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Archives for 2010

Annual Reports, PDFs and Printing

unbalanced scalesI was interested to see that Nexxar have been assessing the size of Annual Report PDFs from DAX-30 companies.

Marco Schueller is right to point out that bandwidth is still an issue – though I think this continues to affect desktop-internet to some extent, not just mobile-internet. In many areas here in the UK, at least, broadband is still only up to 2MB max, not the superfast 20MB version available in cities. And in a very few places, broadband is still not available at all.

The large file-sizes that he points out (10MB-11.6MB) would indeed take a while to download.

Of course, downloading the entire file isn’t always what visitors want to do. Many companies offer indexed versions, so that the desired parts of the document – such as the financial statements – can be selected for download. Some offer the option to add individual sections or pages to a print/download basket, or to be collated into a single PDF; usually this is from within the online annual report. BMW is an example of this service; I was intrigued to notice that BMW suggested additional sections of the report that might be of interest to me, along the lines of Amazon’s well-known cross-marketing software.

A few – very few – offer a printer-friendly version of the complete annual report (see Standard Life, for example), which seems like a good idea. After all, we don’t really need the decorative images, although they do help to convey the corporate brand and messaging. One option that Deutsche Post uses is a print-page facility, so without the background and purely decorative graphics, but with the additional option to print with/without images. (Of course, it would take a long time to print the whole report like this, so a print-whole-report facility like this would be great).

Does this mean a company should come up with three versions in addition to the online annual report? One for hard-copy glossy print, one lightweight for download and one for individuals to print out on their desktop printers? Or more: large-print, audio, braille…

Once the hard work of developing the annual report is done, I think a lightweight version and a printer-friendly version should be relatively straightforward. I’m excluding the online annual report here; I know that’s a significant piece of work. And I can see that versions in alternative formats are also a significant exercise. But I think that providing multiple options for the reports serves the needs of different visitors, such as those who want:

  • to download the full-on beautiful version with lots of images and graphics
  • to download quickly to browse off-line
  • to download and print the information (no images)
  • to download key sections only
  • an accessible version
  • and not forgetting those who want to order a hard copy.

And that, surely, is user-friendly.

An Employer Resume?

 

Resume 1

The other day I heard a story on my local public radio station about the virtues of having a two minute verbal resume.  It’s an interesting idea—especially because it derives from a very realistic observation:  Very often, the interviewer has not read the candidate’s resume, or at least doesn’t remember much about it.  Therefore, the recruiter will often invite the candidate to “tell me about yourself.”

Performance consultant Scott Peek recommends a formula for responding, which I’m summarizing this way:

  1. Restate your name (just in case).
  2. Spend 45 seconds recapping your relevant experience.
  3. Spend 45 seconds highlighting how your experience and abilities fit the company or position.
  4. Use the last 15 seconds to ask a question that will open a conversation with the interviewer.

Seems like a pretty good technique, speaking as one who has floundered through more than one interview.  In a way, the verbal res is sort of an elevator speech for “Brand Me,” but it also has a nice tennis rhythm that delivers the ball back across the net.

What really struck me in thinking about resumes, however, is that candidates have them, but companies don’t.  I suppose this practice reflects the presumed relationship between employer (superior) and employee (inferior) –but that view seems a bit antiquated in the days of “talent acquisition.” So I am going to float the idea of an employer resume.

After all, why not?  The whole idea of the Careers site and the employer brand is to convey a value proposition.  Condensing that proposition into a resume format might be a stellar strategy.

I think job-seekers would be very interested in a link or tab on the website labeled “Our Resume” or “Our CV.”  The page could look just like a typical candidate resume, listing the company’s accomplishments, experience, objectives and vital statistics.  The information would be presented from the viewpoint of what job-seekers want to know about prospective employers—which means including achievements in promoting employee satisfaction, diversity, career development, and so on.  Then visitors could download a PDF copy.

The Employer Resume could also be put in recruitment packages, handed out at job fairs, emailed to prospects, and made available via the corporate weblog, Facebook page, et cetera.  In short:  An all-purpose PR piece that not only summarizes the employer brand but also signals a distinctive approach to candidate relationship management.

I haven’t seen any examples of corporations using this device, and a fairly thorough search came up with nothing. (There are some examples of “company resumes” used by small companies for business-to-business sales, but nothing oriented toward recruiting.) Perhaps there’s a perception that big companies are already well known to the public, or that their story is just too huge to be captured in a summary format.  But most companies are not well-known as employers, and all stories can be presented effectively at a very high level—it just requires a little creative effort.

