Industry Perspectives: Beyond Compliance—Webcasting Evolves into a Strategic Communications Tool

For investor relations professionals, Webcasting has been the "killer app" for compliance with the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Regulation FD, which requires quarterly public disclosure of financial statements by publicly traded companies. The most recent National Investor Relations Institute (NIRI) survey indicates that 92% of all quarterly conference calls are now being Webcast.

Thomson/CCBN statistics speak to the increasing popularity and power of Webcasting. We provide audio and video Webcasts for thousands of companies on a live and archived basis. In a typical quarter, we Webcast more than 4,000 corporate conference calls and this year we expect to conduct more than 18,000 Webcasts.

Now, however, savvy communications professionals are leveraging the benefits of Webcasting for other applications beyond the quarterly earnings call. In fact, more than one-third of Thomson/CCBN’s Webcasts last year were for events other than the traditional earnings call.

Companies are now utilizing Webcast technology for a variety of business communications needs, including annual shareholder meetings, conference presentations, analyst and investor days, corporate announcements, product launches, and press conferences. With advances in Webcast technology, these events have become more compelling, more relevant, and more valuable to employees, customers, and shareholders.

According to the NIRI Survey, 25% of the companies surveyed Webcast their annual meeting. Companies looking to increase participation in the meeting, particularly among out-of-state shareholders, are turning to Webcasting to allow shareholders to listen to a CEO’s address via the Web, vote on proxy issues, and take part in question-and-answer sessions with company executives.

Clearly Webcasting has become a mainstay for investor relations (IR) communication: It helps meet fair disclosure requirements, it's easy to implement quickly and affordably, and it can be accompanied by supporting presentation materials to illustrate important points. Using Webcast technology not only helps to position your company as tech savvy, but is also an efficient and effective way to communicate your message to a wide audience.