Annual reports as really useful public relations …??
By Craig on Apr 5, 2010 in Blog guests & critiques, interviews, Communication tactics, Public relations
“Can annual reports actually be used to create a positive communication outcome, rather than just report and be ignored?” This was a question that generated a lot of interesting comment from PR professionals around the world, some of which I feature in this post.
The comment came about through a few LinkedIn group discussions in preparation for two posts my ex-colleague, Laura Fayers-Pooley, recently contributed to this blog. Laura’s posts addressed building the right foundation for an annual report and how PR pros can leverage an annual report to achieve business objectives.
One question that continually bugged me when I was responsible for the delivery of annual reports was: can they be used for anything meaningful in a communication/stakeholder engagement context?
They obviously exist because of regulatory reasons, but as anyone who has produced them knows, they take a huge amount of time and considerable financial resources to produce.
Below I feature some interesting, insightful, useful and humorous comments from the peers of Laura and I from around the world, culled from discussions on the Public Relations Professionals and IABC LinkedIn groups.
Annual reports as jokes
“I think it really depends on who the shareholders are. Institutional investors laugh at annual reports. They do their own due diligence and regard ARs as puff pieces. On the other hand, individual investors often consume ARs cover-to-cover. Many companies have gone to a 10-K wrap instead of a full-blown AR. In my view, the Chairman’s Letter is probably the most valuable aspect of an AR for most investors.
“One way to avoid the expense is to post on-line—the SEC as recently as last year posted new regs on the distribution of ARs.”
Senior Corporate Communications Professional
Annual reports using visual communication
“I started doing formal printed reports for my non-profit when I got here three years ago and they’ve been instrumental for development purposes.
“We make them so they’re highly visual, lots of pictures, graphics and big quotes, with all the financial stuff in the back. If you think of them like a yearbook, or like a scrapbook, they’re much more effective and flexible documents. You can see our 2008 [annual report] report and our 2009 report will be out in April.”
Communications Director at KaBOOM!
Dread-full or powerful tool?
“Alison, while it’s an elaborate report, I trust you know the value of it. Most of us communicators dread the annual report — we know it’s not getting read and is a waste of energy, paper and money. But if written and designed in a way your target audience wants, it can be a powerful tool. True, it must be costly to reproduce but I doubt you’d continue to do it if it wasn’t getting results.”
Communications Manager at Fulton County School System
Cultural change tool
“Many years ago in a former corporate life, we designed an annual report to communicate a cultural change both internally and externally, due to an acquisition.
“The CEO wanted to make a statement about being more about people than products. So the cover was a wrap around B&W photo of people from the two organizations, some in shirtsleeves, some in suits. The acquired organization loved it, as it reflected their old culture.
“Some people in the acquiring organization (where I worked) howled mightily at the image. I can remember clearly one senior executive exclaiming “That’s not who we are! We’re products, not people!”
“The message was very effective – we’re a new organization, and if you can’t make the adjustment, there’s no place for you here.”
Assistant Professor, Public Relations at Temple University
Potential unrealised
“I wish I had a ‘good news’ story for you! Personally, I love to flip thru and read annual reports that actually have stories about the staff and the customers of an organization… something to give you a feeling for the heart of the organization, what drives it (what is beyond the numbers).
“But as someone responsible for producing an annual report for a government agency, I’m challenged to convince anyone that it is worth it to go beyond the checklists of requirements and truly use it as a PR piece. It’s rife with possibilities untapped.”
Public Information Officer, Arizona State Retirement System
Give it a different name?
“Many years ago I put together the annual report for a convention and visitors bureau. I wrote the copy to make it meaningful to its members, such as putting stats of activities they were involved in and the efforts they made to make tourism successful in front of the book.
“I did get the occasional comment from a member that they read the report and learned something about the bureau, but I wouldn’t call the attempt a rousing success. I think calling it the annual report had a lot to do with it.”
Independent Writer and Editor
Creative? Annual reports?
“We actually have had success and advocate ARs be used as creative marketing tools. See Top 5 Ways to Maximize Your Annual Report as a Communication Tool at our indiblucreative blog.”
President & Creative Director, Indiblu Creative – Creative with a Cause
Idealism can hold sway
“I wrote major portions of five annual reports for a Fortune 100 and served as lead editor for each one.
“Based on comments from employees and shareholders, these ARs improved audience views of the company’s challenges throughout the year. As Pamela Vozza suggested previously, the reports told stories about the company. They included case studies about employee initiatives and features about how prominent clients used our technologies.
“I believe these reports were successes. Were they exceptions to the rule? I’d like to believe that all corporations see the AR as an opportunity to reach investors — but then again, I’m an idealist.”
Marketing & Technical — Writer & Editor
Late entry – eye-catching and engaging online annual report
Sara Goldberger brought this pretty hip online-only annual report from TNT to my attention. Definitely innovative and definitely worth a look!
What did you think of these comments? Can you share experiences of making annual reports a really worthwhile communication activity that engages stakeholders and helps organisations achieve business objectives? Can they be reinvented into something else, especially in the digital age? Can annual reports go into a totally social media-oriented format?
PS: I’d welcome you joining networks with me through my LinkedIn profile. Send me an invite!
PPS. And don’t forget you can subscribe to this blog via email or RSS at the top of the blog’s page, or Tweet about this post using the handy RT button, adding your own editorial two cents worth!
The trauma here may be the “annual” and not the “report.” The good things mentioned about annual reports are communications we should be, and presumably are engaging in continuously, not annually. Good investors aren’t, of course, waiting for information once a year.
Warren Levy | Apr 7, 2010 | Reply
Thanks Warren. Can’t disagree with you there!
Craig | Apr 7, 2010 | Reply
I have written many Government ARs and although they may be puff in some regards, they are also sometimes the only time a program is exposed to public scrutiny. There are however many filters before they reach the public.
Tim Entwisle | Apr 8, 2010 | Reply
A big thank you to everyone on this blog and Craig’s LinkedIn forums for their thoughtful contributions. There is certainly a body of experience out there!
One comment that stood out for me regarded the potential danger of attempting to re-invest the organisational story every single year come AR time. I 100% agree, and this is certainly not what I meant by using the report as a tool for story-telling.
My considered and final feeling on the AR topic is that they will continue to be a necessary task for the vast majority of in house communications professionals, and as such we should view them as an opportunity (and a burden, if we must!).
As professionals we should examine and consider the potential of every comms vehicle and tool to reach, influence or persuade our target audiences. The fact that the AR wouldn’t be our ideal method doesn’t mean we should dismiss the opportunity to reinforce hero tools and tactics.
Laura Fayers-Pooley | Apr 22, 2010 | Reply