IPO communications are becoming more complex as companies face a broader mix of institutional, retail, and international investors across increasingly fragmented media environments, according to a new report from NorthStar Insights. The report argues that while financial media, press releases, and investor roadshows remain important, companies also need to account for digital channels, different levels of financial knowledge, and market-specific expectations when preparing for a listing.Earning the Market’s Trust: How Communication Strategies Are Shaping Modern IPO Success examines IPO communications across North America, North Africa, East Asia, India, and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).The September 2026 report draws on the firm's advisory work across five markets, including the GCC perspective authored by Arth Malani, with further perspectives from Senior Advisor Mark Jackson on Hong Kong, and Director Seth Gagahina on creative storytelling. Market contributions come from Pranav Kumar of Alkimyx Global, Richard Mahony of KRG Advisors, and Sara Gad of Moharram & Partners. The Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) backs the research, with contributions from its President, Farzana Baduel. Its central finding is that there is no single communications model that works across every IPO market. Investor profiles, media environments, regulation, and cultural expectations all influence how a company needs to communicate before and during a listing.Retail participation is widening the IPO audienceThe report cites estimates that retail investors account for around 20 to 35 per cent of daily equity trading volume in the US, UK, and South Korea, rising to around 40 to 50 per cent in India and Mainland China.It also cites data showing that around 10 percentage points of US equity trading volume shifted from institutional to retail investors between 2010 and 2025.According to the report, this means companies increasingly need to communicate their business models, growth strategies, competitive strengths, and long-term vision to investors with different levels of financial knowledge and different information needs. Investor allocation structures can also differ significantly between markets. The report notes that retail investors typically receive around five to 10 per cent of IPO allocations in the US, while India's mainboard IPO framework requires a minimum 35 per cent reservation for retail individual investors in applicable offerings.NorthStar Insights says these differences affect both the information companies provide and the channels they use to reach investors.Digital channels are expanding alongside traditional financial communicationsThe report says financial media, analyst reports, press releases, and roadshows remain important, but now operate alongside social media, executive channels, podcasts, video, and other digital formats.It cites US investor research showing that 75 per cent of investors rely on brokerage or investment firms for information, while 29 per cent report relying on social media. YouTube is used by 30 per cent of investors overall, and 61 per cent of investors under 35.At the same time, only 40 per cent of investors surveyed said they were confident in their ability to assess the accuracy of financial information they encounter. NorthStar Insights says this makes clarity and accessibility increasingly important as IPO information reaches investors through a wider range of channels. The report also cites academic research linking greater media exposure and online investor attention with IPO outcomes.Companies receiving three or more pieces of media coverage in the month before their IPO had, on average, 206 per cent more analyst coverage and 127 per cent more institutional investors in their first year after listing than companies in the bottom third of media coverage. Separately, research cited in the report found that IPOs with high abnormal online search activity in the week before listing recorded average first-day returns of 17.64 per cent, compared with 11.73 per cent for IPOs with low search activity.The report presents these studies as evidence of the relationship between the information environment, investor attention, and IPO outcomes.(Source: telummedia)

NorthStar Insights, the senior-led, AI-powered PR and communications advisory firm, has appointed Stefano Hesse as Senior Advisor. Based in London, Hesse joins to strengthen the firm's reputation management practice, bringing more than three decades of in-house communications experience across some of the world's most consequential technology companies and the high-stakes transactions that defined them.The appointment comes as the demands on corporate communications during high-stakes moments continue to intensify. For companies navigating IPOs, acquisitions, and periods of acute regulatory and reputational scrutiny, the narrative a business builds around a transaction have become as consequential as the transaction itself. Fewer advisers can draw on direct, in-house experience of steering that narrative through moments of this scale. Hesse's career sits precisely at that intersection.Over the course of his career, Hesse built and executed global strategic communications programmes for large, complex organisations, including through the Google and Meta IPOs and a series of major acquisitions pursued by both. His experience spans the operational reality of leading communications from inside the business, where reputation is tested quickly and publicly, and where the quality of counsel in the room determines how a company is understood by investors, regulators, and the wider market.The appointment reflects where NorthStar's own growth is heading. As the firm deepens its reputation management practice for clients navigating IPOs, M&A, and complex cross-border situations, embedding senior practitioners with direct, in-house experience of those moments is central to how it delivers for boards and leadership teams.Arth Malani, Founder and CEO of NorthStar Insights, said: "The moments that carry the most risk for a business that is an IPO, an acquisition, a reputational challenge are the moments where senior judgment matters most. Stefano has sat inside some of the most scrutinised companies in the world and steered their communications through exactly these situations. That is a rare perspective, and it is precisely the counsel our clients need in the room. His joining strengthens our reputation management practice and reflects the seniority we are building into every engagement." Stefano Hesse, Senior Advisor at NorthStar Insights, added: "I'm delighted to be joining forces with NorthStar Insights as Senior Advisor. Over three decades in communications, including at Google, Facebook and eBay, I've built and executed global strategic communications plans for large, complex organisations, including through high-stakes IPOs and M&A, where the story a company tells is as critical as the transaction itself. That's exactly the lens NorthStar brings to its clients, and I'm looking forward to helping organisations build the resilient, credible narratives they need to navigate high-stakes markets and moments with confidence."The appointment marks the latest step in NorthStar's growth, strengthening the firm's reputation management and financial communications capabilities for clients across global markets. Stefano continues to lead Stefano Hesse advisory while working alongside us to strengthen our capabilities.