.  




This information wasn't always so easy to find. In the web article "Google Shakes Up Investor Relations" written in August of 2010, it is announced that Google underwent a shift from more traditional investor relations practices like releasing financial data through newswire services, to posting all of this information directly on their own website. Google spokesperson Jane Penner said, "We felt it made a lot of sense, given that we're a technology company and that we announce virtually all of our company news on our blogs."


In my opinion, Google's strategies for handling Investor Relations should be studied and emulated by any other companies wishing to obtain the same level of success as Google. The only way to make headway as a business in our corporation-dominated society is to ensure that stockholders and potential investors are comfortable with your business. Making all financial data readily available to the public can in no way be detrimental. It can only help to establish more credibility.