Ignoring Media Relations Can Undermine Your Investor Relations Success

Investor relations is often treated as a siloed function under the umbrella of financial communications. Traditionally, it includes activities such as earnings reports and scripts, investor updates and quarterly calls. While these are essential, they only tell part of the story. To truly shape market perception and enhance shareholder value, media relations should also be considered a strategic component of investor communications, especially for public companies looking to maintain visibility and relevance.

The Strategic Value of Media Relations in Financial Communications

Media relations isn't just for brand awareness or consumer engagement. It plays a critical role in shaping how the investment community perceives a company. Traditionally, media coverage is leveraged during significant financial events such as a special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC) or other mergers and acquisitions activity, an initial public offering (IPO) or a major funding round. During these high-impact moments, targeted media coverage can amplify a message, generate buzz and position the company favorably among investors and analysts.

For IPOs in particular, a well-crafted media strategy can support a successful market debut. Strategic media placements, executive interviews and compelling storytelling can turn an unknown name into a stock market darling. But the need for media engagement doesn’t end after the bell rings.

Post-IPO: Keeping Momentum in the Public Market

Once a company becomes publicly traded, it faces a new challenge: staying relevant and differentiated in an increasingly crowded and competitive marketplace. Many organizations fall into the trap of limiting media outreach to trade or industry publications, missing the opportunity to connect directly with the financial press and, by extension, the investor community.

This limited focus can result in a visibility gap that affects not just public awareness, but also investor confidence and stock performance. Public companies must craft a holistic media relations strategy that includes proactive engagement with financial publications, regular CEO visibility and consistent narrative development around business growth, milestones and vision.

Financial Press: A Direct Line to Investors

Engaging with the financial press through CEO interviews, earnings announcements and growth stories is a powerful way to reach both institutional and retail investors. Outlets like CNBC, Bloomberg, Reuters and The Wall Street Journal serve as trusted sources of market information. Inclusion in their coverage lends credibility and ensures a company’s narrative reaches investors where they’re already paying attention.

Additionally, proactive financial media outreach provides context and insight that earnings numbers alone cannot. For example, a CEO interview can frame quarterly results within a broader strategic vision, helping investors see beyond the immediate numbers to the long-term growth potential.

Case Study: Reviving Market Visibility Through Media

We partnered with a public advertising technology company after its successful prior-year IPO. While the company enjoyed significant media attention during its public market debut, it struggled to maintain that momentum afterward. Despite strong business fundamentals, their post-IPO media silence contributed to stock performance stagnation and left them on the sidelines in conversations about their industry that instead featured their competitors. 

Our strategy focused on repositioning the company within the investor landscape. We developed a media relations plan that spotlighted their CEO during key earnings cycles, framed the company’s growth within broader industry trends and strategically inserted the brand into ongoing financial media conversations. As a result, the company gained increased visibility and a stronger narrative that resonated with investors, and became a consistent reference point in discussions about ad tech investment opportunities in key financial outlets.

Conclusion: Integrate Media Relations Into Investor Strategy

Media relations should not be an afterthought in investor relations strategy. In today’s fast-moving financial landscape, companies that strategically integrate media relations into their investor communications stand to succeed. For public companies, this is a vital lever to build credibility, attract investor attention and maintain momentum in the market. Whether through high-profile CEO interviews or consistent media outreach around earnings and growth milestones, media relations can effectively support investor engagement and market valuation, benefiting visibility, long-term market perception and shareholder confidence.