
Launch of new company and new product
RiTract was formed in September 2003, with the purpose of acquiring and aggressively pursuing the development of disposable, auto-retractable, safety syringe technology. As the technology was new and specialised it was important to gain positive media exposure ahead of the public share offer.
RiTract Managing Director, Rupert Northcott explains, “We engaged Taurus to explain the technology to potential investors and other shareholders. We also needed a burst of publicity prior to the IPO to raise awareness of Ritract as an investment opportunity.”
“I had previously met Sharon and so when this venture came along I gave her a call. She was very keen to help us launch the company at the pre-IPO phase.”.
Taurus met our tight deadlines
From the initial meeting Taurus put together an extensive information campaign within a matter of weeks. This included:
• Background and information kits on the company, its technology and key executives
• Newsletter keeping investors up to date with key developments in the company
• Media campaign based on national television news and editorial meetings with key media such as The Australian, Financial Review, Sydney Moring Herald
In addition Taurus introduced RiTract to a specialist IP advisory service that helped to fine tune and execute RiTract’s information flow to institutional investors and
analysts.
“I chose to work with Taurus because I was able to brief the Principal of the agency which I enjoyed doing. It was great to be able to deal with the decision-maker in the company,” says Rupert.
Successful exposure across TV and newspaper
“Taurus helped us come to terms with the fact that we needed effective PR and marketing to get our IPO away.” says Rupert.
“Our product was unknown but had some promise. Taurus basically hit the papers and national TV, plus a variety of other PR activities. The bottom line is we managed to get some good exposure on television and in the newspapers.”
“We had some pretty unreasonable time requirements and Taurus was able to commit to meeting those deadlines.”
Rupert Northcott, Managing Director, RiTract
Taurus is very attentive
For Rupert, Taurus’ personalised service was also of great value. “My impression of Taurus was that they were very attentive,” he remarks. “Someone always kept me well informed of what was going on and when lots of things are happening at once it’s important to get quick updates.”
Commenting on the results for RiTract, Rupert is unequivocal. “Put it this way, we were heavily oversubscribed on the IPO – so something in the mix worked,” he says.
Additionally, RiTract’s IPO was rated in The Age as among the ASX’s Top 3 floats for 2003 – a remarkable achievement for a start-up firm launching a new idea in medical equipment.
“The bottom line is we managed to get good exposure on television and in the newspapers.”
Rupert Northcott, Managing Director, RiTract