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Biz News Companies Are Hot – Reuters Up Over 25% On “Approach”

Posted by AGORACOM at 5:48 AM on Friday, May 4th, 2007

Good morning to you all.  If you aren’t yet convinced that the web is dominating small-cap investing, then you need to explain to me why both Dow Jones and now Reuters are being courted for acquisition in the same week.

Dow Jones received a $5 Billion offer earlier this week and – just this morning – Reuters is up over 25% after announcing it has received a “3rd party approach”.

Whether either company ends up being acquired is inconsequential.  The fact of the matter is that two leading business news firms are being hunted and it has nothing to do with real-world circulation. Why? Reports as of May 1 announced that newspaper circulation and readership is plummeting (2.1% and 3.1% respectively over the last 6 months)

As such, the courting of Dow Jones and Reuters is primarily about securing their online properties today for a future that is going to be strictly digital. 

Embrace it, dive into it, do whatever you have to do to put yourself ahead of the curve.  Whatever you do, don’t deny it. 

Regards,
George

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Internet Advertising Records Are A Wake-Up Call For Small-Cap Execs

Posted by AGORACOM at 8:57 AM on Monday, April 30th, 2007

 

I may be posting this message at 9:30 AM but this post isn’t your daily wake-up call, this is your 2007 marketing wake-up call.  Internet advertising statistics clearly indicate a massive shift in the way marketers are reaching their audiences.  Specifically, Internet advertising revenues for 2006 are going to come in  at a record 16.8 billion, a 34% increase over the previous record of $12.5 billion in 2005.

If you are a small-cap company trying to reach new investors and new audiences, you have to take note of the figures and begin implementing your own online investor relations strategy. Why?  4 big reasons:

  1. 95% of small-cap companies have limited budgets, so making “every dollar count” is more than a catch phrase, it is a mantra.
  2. E-mail marketing/promotion is dead.  Stock spam is ineffective and will land you in a great deal of trouble with regulators.  Read my past post on this and watch the accompanying speach I gave at PIPEs 2006.
  3. Online marketing is the best and most cost-effective way to connect with your precise target market.  The broad scope of print and direct mail don’t even come close when you consider the fact you can use Google/Yahoo/MSN to target investors at granular levels.
  4. Once you’ve pinpointed a specific audience of investors, the viral nature of the web allows your message to proliferate even deeper and faster – and it is free because investors do all the work for you!

If you are looking for more support to back this up, look no further than the following comment from a director of PriceWaterhouseCoopers:

“The maturation of the Internet as an effective advertising medium is directly tied to its ability to deliver qualified audiences to marketers,” said Peter Petrusky, director, PricewaterhouseCoopers.

As many of you know, AGORACOM saw this trend coming last summer and announced the first ever Google IR programs for small-cap companies.  This will soon be expanded to Yahoo and MSN.  As of today, we’re spending over $25,000/month on behalf of clients (kudos to the early adopters) but this is still only scratching the surface. 

Given the fact we can target investors in sectors such as technology, metals, energy, medical, clean-tech, etc, etc. the sky is the limit as to how many companies can use internet marketing without ever overlapping each other.

Thanks and have a great day.

Regards,
George

p.s.  Annual internet advertising in Canada surpassed the $1 Billion mark for the first time and is climbing by more than 30%. 

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CON-SPACE Acquisition Is Accretive and Cheap Growth According To Fundamental Research

Posted by AGORACOM at 1:40 PM on Friday, April 27th, 2007

 

As many of you know, CON-SPACE (CCB: TSX-V) recently completed an acquisition that will take annual sales to more than $17M, with annual earnings excpected to be in excess of $2.5M. 

To this end, Fundamental Research analyst Brian Tang, CFA, has issued an update on CON-SPACE entitled “SSI Acquisition – Highly Accretive and Growth at a Cheap Price”, and dated April 20, 2007. For securities reasons, I can’t provide you with any details here, so I’ve provided a link to the research report for your review. 

CON-SPACE is an AGORACOM client – but nobody can pay me enough to lie about them. I love this acquisition.

