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Case Studies
OnCard International Limited
Growing investor awareness to support capital raising
Background OnCard International Limited set itself an ambitious goal to become the number one card marketing, issuance and management company that issues and manages loyalty, reward and payment card programs across the Asia Pacific.
OnCard International recently entered a significant growth phase following a number of strategic acquisitions. It is the dominant player in China, having one of three licenses to operate in Shanghai, and a licence to issue cards in Nanjing. The company has seven million cards under issue supported by more than 5,000 merchants in Australia, China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, New Zealand and Singapore.
Sefiani was engaged to devise and manage a media and investor relations program for OnCard International in order to raise the company's profile to support its $7 million capital raising. At that time, the company's share price was trading at 16.5 cents per share and the Board set a target for the company’s share price to rise to 40 cents within three months' time.
The Strategy Key to the communications task was to build investor awareness and interest in OnCard International, particularly among investors and brokers, through positive media stories and recommendations from brokers and private client advisers to support the capital raising.
As part of the strategy, Sefiani assisted in building the media profile of Peter Abotomey, Chairman and Chief Executive of OnCard International, and positioned him as an expert in the loyalty, reward and card payments industry, whilst highlighting his vision and expansion plans for the company over the next few years.
Considerable effort went into providing background briefings to selected financial journalists from the Australian Financial Review, AAP, Qantas Business Radio: Talking Business, Sky Business News and leading business commentator, Alan Kohler's Eureka Report. A number of presentations were also conducted with brokers and potential investors in Melbourne and Sydney highlighting the company’s current successes and in particular, its exciting growth opportunities in China and across the region.
To sustain media and broker interest around the capital raising period, communications were built around key announcements: OnCard International having signed its first material contract for a hotel loyalty program in China; announcing a joint venture with a leading fuel loyalty and reward operator in New Zealand; and its half year results which sought to position the company as a vehicle through which investors could gain exposure to a fast growing dynamic sector with good exposure to Asia.
Results Over a six-week period, journalists became increasingly familiar with OnCard International and were impressed with its growth strategy and current successes. Positive media coverage was gained as a result of the media interviews, with the company seeing its share price dramatically rise by 280% in a two month period, from 16.5 cents to 63 cents, well ahead of its three-month timeframe in achieving this goal.
In addition, the broker meetings attracted wide support from the market, with feedback indicating that investors see OnCard International as a forward thinking and dynamic company with a smart strategy and considerable growth potential.
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