Last week I had the opportunity to connect for lunch with Amy Bohutinsky, chief marketing officer for Zillow. Amy has a big job. She is responsible for all marketing and communications for Zillow including branding, public relations, mobile and social media marketing, email, business development and advertising. She is also one of Zillow’s earliest employees and was instrumental in the company’s initial public offering (IPO).
Zillow made its debut on the NASDAQ on July 20, 2011. The IPO stock price was $20 per share. Today it trades at approximately $85 per share.
The impetus for my lunch with Amy was to get her take on lessons learned from the Zillow IPO for one of our clients whose company is considering this option. She generously shared her experience with me and agreed to let me recap it on our blog. Here are several of her suggestions:
1) Well before an IPO filing, work to raise the profile of the CEO with the financial press. In Zillow’s case, Amy and her team worked to do this for Spencer Rascoff so that the minute the S-1 became public, people knew him. For the IPO to be successful, Amy feels it is essential that companies lay this groundwork.
2) Determine what the IPO means and how to preserve the company culture after the IPO. The IPO provides the means to accomplish goals. It is not the end goal. The management team at Zillow spent a considerable amount of time thinking about the significance of the IPO as it pertained to the long-term business objectives of the company, and strategized accordingly.
3) Communicate with employees. Once you are clear on the objectives for the IPO, make sure you communicate thoroughly with employees so they understand the vision and significance of this step. Amy also recommends providing them with guidance around what they can and can’t share with their personal networks and via social media regarding the IPO.
4) Negotiate with the stock exchanges. In keeping with its long-term objectives, Zillow decided to forgo some of the traditional celebratory maneuvers that companies do on the day of their IPO. Since Zillow expected significant attention on opening day, Amy negotiated with NASDAQ to take advantage of IPO-day opportunities later, when the visibility would make more of an impact. For instance, she chose not to have Zillow heavily featured on the NASDAQ’s high-tech electronic displays the day of the IPO, but instead leveraged this benefit when Zillow held an industry event in Times Square. The result was that attendees at Zillow’s event could look out the window and see the company prominently featured on multiple high-profile electronic displays.
5) Remember that the images from the day you go public will live on forever. NASDAQ often showers the company making its public debut with confetti. Zillow executives said “no” to NASDAQ’s confetti machine because they felt it sent the wrong message to investors and employees. Amy and the Zillow team did not want so much focus on the IPO that they would lose sight that it was simply a stepping stone to a larger vision.
I know these tips are ones that I will refer back to in the months and years to come. I also look forward to seeing Zillow continue to grow and am grateful for Amy’s time and willingness to share her insight.