Today is World Giraffe Day.

Numbers of giraffe in Africa have dropped by almost 30% since the 1980s.

In previously prime giraffe territory, numbers have fallen by 95%. This World Giraffe Day is dedicated to Bringing Giraffe Back to Mozambique. Find out more and offer your support.

So what’s this with the AfricanFinancials giraffe? His name is Gerry.

We use Gerry in our branding to communicate that CEOs need to ‘see the bigger picture’ and ‘stick their necks out’ to communicate the long-term value of their company to investors.

Giraffes operate as a tower (when browsing), a journey (when on the move) and a herd (when congregated in groups). Communications teams in companies need to display tower capability to see above and be superior to those around them in communications governance.

Investors operate as a tower when browsing information on 615 listed companies on AfricanFinancials.com.

Investor relations is a journey which requires planning but is flexible enough to adapt to changes on the road. And the goal of investor relations needs to be communicated to and adopted by the workforce, as a herd, working towards collective IR outcomes.

Investor relations is a strategic management responsibility that integrates finance, communication, marketing and securities law compliance to enable the most effective two-way communication between a company, the financial community, and other constituencies, which ultimately contributes to a company’s securities achieving fair valuation and improving its overall reputation.

Just as giraffes spend most of their lives standing up, CEOs should spend most of their lives talking about disseminating their company’s long-term investment case. Across digital channels. Across the plains of Africa.

A bit like the management team giving birth to the annual report each year, giraffes give birth standing up. They only need five to 30 minutes of sleep in a 24-hour period. That’s somewhat like the management team during reporting and annual report season.