Successful whole
Corporate Publishing Baloise, the banking and insurance group, is taking a new and unusual approach with its latest annual report.
Corporate Publishing Bâloise, the banking and insurance group, is taking a new and unusual approach with its latest annual report.every year, the makers of annual reports try to stand out from the crowd. And what is the best way to achieve this? With great pictures, daring layouts and creative gadgets. The content often falls by the wayside. But shouldn't the aim be for annual reports to be read? To achieve this, the content must be relevant to the target groups: texts and images should say something in common - beautiful symbolic images can be dispensed with. This is a requirement that is not so easy to realize - especially as the report is usually already out of date before it is published. Corporate publishing offers a journalistic and documentary approach here.
Baloise as a workshopThe people in charge at the banking and insurance group Baloise considered how the annual report could not only be a unique design highlight, but also convey relevant content about the implementation of the business strategy to the various target groups. The basis for this was an analysis of the target groups. The aim was to find out which group of people is important and what they expect from the annual report. It turned out that financial analysts and journalists want to know more about what is actually happening in the company.
The task now was to make the implementation phase explainable and tangible. External observers were to show how the strategies were implemented in the company.
Authenticity and transparencyIn terms of content, transparency has been improved. A journalistic rather than promotional tone was used to lend the stories about the business strategy the necessary authenticity. External observers were present at meetings and workshops. Limits were only set where business secrets were involved. In this way, the greatest possible transparency was achieved - readers gain an authentic insight into everyday life at Baloise.
The images go hand in hand with the text. Documentary in nature, they complement the content and create an overall picture. They also document independence. They are neither interchangeable nor copyable, but "100 percent Bâloise".
The example of Austria shows the desired path: At a management meeting, the participants discussed implementation measures for the 2005 customer offensive. The journalist and photographer took part. After a short time, they were no longer perceived as outsiders. As part of the workshop, they experienced everyday life 1:1 - real, up close and without censorship. Only in this way was it possible to write an authentic report and obtain real pictures.
Involvement of top managementIt is essential that this approach is accepted by management, which was involved at an early stage. A rethink was necessary in terms of addressing problems or sticking points. This is the only way to credibly communicate the implementation of the strategy. In order to avoid empty phrases and run-of-the-mill statements, it was necessary to take a stand and speak plainly. For example, in the credo of the Chairman of the Executive Board, Frank Schnewlin, in which he clearly puts his thoughts on paper.
This approach also gives the annual report greater significance and weight within Baloise. Projects become tangible, and the work of individual employees or small teams is no longer just a mention in a subordinate clause. The inclusion of the national companies strengthens mutual trust and makes it possible to learn from each other. At the same time, the annual report is an incentive for other project teams, because it shows that only the sum of the individual parts makes a successful whole.
> Dominik Marbet is Head of Corporate Publishing at Baloise (Basel) and is responsible for the annual report, among other things. Baloise's partner for concept and design is the corporate publishing agency Primafila (Zurich and Munich).
The content of annual reports must be relevant to the target group.
Dominik Marbet
Baloise as a workshopThe people in charge at the banking and insurance group Baloise considered how the annual report could not only be a unique design highlight, but also convey relevant content about the implementation of the business strategy to the various target groups. The basis for this was an analysis of the target groups. The aim was to find out which group of people is important and what they expect from the annual report. It turned out that financial analysts and journalists want to know more about what is actually happening in the company.
The task now was to make the implementation phase explainable and tangible. External observers were to show how the strategies were implemented in the company.
Authenticity and transparencyIn terms of content, transparency has been improved. A journalistic rather than promotional tone was used to lend the stories about the business strategy the necessary authenticity. External observers were present at meetings and workshops. Limits were only set where business secrets were involved. In this way, the greatest possible transparency was achieved - readers gain an authentic insight into everyday life at Baloise.
The images go hand in hand with the text. Documentary in nature, they complement the content and create an overall picture. They also document independence. They are neither interchangeable nor copyable, but "100 percent Bâloise".
The example of Austria shows the desired path: At a management meeting, the participants discussed implementation measures for the 2005 customer offensive. The journalist and photographer took part. After a short time, they were no longer perceived as outsiders. As part of the workshop, they experienced everyday life 1:1 - real, up close and without censorship. Only in this way was it possible to write an authentic report and obtain real pictures.
Involvement of top managementIt is essential that this approach is accepted by management, which was involved at an early stage. A rethink was necessary in terms of addressing problems or sticking points. This is the only way to credibly communicate the implementation of the strategy. In order to avoid empty phrases and run-of-the-mill statements, it was necessary to take a stand and speak plainly. For example, in the credo of the Chairman of the Executive Board, Frank Schnewlin, in which he clearly puts his thoughts on paper.
This approach also gives the annual report greater significance and weight within Baloise. Projects become tangible, and the work of individual employees or small teams is no longer just a mention in a subordinate clause. The inclusion of the national companies strengthens mutual trust and makes it possible to learn from each other. At the same time, the annual report is an incentive for other project teams, because it shows that only the sum of the individual parts makes a successful whole.
> Dominik Marbet is Head of Corporate Publishing at Baloise (Basel) and is responsible for the annual report, among other things. Baloise's partner for concept and design is the corporate publishing agency Primafila (Zurich and Munich).
The content of annual reports must be relevant to the target group.
Dominik Marbet
