Facebook brand image survives embarrassing float
FACEBOOK, the world’s largest social networking site, has made headlines with its IPO, which has since turned sour.
Earlier this month, founder Mark Zuckerberg announced that he would be leading a roadshow for Facebook in order to arouse interest on its soon-to-be available shares.
On 18 May, the day of the IPO launch, Facebook began trading with a share price of $38 each. That valued the firm at $104bn (£66bn), meaning the value of Facebook was greater than that of Disney, McDonald’s and Kraft. This was not only the largest debut ever achieved by an internet company, but it was also the third largest US IPO in history.
Buzz in the UK measured on BrandIndex has shown considerable uplift for Facebook since the start of this month as news of the IPO created a positive vibe around the brand. Buzz increased from -8 on 2 May to +6 on Monday. This 10 point increase has meant that for the first time in nearly six months, Facebook is on an even keel with its social media rival Twitter.
So some bright news for Facebook amidst the gloom of the interminable share price falls this week.
It will be interesting to see if the increases seen on Buzz can continue for the social media giant post-IPO and the stock price slide it has seen since then. What also remains to be seen is how the recent stock launch will impact on other key brand health measures for Facebook, such as value and satisfaction.
Stephan Shakespeare is chief executive of YouGov