Annual reports are comprehensive overviews of a company’s activities. In this blog series, we help marketers through the annual report design process from initial concept to published document.
Creating a key reporting document is no easy task. So we have developed this guide to share our insights and best practices.
At its core, an annual report is a reflection of the previous financial year’s performance. It shows existing stakeholders, potential investors and other interested parties how well your company has performed over the preceding 12 months.
But an exceptional annual report can be so much more than a sterile list of accounts.
It can be inspirational and unique. For when you create a powerful annual report, you differentiate yourself from your competition and enhance your sector standing. While your competitors produce functional reports, you have the opportunity to make a statement that will impress.
Furthermore, a successful report can attract talent to your company. When you include a well-written purpose statement, you connect people with your company’s vision and values. It’s a motivational tool and a talent lead all in one.
Companies with a clear sense of purpose are able to build more meaningful relationships with their customers, employees and shareholders.
They can inspire and motivate the people within their organisation, create higher levels of productivity and produce a sense of being part of something worthwhile and for the greater good.
An annual report offers a unique platform for communicating your purpose with a number of different stakeholders. From shareholders and employees to competitors and the general public, your audience will read your report for different reasons.
By displaying your purpose — why you exist — through effective storytelling across all pages, you will be able to increase brand trust and create deep connections across your audience.
“
An annual report is the perfect medium for:
A storytelling device, your annual report is a once a year opportunity to communicate fully with your shareholders, reflecting on past performance, planning future success and reinforcing company culture, values and purpose.
The unprecedented effects of the global pandemic have impacted marketing budgets across the board. Research by Gartner shows almost half of CMOs (44%) faced midyear budget cuts in 2020 as a direct result of COVID-19. As a consequence, many aim to build deeper relationships with existing customers and an annual report provides the opportunity to do just that.
By talking directly to already engaged stakeholders, you can bring financial information to life, educating, informing and inspiring confidence in your brand. By engendering trust in your existing audience, traversing a post-COVID world will become that much easier.
Successfully producing your report requires careful decision making and planning, and positive results can be achieved on even the most modest of budgets. In chapter 2 we look at the planning stage of annual report design…
Want to know the secrets of excellent annual report design?
Download our FREE eBook to discover:
✅ How to get the most from your report
✅ How to increase engagement
✅ Our proven design process
If you’re looking for an annual report design partner, JDJ Creative are the specialists. To find out how we can work with you to create exceptional reports, please get in touch.
Share
Sign up to our monthly newsletter to receive your guide to thought leadership design.
Sign up to our monthly newsletter to receive your guide to annual report design.
Sign up to our monthly newsletter to receive your guide to sustainability report design.
