Why annual reports are more important than ever

Builds trust

The transparency that annual reports bring builds trust with members, employees, investors, and customers. Whether you’re looking to communicate with government stakeholders on your lobby day or generate public interest in your vital work, annual reports show people why they should invest in, work with, and believe in your organization. They’re topical pieces that list your goals, milestones, and accomplishments. Like a well-designed website, an annual report helps bring your brand to a broader audience openly and honestly.

Builds your brand's reputation

More than just another document or report, a well-designed annual report unites your organization's strategies and messaging, creating a great marketing tool for showcasing your achievements. It’s creating a brochure, advocacy marketing tool, government relations collateral, and recruitment resource.

It can be optimized for your audience

The options are no longer just print. Even though the talk of the right paper stock, foil print, emboss, size, and everything else that comes with print that gets us excited, a digital or online interactive experience is another way it could be created. Whatever option you take, you are making a resource full of key messages and imagery that can be used throughout the year while simultaneously driving traffic to your website.

If you’re going to do it, do it well.

You need a report that sparks your reader's interest, aligns with your brand and messaging, and makes an impact. A thoughtfully designed and executed annual report ensures your audience is engaged and excited to learn more. Like a great meal, there are key ingredients to an impactful and successful annual report.

Storytelling

It should tell a story of the company’s year, the challenges, the achievements and what’s ahead.

Engaging visuals

Transforming complex data into clean and easy-to-understand graphs, charts, and infographics helps to avoid overwhelming the reader and, more importantly, not making it boring.

Brand building

From the colours and typography to the images used and the tone of voice of the report, it’s important that everything is on brand and works together.

Human touch

From testimonials and employee profiles to a message from the CEO, humanizing a report helps build trust.

Quality images

Genuine images of the business and the people who work there are vital to building authenticity and trust. They are also a great way to support the story you are telling and give the eyes a break from the content.

Take advantage of the medium

If it’s print, think of the feel and size of the experience; just like a suit, it reflects your brand and who you are. If it’s online or digital, take advantage of videos, animated charts, and interactive pieces that help enhance the user experience.

Sustainability

Particularly for print, choosing eco-friendly materials such as recycled paper, soy-based inks, and efficient design layouts communicates your commitment to reducing environmental impact.

Accessibility + usability

Design your report, ensuring it can be experienced by the broadest audience possible.

An annual report needs all these ingredients to make it impactful. Done right, it reflects well on the company, who it is, and how it does business. If some of these ingredients are skipped or rushed… well, we’ve all had a bad meal; you know the rest.