Creating Successful Annual Reports
The annual report is the ultimate reflection of your company's brand, in printed form. It should encapsulate your company's brand essence, personality, culture and strategy. It has a number of specific audiences but also can act as a flagship piece of communication—a marketing piece lasting and working for a whole year. The best reports also reflect the confidence a company has about revealing itself to the reader.
The statutory information, namely the performance figures, appears in every annual. Beyond that, your annuals need to tell a story—a compelling argument as to why a shareholder should retain their shares or an investor should put their money into your company. It also needs to clearly express your company's attitude to its future business potential, its take and actions on corporate and social responsibilities issues, and the part its staff plays in the company's performance.
In order to tell this story, your report needs a concept—a core thought or narrative. The strength of the words, images and graphics used will define how effectively that narrative comes across, and ultimately how memorable it will be to the reader. The story needs to start on the cover, to compel readers to open the book, and follow through the book with pace and intelligence. Your report also needs a clear system to help the reader navigate through the book and highlight the information they want, be it the financial highlights or the Chairman's statement.