Choosing the company that designs your annual report is more a science than it is an art. And it's a science that hangs on one very delicate thread: timing.
Without the right timing - that means allowing as much as seven or eight months for the glossy to roll off the presses - you might find yourself relegated to the hall of fame for annual-report blunders.
If your company is spending millions of dollars to reach shareholders every year, putting out an annual report will be one of the most difficult annual investor relations/PR tasks. Even though most corporations (69 percent, according to more than 100 National Investor Relations Institute members) are writing annual reports in-house, it's almost the reverse when it comes to putting on the design spin.
According to NIRI, Vienna, Va., a majority of companies are relying on outside design firms. Its 1996 survey on annual reports (based on the aforementioned responses from over 100 of its 2,000-plus members), 66 percent of companies use an outside firm to design their annual reports.
A design firm can ensure that a theme is conveyed; oversees the layout; guarantees that both the art and the copy speak volumes about your brand; makes sure the color separations are top-notch; manages the copy flow; and, often, directs the printing.
Although the Securities & Exchange Commission doesn't keep statistics on how many companies produce annual reports every year, 12,728 publicly held companies filed 10Ks (financial statements) during 1996, according to John Heine, SEC deputy director of public affairs. And there are a great many ventures putting out annual reports as promotional fodder.
A Well-Seasoned Report
Choosing a design firm and making sure they get your report out and on time (the SEC requires it hits before the annual meeting) can be the difference between whether you're a PR pro or a PR neophyte. "Choosing a design firm is crucial because what you're really doing is finding the right fit," says Ralph Berry, VP of communications and public affairs for the entertainment powerhouse Harrah's, Memphis. "You're buying a portfolio of known and effective designs and then finding the right concept for your different audiences."
But Berry points out that what makes the annual report process either especially exhilarating - or especially excruciating - is that it requires a lot of legwork and an investigative soul.
Berry says that because costs can vary significantly (from $50,000-$75,000 on the design side and from $180,000 to $300,000 on the printing end, not including mailing charges) and brands and companies can shift dramatically, what will make you the most effective is knowing how to be some direct the process. Since 1990, Harrah's has used The Graphic Expression Inc., a New York design house that works with Berry from August through early spring to make sure that the annual report is ready in March and can be mailed third class to save on postage costs.
Streamline with a Timeline
Clear and concise communication needs to drive the entire process because you'll often be the go-between, the one main point person making sure that the photographers capture the right images; that the right cover look is selected; that the right language is used; and that the audited financials arrive right on time - all, hopefully, without going over budget.
Remy Publishing Co., the Chicago-based firm that puts out the Investor Relations Newsletter, advises that unless you have an in-house resource or routinely use the same firm, it's wise to solicit proposals and hold "get-to-know" meetings with designers. Smart companies, even those with impressive annual reports, are tracking trends and looking for newcomers who might breathe some life into this ubiquitous document.
According to Tracy Fernandez, president of Fernandez Design, Chicago, mastering an annual report requires knowing what stages can be managed separately and what stages need to go on simultaneously. (Fernandez is the design house that put out the Independent Sector's 1996 annual report - a non-profit that relied on nothing else, for its cover, but a smiling child whose hands are outstretched to deliver the initial visual impact.)
According to Fernandez, here are some tips:
- Accept recommendations from the design house on the visuals - charts, pictures and illustrations;
- Request from the design firm input on binding and paper, and make your selections;
- Allow the design house to be the liaison for getting the photos and directing the graphics, unless you have the expertise to handle that;
- Allocate several months for the layout - the most time-intensive part because this is the phase when the concept is implemented and when the "pieces of the puzzle are put together";
- The report should be delivered in stages for review and editing and for fine-tuning;
- Review the report in its entirety twice - once with visuals and once without;
- Allot several weeks for the design house to make your changes and to refine the document; and
- After that, the design house will oversee electronic preparation, a critical stage because all the technical kinks and the production pitfalls have to be troubleshot. (NIRI, 703/506-3570; SEC, 202/942-0020; Fernandez Design, 312/944-7003; Remy Publishing, 312/464-0300; Harrah's, 901/762-8629)