It’s getting close to that time of the year, where Annual Reports inundate the mailboxes of investors and other interested parties.
There is important information to be conveyed in these reports, otherwise, what’s the point of spending time and money writing, designing, printing and sending them out?
Unfortunately, most annual reports tend to be archaic and almost worthless, with an abundance of technical and business jargon and vague mission statements.
Annual reports exist to make a company transparent. In our days of faceless corporations and automated communications with machines, more and more are consumers looking for transparency and honesty. Once annual reports contain accurate and serious communications about the state of the company to become transparent, there is another opportunity in spurring good will about your company…
Treating your annual report as if it were a critical aspect of your marketing.
Take, for instance, Austria Solar’s Annual Report. To reflect their company offerings, Austria Solar created an annual report with special ink that could only be read when exposed to the sun. This innovative ink and paper technique created a buzz and garnered much public attention for this company, raising brand awareness drastically.
See for yourself how this works:
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vATSkM6Qf6Y?rel=0&w=560&h=315]
Why not make creative use within the space of annual reports? You already have to print and distribute it anyways, might as well add just a little more effort and create a promotional piece out of it!
For more examples and inspiration, check out this AdAge article.
Have you ever produced an annual report out of the ordinary? Let us know!
By +Maggie Young
