IR Impact Awards – US

How your CEO communicates with capital markets stakeholders is a critical part of telling your company’s story and building confidence in its leadership. This category recognizes how IR and the C-suite work together to shape the company’s narrative and strengthen trust with the market. Judges will look for examples such as innovative communication methods, impactful CEO letters or videos, effective campaigns during challenging moments or any approach that successfully brought clarity, credibility and connection to the market. Evidence can include the CEO letter or video, press coverage or investor and analyst feedback.

Judges are looking for IR teams who have had to think out of the box in the past 12–18 months to update their shareholder communications campaign and keep up with the evolving needs of the investor community. We’re looking for that tiny spark of innovation that sets your company apart! Please include clear examples of original approaches, such as new formats or interactive channels, that demonstrate agility and creativity. Evidence can include campaign materials, engagement metrics, survey results, changes in shareholding or testimonials from investors and analysts.

Did you hold a capital markets day, site visit or other investor event that made your company stand out from the crowd? Judges want to see why the event was conceived (eg, strategy update, facility showcase, etc.), the originality of the format, the quality of execution and how it met or exceeded audience expectations. Both virtual and in-person events will be considered. Evidence can include quantitative outcomes, event agendas, formats used, use of technology, follow-up meeting requests, investor feedback surveys or analyst notes.

Have you gone above and beyond to reach new investors and tell your company’s story? Did you adapt your targeting strategy to reach new prospects, respond to adversarial circumstances or get a better return from your investor engagements? Judges are looking for a clear explanation of the targeting challenge, innovative use of data and analysis to optimize outreach and evidence that your approach delivered tangible results for management’s time on the road and at conferences. Evidence can include changes in shareholder base, senior management or investor feedback.

How did your IR team go above and beyond to support a recent corporate transaction? Judges will look at how IR helped shape and deliver market messaging, engaged with key shareholders and stakeholders and contributed to a smooth and successful process. This category covers transactions such as M&A, IPOs, spin-offs, restructurings or other significant corporate actions where IR played a pivotal role. Evidence can include details of IR’s involvement, changes in share price, market reactions or feedback from investors, analysts, the board or senior management.

Tell us about a time in the past 18 months where IR made a significant difference to your company. This could be an unusual capital raise, navigating a tricky situation, reshaping investor perception or finally landing that investor you’ve been courting. Judges will look for a clear explanation of how the IR team’s work drove success, detailing what that success looked like and its impact on the company. Evidence can include share register changes, analyst commentary or feedback from senior management and the board.

The IR website is the first point of contact for an IRO’s audience. We want to hear from companies that have developed a best-in-class website displaying top-notch customer experience, engaging content that meets analysts’ and investors’ needs and multiplatform access. Judges will look for sites that provide clarity, transparency and easy access to information. Strong entries will show how design, functionality and content work together to meet investor and analyst needs and reflect best practices in digital communication. Evidence can include before/after screenshots, analytics reports (traffic, downloads, engagement), user testing results or investor feedback.

IR teams have recently started to pay attention to and service the traditional blind spot in their shareholder base – the retail investor block. In this category, judges will look for IR campaigns that went beyond the standard program to engage and communicate effectively with retail shareholders. Strong entries will show why retail was a priority, how the strategy differed from the usual program and the tangible results achieved. Evidence can include details of what was implemented – for example, tailored communications, simplified disclosures, webinars, dedicated microsites or partnerships with retail investment platforms – and details of the results, such as shareholding changes, media coverage, senior management recognition, etc.

Working closely with analysts is a core part of many IR programs, but it can pose a challenge when thinking about how to prioritize your time and focus on your company’s sell-side followers. In this category, we are looking for teams that have implemented new strategies for keeping up with the sell side, working with analysts and deriving the most from their relationships to best serve their equity story. Evidence can include details of the strategy employed, analyst coverage reports, feedback from analysts or changes in recommendations.

Companies face new pressure to effectively communicate how they manage sustainability risks and opportunities in line with investor expectations. Judges will look for reports with a new focus that go beyond compliance to provide substance, detail and performance data. Strong entries will show how the report was conceived, its objectives, how it was executed and what tangible results it delivered in terms of transparency and engagement. Evidence might include reports, screenshots, summaries, ESG ratings changes, analyst commentary, investor feedback, readership/download metrics or alignment with frameworks.

Have your IR teams increased visibility and engagement digitally through the use of different communication channels? Judges will look for innovative use of video, audio, social platforms, infographics or webcasts to strengthen communication with investors. Strong entries will demonstrate creativity, quality of output and tangible evidence of how these tools improved investor and analyst engagement. Entry can include video messages, LinkedIn or X campaigns, IR podcasts, live webcasts, infographics or interactive Q&A sessions. Evidence should consist of links to the video, social media campaign screenshots, viewership analytics, press mentions or investor feedback.

Have you harnessed technology such as AI to enhance your IR efforts? Judges will look for IR teams that used cutting-edge tools to overcome challenges, create efficiencies, improve intelligence or raise the quality of IR activities. Strong entries will highlight not only the technology itself, but also how it was applied in practice, the safeguards used to ensure responsible adoption and the measurable outcomes achieved. Examples can include AI-assisted content creation, predictive analytics for investor targeting, perception or sentiment analysis, workflow automation or the use of chatbots and digital assistants to improve efficiency. Evidence should include screenshots, time/cost savings metrics, targeting outcomes or internal/external feedback on effectiveness.

This award seeks to honor individuals who bring fresh thinking and a unique approach to the profession. This category is open to anyone who has been working in IR for less than 10 years and has less than 15 years of total professional experience. This category celebrates emerging talent making a meaningful impact on their organization and the wider IR profession. Evidence can include testimonials from management, examples of their initiatives, KPIs or investor/analyst quotes – results that set the nominee apart from their peers.