Happy Reading and have a great day.

Regards,
George

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Continuum Resources Backed By Big Industry Names

Posted by AGORACOM at 11:46 AM on Tuesday, April 24th, 2007

One big factor all investors should look for in a new company are big names that have thrown their financial support behind it. Why? They conduct better due diligence than you or I could ever dream of.  As such, if they put their money where their mouth is, who are we to second guess them.


Today I stumbled upon an extraordinary company with some incredible names and ownership stakes backing them – Continuum Resources (CNU: TSXV) .  CNU is not an AGORACOM client but with this kind of ownership I’m going to pick up the phone.  Have a look at the following:


Sprott Asset Management holds 19.9% of Continuum’s outstanding shares, while Agnico-Eagle, the seventh largest mining company in the world, owns over 15%. JF Mackie, Joint Venture partner, Fortuna, and Pinetree Capital hold collectively 20%. Combined, these major shareholders own 60% of outstanding shares.


Hmmmm…Sprott, Agnico-Eagle, Pinetree Capital.  Who are we to argue?


A closer look at their home page provides a link to an inteview with Eric Sprott himself in which he states that Continuum is one of his top 4 picks (he was actually asked for his top 3 but provided 4, including CNU).  Unless, you have a better track record than Eric, CNU deserves a real hard look.  To this end, the front page also proves a link to a research report by Fundamental Research, rating CNU as a speculative buy with a target of $1.60.  CNU is currently trading around $.75, so it appears there is ample room to profit if you like the research and the big amigos that have put their money behind CNU.  I’ve included a chart below for your convenience.


Best,

George

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Yahoo Finance Small-Cap Show Features Gold and Market Predictions From Peter Grandich

Posted by AGORACOM at 12:38 AM on Tuesday, April 24th, 2007

There are many people who called for a bull market in resources such as gold, copper and uranium but only one (that I know of) that continues to call tops and bottoms in this secular bull market – Peter Grandich.  For example, when gold hit $735 several months back, Peter called a top and that gold would fall back to $640.  Recently, Peter correctly called for $540 – and a subsequent rebound. He was right again.  Same thing on the top in copper prices in the mid-$3’s.

The amazing thing is he made all these calls to the chagrin of his resource clients, some of which fired him, which cemented his credibility with me.  Not to mention the criticism thrown at him from invidual investors on discussion forums that were more interested in hearing good news rather than reality.  Ultimately, it turned out to be the best thing for clients smart enough to stay with him because more and more investors continue to register for his newsletter based on his track record.

Well, Peter is at it again in an interview on the Yahoo Finance Small-Cap Show (Expert’s Corner Edition).  Some highlights?

  • Gold will break through its current bull market high of $735;
  • If the Dow breaks through 13,000 on a strong move, Peter will publish and take a short position to capitalize on a subsequent steep drop;
  • Junior resource companies outside of North America are at their greatest risk right now;
  • Why Peter is bearish on base metals.

If you want unbiased market intelligence on the resources sector in particular and the equities markets in general, this is well worth your 10-minute investment…even if he is a New York Giants fan :-).

Regards,
George

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AGORACOM Surveys Over 150 Retail Investors At Calgary Cambridge Conference 2007

Posted by AGORACOM at 12:05 AM on Tuesday, April 24th, 2007

Good evening to you all and welcome to all our new “C” level executives and IRO’s that have joined our resource company newsletter. I would like to extend a special greeting to all of you who stopped by our booth at the Conference. This was our first show exhibiting with Cambridge Conferences and you can expect to see us there for many years to come.One of the most important things we accomplished at the conference was surveying investors in order to better understand their habits and preferences. As most of you know, we surveyed investors at the PDAC earlier in March and posted the results on our blog for you to review PDAC Survey

With more than 150 investors surveyed at the Cambridge Conference, we were able to extract some extremely valuable information that will be of great importance to all of us. The information will have different implications for each one of you, depending on your primary metal/mineral, market capitalization and online strategy. As such, though I’ve provided some tertiary comments following each of the results below, the final analysis will be your own.To this end, we’re happy to provide you with the following results:

Percentage of Small-Cap and Large-Cap Investors At The Cambridge Conference

  • Small-Cap Investors – 89.10%
  • Large-Cap Investors – 10.90%

Comment: Small-Cap Investors Are Much More Involved In Their Investments. As such, small-cap companies should consider means of communicating with them and motivating them beyond conferences. Conference calls and online tools should be explored.

