Zynga Can’t Dance at Market

There’s not much worse where PR goes than falling on your face at a debutante dance. Well, online gaming company Zynga’s IPO dance started off like the Oscars, but ended up with the new multi-billion dollar offering trading well below it’s $10 starting price.

According to the news from San Francisco, Zynga sold 100 million shares at the initial price, earning a cool $1 billion for the fledgling, but once trading reached $11, the bottom fell out according to Mercury News. Listed on the Nasdaq, Zynga shares started dropping almost as soon as they reached their peak, by 8 am Pacific time shares fell to $9.52 withing just a few minutes.

Trying to follow the trend of Groupon and other recent IPO’s, Zynga was expected to go gangbusters, projecting valuations of the company in excess of $20 billion by some. Meanwhile the media is not being so kind. The Telegraph headline read Zynga fluffs New York debut, saying the showing reveals that demand for such companies may not be so strong. But then, why did anyone think the maker of “FarmVille” and “Mafia Wars” would instill such confidence? Really.

And to cope with these – and other – issues, Zynga uses a number of Public Relations firms as consultants, including Brew Partners as a primary agency, MDC Partners owned Allison & Partners (for product PR) and they have a robust internal team.