Making some comparisons to yesterday’s Annual Reports, deemed the premier document of the 1980′s/90′s, it had a full resource backing, a team of copyrighter’s, translater’s, indexer’s and editor’s all on hand to work it through from the first briefing to the last edit. Along with that a photography budget that you could run a household on, specialist print techniques, bespoke papers and case binding all par for the course, supplemented with a lenghty timeframe and large budget.
Fast forward to 2011… less resources, smaller teams, no time and smaller budgets. So how does the design house of 2010 offer an Annual Report service with the new criteria in mind.
This is our solution… effective communication through the design aesthetic is paramount and is always our cornerstone. The report is designed but the application points have changed, we have worked towards implementing tangible result markers for our clients and spreading to a larger/controlled audience.
Here are some of the areas we currently consider to support full exposure/accessability;
(1) W3C Website: With the move to online publishing and accessability guides, you can cover a lot of bases by producing a W3C compatible website for your Annual Report. This linked with an email campaign can spread the word to your entire database at the click of a button and offer you feedback on the viewers.
(2) Interactive eZine: As an alternative to a website or alongside, you might publish the report as an url based interactive ezine. This can include Video footage / Sound bites / URL links, etc within that format. Here is a sample to an ezine that we have developed that uses some static and interactive elements.
(3) Smartphone Friendly: Our eZines are all viewable through smartphones, yes even the iPhone.
(4) Mailserver Template: Produce a styled email template to send out through your mailserver to inform your database when the report is published. Get tangible results on who actually opened, find out their points of interest and follow up with more directed information bespoke to that viewer.
(5) Social Media: If you are considering publishing this through the social media networks (Twitter/Facebook/Linked In), Using information campaigns/facebook bespoke aps can all drive traffic to the website to view the published report (WC3 website or Interactive ezine) You can password protect or publish as a restricted report that is viewable to all.
In summary, there are good alternatives to costly print runs, so why not reduce the print run or if you can manage don’t print at all and supplement with a number of online applications, whether it be a W3C website or Interactive eZine and inform all of the stakeholders through a directed email or social media campaign. Engaging with your audience through the variety of online channels makes your report more accessible and shows your willingness to embrace today’s communication techniques.
It’s an opportunity to use less resources, less time, spreads to a wider audience and works with smaller budgets. If you want to have a detailed conversation about how this might work for you, just call.