Metal Or Mineral Most Bullish On

  • Gold – 42.7%
  • Moly – 24.55%
  • Silver – 20.00%
  • Uranium – 18.2%
  • Nickel – 4.5%
  • Zinc – 4.5%

Comment: Gold still dominates. Copper and Diamonds didn’t make the grade in Calgary – but the biggest surprise came from Moly, which didn’t even appear on the radar screen at PDAC, yet ranked #2 at Cambridge. Moly is on the move with resource investors.

Percentage of Investors That Use The Internet To Conduct Research

  • All Investors – 99.4%

Comment: Both small and large-cap companies should take note of this extreme number, which is consistent with PDAC yet even surprised us. A simple web page is no longer sufficient if you want to differentiate yourself from your peers.

Percentage Of Research Into Next Investment That Is Derived From The Internet

  • 50% of Research – 23.6%
  • 75% of Research – 22.7%
  • 90% of Research – 27.3%
  • 100% of Research – 25.5%

AVERAGE % OF WEB RESEARCH INTO NEXT INVESTMENT – 78.9%

Comment: Investors depend heavily on the web to find their next investment. The PDAC figure was also consistent at 77.5% so companies should take heed and significantly increase marketing and communications on the web. Search engines are the easiest and most effective method. In addition, tools such as webcasting and podcasting must be considered. In short, you need a Web 2.0 strategy.

Percentage Of Investors That Participate In Discussion Forums

  • All Investors – 48.2%

Comment: Small-cap companies need to pay attention to this number. At PDAC, the figure came in even higher at 65%. Though most CEO’s say “I don’t read forums”, 50 – 65% of your investors and potential investors use discussion forums. As such, you need to take control of your message by creating your own community. Otherwise, unscrupulous investors on unmonitored forums will have just as much impact on your share price as you do.

For Those Who Do Not Participate In Discussion Forums, The Percentage That Would Participate If Quality Control Measures Were Implemented

  • All Investors – 70%

Comment: This is incredibly significant as it indicates investors’ strong desire to collaborate online about their investments. This is consistent with the advent of Web 2.0 in which community and mass collaboration has exploded in non-financial fields. Combined with the number of investors that already use discussion forums, 85% of investors use or want to use discussion forums to communicate further about their investments. Companies that adopt online community tools early will be the big winners in the end.

CONCLUSION

The AGORACOM survey at the Cambridge Resource Investment Conference in Calgary has provided valuable information that companies need to review, consider and act upon. Putting our money where our mouth is, a big reason for starting this blog is to provide you with an ability to ask questions and comment on this topic and all future topics. By creating a community and collaborating between ourselves, we can all become better Web 2.0 communicators and marketers.

Thanks and have a great day!

Regards,
George

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Media Execs Are Terrified Of User Generated Content – Why Aren’t Small-Cap Execs?

Posted by AGORACOM at 8:40 AM on Saturday, April 21st, 2007

If you’re a small-cap exec or industry player that still doesn’t get the gravity of Web 2.0, then this Accenture report should jolt you right out of your chair.  The findings are best summarized as follows:

Media and entertainment executives see the growing ability and eagerness of individuals to create their own content as one of the biggest threats to their business, according to results of a survey released today by Accenture

Based on findings of the overall study, Accenture concluded “This is just the beginning for a rapidly changing landscape where the media content environment grows more fractious and the user gains more control and power”.

If media execs and their vast resources are afraid of what is coming - and now implementing strategies to both defend themselves and capitalize on the trend, the small-cap industry should be straight out terrified.  Why?  By failing to address this unstoppable trend over the next 2-3 years, you are giving up control of your message.  Smart, web-savvy groups will exploit the void and determine who shines and who stays in the shadows.

