The power of printed Annual Reports is not lost on some of the biggest corporations in the world. Digital has the power to connect with anything in the world and interact instantly and inexpensively. Yet there is such a deluge of digital information that makes it cumbersome to find what stakeholders are looking for in an already data-heavy Annual Report. For this reason corporate are increasingly taking to printed messages to maintain stakeholder trust and credibility. So what competitive advantage does a printed Annual Report offer that digital Annual Reports do not possess?
1. Print is a static medium and a printed Annual Report with signed financial data provides physical evidence. An MD’s message committed to print cannot be changed or denied and stakeholders trust it. People grow up reading textbooks at educational institutions. Research shows, Over 70% people trust print over digital. Print substantiates your business performance in a way that other media simply cannot.
2. Digital spaces are cluttered. You have to spare a lot of time to search and retrieve the messages out of the world wide web. Whereas you can access printed corporate reports at any time of your choosing. Furthermore, print adds prestige to your communication through innovative materials, design styles and embellishments, which lend it a collectible value that your stakeholders would love to peruse, increasing your goodwill.
3. Printed Annual Reports can now be made interactive with the help of Augmented Reality (AR) technology which lets an MD engage the stakeholders audio-visually like never before by transforming a print into a viewing screen. As more and more people actively engage with AR, it is transforming the way stakeholders interact with Annual Reports and this offers tremendous opportunities for positively influencing their perceptions about your business performance. 30% of AR users see the technology, especially info graphic based tools as enhancing their financial data consumption experience, a cost-effective virtual “evaluate before you invest” and “what other investors say” financial evaluation with the help of augmented Annual Reports. AR in print has been used more for entertainment and marketing communication, however its true potential lies in helping others with investment selection, benefits demonstration and flexible choices.
The above attributes make printed Annual Reports a powerful weapon in any corporate communication arsenal.