Brands that are also public companies have a new tech tool to help them engage individual investors on a more personal level. And it comes from a PR firm in Grand Rapids.

Tiicker is available for download from the Apple App Store today. It is touted as a way for individuals to invest in the brands they love, and to be rewarded for being an investor.

The new tech tool, an innovation for investor relations (IR) professionals, was developed and launched by Lambert, a Grand Rapids public relations firm with a long-time specialty in investor relations. Lambert Founder and CEO Jeff Lambert spoke about Tiicker with PRWeek for its Dashboard newsletter, a bi-weekly offering of articles about emerging communication technology (registration required).

Lambert notes that such direct and personal communication between companies and individual investors have often been set back by legal concerns, but that there is significant potential for marketing and investor relations teams to work together. The app is a method to convert consumers to investors and vice versa.

In fact, there is research that says many investors make stock purchase decisions based on their own consumer experience, or that of personal acquaintances. The consumer loyalty programs of punch cards, apps, email coupons and more have been around for years. Technology now makes this model possible for investors.

There may be multiple upsides to such a technology, including increasing outstanding shares, driving share price, converting day traders to buy and hold investors, and making consumers and investors complementary vs competitive publics to brand managers.

Whatever happens, it will be interesting to watch how this latest form of communication technology affects a specific area of public relations practice.