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News Release from: dsicmm | Subject: Printed annual reports
Edited by the Printingtalk Editorial
Team on 13 March 2007
Annual Reports In Print Are Vital
Marketing Tools
Thirty-five per cent of UK top 1000 companies are now using their annual reports and quarterly statements as key marketing documents, a study by Corporate Mailing Matters (CMM) Group has revealed.
Thirty-five per cent of UK top 1000 companies are now using their annual reports and quarterly statements as key marketing documents, a study by Corporate Mailing Matters (CMM) Group has revealed That compares to 27 per cent of companies using financial performance reports for marketing purposes in late 2004 when the research was carried out for the first time
This article was originally published on Printingtalk on 13 Mar 2007 at 8.00am (UK)
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CMM also believes that the trend looks set to continue, with 54 per cent of respondents to its survey expecting the convergence between financial reporting and marketing to grow over the next year, with the remainder expecting it to remain the same.
No-one that took part in the study expected a decline added CMM.
The report produced from the survey revealed that increasing pressure from the growing regulation to invest in financial reporting standards compliance is encouraging companies to look for an additional return on investment from what they spend on producing such reports.
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In the UK, the Companies Bill (due to come in to force during this year) has unexpectedly increased corporate reporting demands to encompass transparency over transactions and relationships with key suppliers, as well as the company's own accounts.
CMM said that one way in which listed companies in the UK are managing the increasing cost of reporting and regulatory compliance is to utilise their financial reports to also fulfil a marketing role.
Inspiration for the move has come from the expansion in the number and type of shareholders in the typical UK corporation.
Corporate Mailing Matters said that its research revealed that just over a third of UK listed corporations are 'highly effective in using their annual reports and quarterly statements as key marketing documents'.
However, CMm believes that as only a third of UK listed companies are successfully integrating financial reporting and marketing messages it provides a cause of concern.
The variation between different sectors when it comes to integrating marketing with financial reporting is also significant, added CMM.
Industries traditionally strong in direct marketing are most developed in bringing financial reporting and marketing together, including retail (41 per cent of survey respondents), telecoms (39 per cent), automotive (37 per cent) and banks (37 per cent).
Businesses that either have less frequent customer contact, or less brand interest are below average when integrating marketing with financial reporting, including utilities (33 per cent), insurance (33 per cent), travel (31 per cent), oil and gas (31 per cent), and hotels and catering (29 per cent).
Corporate Mailing Matters added that it is clear that integrating financial reporting with key marketing messages is a mainstream activity.
However, its research finding that 65 per cent of companies do not manage to perform that integration successfully is a cause for concern amongst UK listed companies.
Technology, which can help deliver appropriate messages to different shareholder groups is readily available, with database software, print on demand and variable data mailing, for instance, so no company can really plead an inability to segment and target investor communications.
Yolanda Noble, chief executive of CMM Group, commented: "There is an intimate connection between a company's brand reputation, its bottom-line performance and its share price.
Therefore, there is little room for any divergence or inconsistency between marketing and financial reporting.
Investors who are also customers are an important and growing audience to whom a combination of investor relations and marketing messages need to be directed." And Noble continued: "Moreover, the application of creative marketing and direct mailing techniques to such key IR activities as proxy voting improves response rates and helps overcome shareholder inertia when management is actively looking for investor support for new strategies.
When marketing techniques are intelligently applied, merger and acquisition activity can be managed more smoothly, so combining financial reporting with today's marketing methods has become an imperative.".
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