The Marketing Value of an IPO
I’ve always wondered, what is the true value, in marketing, of listing a company to go public? Between full page write-ups, segments on TV, and ringing the opening bell, there has to be some kind of marketing benefit to taking a company public.
Hear Me Out
Any time a company goes public, especially in an environment like today’s, it’s big news and for good reason. The economy sucks, IPOs not excluding ETFs have been in the dumps, and it seems that now is perhaps the worst time in American history to get a reasonable valuation. The good news is, though, that companies are sure to score millions of dollars in free publicity, something that can’t be ignored.
Buyouts Too!
Remember Google’s infamous purchase of YouTube? That purchase scored tons of headlines. It was all over TV from tech shows to financial programs. EVERYONE wanted to know about YouTube.
So many people heard about YouTube during the acquisition that 68 MILLION people typed in the wrong address Utube.com (A pipe manufacturer) instead of YouTube.com (the video site) in the month of the acquisition alone. Remember, that’s 68 million people who spelled it WRONG, imagine how many spelled it CORRECTLY. Billions? Yeah.
The owner of Utube.com went on to either sell or lease the web property, adding advertisements to capitalize on the people who just couldn’t spell. A massive victory, I’d say, probably earning more in one month of ads than the business earns all year. Of course, I could be wrong. The new site now operates on UtubeOnline.com.
So, What’s the Value of an IPO?
In terms of marketing, an IPO is incredibly valuable, probably to the tune of $50 million+ in one day marketing and even bigger for larger firms. You have to consider that all the financial networks will follow the story, and likely give it a few minutes on TV, worth hundreds of thousands. Financial magazines, newspapers, blogs will give it full stories. Local papers, especially in areas surrounding the business operations, will probably run full-page write ups. The company’s execs will ring the bell to start trading. The firm will be given a ticker symbol, and millions of traders will still learn it.
What Do You Think?
Give me a valuation. What do you think an IPO is worth? Leave a comment below!