Love to hear comments!

2010 – The Year of Brand Transparency, Honesty and Trust

brand_honestyEarlier this month, I wrote an article that was published on Entrepreneur.com where I listed 10 marketing trends for 2010.  The top trend on that list was transparency and trust (which includes honesty), and that trend should define 2010 for brand strategy.

The question is – will companies actually follow the trend like they should?  Some will, but unfortunately, more will probably not.

So why are transparency, honesty and trust so important for brands in 2010?

It’s simple.  Consumers aren’t naive anymore.  There was a time when consumers believed the marketing messages in ads.  There was also a time when many people believed in political propaganda, but thankfully, with advances in communications and technology, more people than ever can see through those skewed messages.  The same holds true with advertising claims.

Banks have collapsed, economies are faltering or failing, auto manufacturers took multi-billion dollar bailout packages, and many consumers have lost their last hopes that the pie-in-the-sky claims made in ads are even remotely true.

And that’s why transparency, honesty and trust are so important for brands in 2010.  Give people something to believe in.  Create expectations for your brand in consumers’ minds that they can believe and rely on.  Then, deliver on those expectations every time and in every customer interaction.

Make them believe in your brand through truth, not veiled propaganda.

Yes, I’m a copywriter and I’m saying this.  It might seem like a contradiction to say I’m a copywriter and promote a brand strategy of transparency, honesty and trust in 2010.  However, successful copywriters, brand managers, and marketers understand that the world has changed thanks to communications and technological advancements like Twitter, social networking, online video, and more.  Brands that stretch the truth are called out faster than ever and word of a brand’s dishonesty will spread faster and farther than you can imagine.

Of course, there are exceptions to every rule, and you need to analyze your brand, audience, competition, and so on before you modify your own brand strategy for 2010.

In fact, that’s a great area for discussion here on the Corporate Eye blog.  What brands, industries, categories, etc. would fare better to avoid embracing the transparency, honesty and trust trend?  Can you think of any?  Leave a comment and share your thoughts.

Image: Flickr

What Makes for Effective Investor Relations Sites? Part 11: Make Your Interim Financial Results Easily Accessible

If the heart of understanding a company is the ability to parse the financial statements, then the lifeblood of the company is the data flow about current results. The smooth and orderly flow of information from the company to investors should be a given, yet it is surprising how often one has to hunt for all of the relevant information. The press release will be in one spot, the conference call replay another and governmental filings yet another.

A good practice for investor web sites is to have a page where everything concerning the most recent results is in a single spot. Because different web sites choose to label information differently, this avoids investor frustration as they try to track down all the pieces of financial information they may want.

BT results page
Click to enlarge

One site that does a good job of this is BT, the telecommunications company. As can be seen in the screenshot on the right, their Results & Presentations page gives investors access to the news release, webcast, slides and KPIs (Key Performance indicators) all in one spot.

A couple of things set this page apart: first, not only can you view the webcast, but you can also download a transcript. Although transcripts do not give investors some of the flavor of management’s approach to the results, they can be reviewed more quickly than the process of viewing an entire hour’s worth of presentations. Second, transcripts are searchable for key phrases, so if in following a company you are particularly concerned with headcount or product returns or customer satisfaction levels, you can quickly search the transcript to see if the issues were addressed, again without sitting through the entire presentation.

mands-sm
Click to enlarge

Another site that does a good job of consolidating information about interim reports is Marks and Spencer. The approach is slightly different, grouping the information by year, but the type of information is clearly labeled and easy to find. Of note on the M&S site are video interviews with the chairman and the Group Finance and Operations director, providing additional color on the interim results.

These are good examples of web design that thinks in terms of “What does the investor need to know?’ rather than “What do we have to disclose?”

In this series:
Previous post: Provide graphs
Next post: Debt information

Introducing the Online Behavioral Advertising Privacy Icon

behavioral_advertising_privacy_iconIn mid-2009, U.S. advertisers came together in an attempt to ward off threats by the Federal Trade Commission and consumer advocacy groups against online behavioral advertising targeting claiming the process was a violation of individuals’ rights to privacy.  A group of 12 companies that represent some of the biggest advertising spenders in the world, including Google, Microsoft, General Electric, and more, developed a document listing seven self-regulatory principles in an attempt to appease the opposition (you can view the 48-page PDF here).

Part of the plan those companies came up with was to create an icon that would be used in online ads that are served based on behavioral data to fully disclose to consumers why they were seeing these ads.  This month, the icon was unveiled and reported by The New York Times.  You can see the privacy “i” icon pictured above.

