Since the Canadian market went into lockdown in March 2020, IROs have reacted to changes in how to reach their investors. Over the last year, this column has touched on the use of social media and the changes in corporate access. Other CIRI publications have touched on the move to virtual AGMs, which look set to continue in 2021.

As it has become more evident that the lockdown would last longer than we originally anticipated, some companies have also embraced a virtual format for the investor and analyst day. Canopy Growth was one of the first to go ahead in June 2020. Its previously scheduled event was quickly changed to a virtual format. October and November saw more companies out of the ‘virtual’ gate – including B2Gold in October, TC Energy and Nutrien in November and Capital Power in December. In February 2021, Northland Power hosted a virtual event. With much of the Canadian workforce not expected to be back ‘in the office’ until the fall of 2021 – and restrictions on large gatherings probably still in place later in the year – other companies look likely to follow suit.

Huge congratulations are due to those who have braved the experience ahead of the rest of us. In general, these events have been well done and the feedback from analysts and investors has been positive. So what can we observe? Generally, these events have taken half the normal time (around two or two and a half hours, rather than four or five hours), with five or six executives presenting. They have featured fewer slides, double the attendees and at least double the number of questions. Costs have been lower – although production of the events has been somewhat more complex. However, IROs have been spared last-minute panics over whether there will be enough chairs, whether all dietary needs have been met and whether the printed decks were done and delivered in time!

If you are thinking of proceeding with a virtual investor day in 2021, here are some of the principal learnings to consider from discussions with those who have already gone ahead:

• Content is king and Q&A is a key component: Whether the event is in person or virtual, a key principle is to sweat the preparation of the material, rehearse well and build in enough time for Q&A. Longer events and longer presentations are not necessarily better in a virtual format so these rules apply even more. Keep remarks crisp and succinct. Consider too that you may not want to do annual investor days in the current environment so make sure the material has some longevity.

• Consider what audience you are targeting: Nutrien and Capital Power opened up their event to investors and analysts, while B2Gold opted for an ‘analyst only’ event to simplify the production of the event. The latter provided analysts with great opportunity (and content) to share with investors after the event. If you are not inviting audiences that normally participate (e.g. journalists, credit rating agencies or lenders) to attend live, make sure the material is accessible after the event.

• Introduce the speakers and signpost the agenda: Introduce yourself and the other speakers – remember that a key objective is often to allow the market to get to know new faces. When you post materials, be sure to include an agenda to help viewers navigate the material quickly! The agenda may be tricky to follow exactly; take a page from B2Gold and don’t put in times.

• Timing and format may need to be different: On average, virtual events have been around two hours. Some run two and a half hours. The general consensus is that keeping the event similar to those of the past and continuing for four hours tests the attention span of the audience. On the other hand, breaks can be shorter with no need to ensure people move in and out of the room (Capital Power’s break was five minutes).

• Spend some time considering how you will handle Q&A: A cardinal rule of investor days is to ensure enough time for Q&A. For virtual investor days, considering how you handle Q&A is even more important. Think about how many attendees you anticipate will be on the call when determining how to field questions – B2Gold had 40 attendees, while Nutrien had 400. With higher attendance, participants are more likely to ask questions if given an ability to submit them online rather than verbally. Handling the volume of questions submitted online can pose challenges. Reflect on whether your platform can help you triage questions effectively and prepare well for the top 10 to 20 questions you anticipate. Also consider how you will respond to any unanswered questions after the event is over. On the other hand, a verbal Q&A period can be a little trickier from a technical point of view, especially when executives are in different rooms or locations, so make sure you do a robust test ahead of time.

• It’s not just masks: By now, most corporate environments have clearly established rules around mask wearing and social distancing. You may not have enough space at one site, and executives may not be able to travel, which may mean presenters are in different locations. If you are operating mainly from a single location, the production team will have to consider how to ensure proper camera coverage while maintaining distancing for all. Separate rooms for the production/IR teams and for presenters can also be beneficial. B2Gold used two side-by-side boardrooms – one in which people presented and the other in which Q&A was conducted. As hotels and event venues try to replace revenue, they are allowing groups to use their space for broadcasting.

• Make friends with IT now: With everything online, having a strong IT team or production company (and some system redundancy) is invaluable – as is advance testing and the ability to react quickly to unanticipated outages (such as the one that Capital Power experienced!). Handovers can be tricky, especially if presenters are in different locations. Make sure your tech team is set up to make handovers as seamless as possible and proper heads-ups are provided when you are going live!

• Demos or other video components may be a challenge: Nutrien used a video and felt it added to the depth of its event. However, doing so may require more effort than before, with limitations on availability of quality footage and access to sites creating a barrier to preparing new and relevant content.

As we begin 2021, there are mixed views as to how long the need to do virtual investor days and investor access will continue but it looks likely that a hybrid may be a fact of life for some time. With that in mind, some IROs are even thinking of how to put in place the tools for a permanent switch to a hybrid model. Related steps could include establishing a permanent production quality room for future internal and external events and applying learnings to virtual mine tours and ESG events.

As you ‘hope for the best and prepare for the worst’, we wish you luck, and trust the tips in this column will help. A big thanks are due to Richard Downey (Nutrien), Ian McLean (B2Gold) and Randy Mah (Capital Power) for taking time to share their insights for this article.