Situation Analysis
- In the summer of 2021, the government decided to list the shares of Enefit Green, a renewable energy company belonging to the Eesti Energia group, on the Nasdaq Baltic main list.
- The funds raised were planned to finance Enefit Green's solar and wind projects. The aim of investing in new wind and solar parks was to increase the production of renewable electricity and the company's revenue.
- Eesti Energia is owned by the people of Estonia, but the IPO (initial public offering) provided an opportunity for anyone interested to become a direct owner of an Eesti Energia subsidiary. This IPO was the first opportunity for the people of Estonia to invest in and be part of the development of a national energy company.
- Investing in Enefit Green, one of the largest renewable energy companies in the Baltic States, was a chance to contribute to transitioning to more environmentally friendly methods of energy production and to combat climate change.
- Despite being one of the leading and most diverse renewable energy producers in the Baltic Sea region and the largest producer of wind energy in the Baltics, Enefit Green's brand awareness was relatively low (independently from Eesti Energia).
- The global financial markets in 2021 were significantly impacted by the global COVID-19 pandemic.
Project Goals
- The main business objective of the project was to successfully carry out the offering of Enefit Green shares for the owner.
- The goal was to involve the largest number of retail investors from Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania in the Baltic market's largest public offering to date.
- For comparison, as of 2021, Coop Bank had 17,669 shareholders, Port of Tallinn had 17,524, and Tallinn Department Store had 15,160 shareholders.
- A communication-related side objective was to increase the brand awareness of Enefit Green, a renewable energy company belonging to the Eesti Energia group, and the favorable perception of the company and its activities among target groups through the IPO process.
Target Groups
- In preparing the project, we strategically defined the most important target groups and based on this, we created a more detailed mapping of target and stakeholder representatives (stakeholder mapping).
- Based on this mapping, communication was directed in later phases, including through direct contacts.
Message and Communication Strategy
- The communication strategy was based on objectives, mapped target groups, and a risk analysis compiled using the PESTLE method.
- We focused on messages for investors that showed that subscribing to shares brings benefits:
- Personal
- Social
- Environmental
An integrated marketing campaign under the slogan "Put wind and sun to work for you" was chosen as the overarching message for communication activities.
This slogan intrigues and speaks to the potential of green energy and the benefits of its development for oneself and nature.
Tactical Action Plan
Description of main activities and their goals:
- Preparatory activities - Strategic and tactical preparation
- Announcement of the stock plan - Creating a background, "waking up" target groups through the media
- Prospectus publication - Activating target groups for subscription
- Subscription period - Activating target groups, maintaining media interest, maintaining supportive background through targeted communication
- First trading day - Recognizing the choice of investors
This was an integrated campaign that encompassed all different internal and external communication channels, including earned, shared, paid, and owned media.
Project Results
- Enefit Green's shares were subscribed by 60,355 investors, which is the largest number of subscribers in the history of the Baltic stock exchanges.
- The number of subscribers represented nearly 5% of the population of Estonia, which is also known to be an unprecedented level of participation worldwide.
- Due to the very high demand, the issue volume was increased from 115 million to 175 million euros.
- The subscription amount exceeded the planned base amount by four times.
- The number of small investors on the Tallinn Stock Exchange increased about three times compared to the previous year, reaching 100,000 by the end of October.
- Enefit Green's IPO received massive media coverage in the Baltic States: at least 392 mentions in Estonia, 50 in Latvia, and 51 in Lithuania.
- The tone of media coverage was almost entirely positive or neutral.
- According to a post-campaign survey, brand awareness of Enefti Green increased to 67% after the campaign, compared to 21% in January 2019.
- The IPO campaign was most noticed in PR channels (44% of respondents).
- One in four employees of the Eesti Energia group participated in the IPO, totaling 900 employees.
- Enefit Green's stock was the most traded on the Nasdaq Baltic market in terms of both the number of transactions and volume in the first few months. The market value of the company's issued shares was therefore €1.069 billion as of the end of 2021.