If you thought unmonitored discussion forums were a nightmare, you haven’t seen anything yet.  For example, next time you give a less than stellar presentation in front of a small group of investors at a conference, don’t be surprised to see your presentation broadcast and critiqued on the web the very next day.

The good news is that there is ample time to implement a game plan that keeps you in the game.  Make no mistake about it, a meaningful percentage of control will be taken by those that understand the creation and proliferation of User Generated Content (UGC) but getting in the game will – at a minimum – provide your company with checks and balances so that your message isn’t completely in the hands of others. 

On the flip side, an effective Web 2.0 strategy can put you in control of your message, create greater communication through your own online community and make you substantially stronger relative to peers that outright drop the ball. Given the fact I expect more than 50% of companies to drop the ball, your efforts will pay off in spades.

Time to wake up folks. UGC is coming and you need to prepare.

Thanks to Paul Kedrosky for the lead.

Best,
George

Posted in All Recent Posts, Online Investor Relations, Small and Micro-Cap Space, Web 2.0, 3.0, ... | Comments Off on Media Execs Are Terrified Of User Generated Content – Why Aren’t Small-Cap Execs?

Weekend Stuff – Colbert “Google Bombing” Is Funny and An Eye Opener

Posted by AGORACOM at 7:50 AM on Saturday, April 21st, 2007

Stephen Colbert is the funniest thing on TV since Johnny Carson. His combination of humour and pranks is second to none, including being banned by Wikipedia and affecting the outcome of online polls in small European countries (links within the main story below). 

His latest feat was to game Google by engaging in “Google Bombing” so that he would rank first for search results of “giant brass balls“.  Rather than explaining it all, I’ll let you read about it here because my real point to this post – besides givingyou some great weekend funny reading – is the fact that any concerted group of average people can still outsmart the most sophisticated algorithms and systems.  One can argue that Stephen Colbert is a rare example because he hosts a very popular show with millions of viewers – but here are a couple of examples of gaming the Google system by ordinary netizens.

Colbert’s Google bombing was both funny and an eye opener.  Hopefully most future cases will continue to be motivated by the need to make the rest of us laugh.

Best,
George

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Maple Leaf 2.0 Writes Up AGORACOM

Posted by AGORACOM at 12:17 AM on Friday, April 20th, 2007

We must be doing something right if respected blogger (and former National Post Senior Technology Reporter) Mark Evans found us worthy of a mention in his post about Canadian Investment Resources. 

I like that Mark identified the fact we aren’t looking to be all things to all people and focusing on the niche small-cap investment community. It’s also nice to see acknowledgement of AGORACOM as one of the rare Web 2.0 firms that doesn’t rely on advertising to sustain our business.

Thanks, Mark.  Much appreciated.

Best,
George

Posted in All Recent Posts, Online Investor Relations, Small and Micro-Cap Space, Web 2.0, 3.0, ... | Comments Off on Maple Leaf 2.0 Writes Up AGORACOM

Press Releases That Target Machines?

Posted by AGORACOM at 5:32 AM on Tuesday, April 17th, 2007

The Financial Times has a very interesting article about news pieces that are strictly being created for the benefit of machines that can pick them up and trade on them within milliseconds.  This isn’t futuristic stuff, it’s happening right now and sources such as Bloomberg and Thomson Financial are leading the way:

“Computers are now being used to generate news stories about company earnings results or economic statistics as they are released. And this almost instantaneous information forms a direct feed into other computers, which trade on the news.”

As of now, this tactic is being used exlusively in the realm of mega-cap stocks and hedge funds but I wouldn’t be surprised to see this kind of technology makes its way into the small-cap world where, unlike the mega-cap space, the majority of investors don’t pour over every headline throughout the day.  As such, the utility of such technology would hold even greater importance.  I can tell you that I would jump all over this as an investor relations tool if machines were zoning in on the small/micro-cap space.

Thanks to Paul Kedrosky for highlighting the piece.

Best,
George

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