Individuals who see this icon in an online ad can click on it to learn more about the process used to serve it to them, including the use of behavioral data.

There are two sides to this story.  First, consumers have a right to dislike behavioral segmentation.  As a consumer, I can see how it can be construed as an invasion of privacy.  On the other hand, marketers and brand managers are likely to become more dependent on behavioral targeting once they see the boost in conversions it’s likely to deliver.

The simple truth is that demographic segmentation lost much of its allure years ago.  In fact, I wrote an article about that exact topic in November 2007 for branding and marketing expert Drew McLellan’s popular blog, Drew’s Marketing Minute.  The post was called “Is Demographic Segmentation Dead?” and discussed how demographic segmentation was already being usurped by behavioral segmentation.

In other words, the shift from demographic to behavioral targeting in online advertising is not new.  It’s been coming for years, and the question now becomes — will advertisers find themselves faced with regulations preventing them from doing the behavioral targeting they so desperately want to use or will self-regulation allow them to continue without interference from government regulation?  Only time will tell.

What do you think?  Leave a comment and share your thoughts.

The January Wrap-up

Russian Ice Aquarium

I had so much fun doing the end-of-year posts that I want to repeat the experience regularly.  So the Monthly Wrap will (a) cover short things that didn’t fit elsewhere, and (b) update things that did.  Here’s the debut:

An update on “the Twitter experiment.” A couple of months ago, in the post HR Superstars: A Handy Guide, I promised to follow everyone on the iCMS list of “21 HR Leaders in Web 2.0 You Must Follow” and report on the experiment.  I duly created a Twitter account and set up a TwitterDeck column to show every superstar tweet.  However, after a couple of days I decided that only 16 of them offered enough substantive content (as opposed to personality chat) to be relevant, so I trimmed a bit.  I did not tweet from this account at all for the first six weeks, but it was found by a few other tweeters, and I’ve followed back those that seem to offer interesting content.

The interim findings: Quality and quantity are not mutually exclusive, but they often do not go together.  A couple of frequent tweeters are consistently interesting, a couple are not.  On the other hand, tweeting infrequently does not necessarily lead to better tweets!  And on the third hand—I realize even more than ever that everyone’s personal filter is set to a different version of what’s meaningful/interesting/useful.   So I’m still working on how to draw general conclusions from the HR/Recruiting Twitter stream.  Next step in the experiment is to go beyond the original list and see who else is rippling this particular pool.

Unintended Messaging strikes again. I’m expecting this to be a monthly feature!  In January, the most striking example I encountered was on the website of a mid-sized professional services company.  I think the page was labeled “Executive Leadership” but it could have been some close variant of same.  Photographs of the leadership folks were arranged in three columns and (let’s say) eight rows.  On the bottom row were three women.  You guessed it—the only three women.  Title-wise, they were indeed at the lowest level of the leadership hierarchy, which was arranged from President/CEO/Etc. down to Director of Marketing/HR/Whatever.

How to avoid this unfortunate image, in which women appear to be crushed under a heavy stack of men?  My first thought is alphabetical arrangement.  Second would be some type of grouping that would allow the women to be scattered in among the men.  For example, put the top four guys in a C-level group, then break up the others into functional groups such as operational, people, or whatever would work.  I’ll bet there’s a way . . .

What are they thinking at Kashi? It’s nothing to do with Careers directly—but a gaffe in corporate communications will eventually rub off on the employer brand.  Short version:  Those of us longing for Kashi waffles, and finding none at the store for several weeks, went to the Kashi website for insight.  Buried on a deep page was a small note saying:  “We are experiencing delays in production due to repairs and equipment upgrades at our waffle facility. We expect to be fully stocked in early 2011 . . .”

Yes, you read that right:  2011.  And insult is added to injury by another post from the company describing this year+ gap as a “temporary shortage.”

A year’s lapse in the availability of a popular product line is really huge from a business perspective.   But even more problematic is letting people wonder for weeks (and maybe forever) about the missing waffles, because the automatic assumption when a product line disappears is either “unpopular product” or “troubled company.”  A little more research discovered no signs of clarification via press release or Facebook page.  (In case you think I shouldn’t be scolding a small-but-earnest natural foods company—let us not forget that super-giant Kellogg bought Kashi in 2000.  And Kellogg can’t help out with these waffle woes???)

That’s it for January.  Another Monthly Wrap feature:  The illustration is just for visual enjoyment.  See more ice wonders at EnglishRussia.