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ANALYSIS OF FTSE100
ONLINE ANNUAL REPORTING
6 June 2015
© Black Sun Plc 2015 www.blacksunplc.com
Objectives
• To review the current approach of the FTSE100 to publishing online reports
• To assess the different approach and develop a best practice guide for our clients
Scope
• All the FTSE100 companies as at May 2015
• The analysis covers:
– signposting the reports
– where they are located in the website
– the format the report takes
– the features associated with the report
PURPOSE OF THE ANALYSIS
2
© Black Sun Plc 2015 www.blacksunplc.com
Investor section
page
CREATING AN EFFECTIVE ONLINE REPORT
Reporting section Online report
Quick
read
Content
Downloads
Tools
Homepage
Social Media
Printed Report
Website signposts
1 click access
Quick link
to priority
content
Engagement features
- Animation
- Videos
- Carousels
3
Other sections of
the website
ANALYSIS OF FTSE100
ONLINE REPORTING
1
© Black Sun Plc 2015 www.blacksunplc.com
• We assessed how well companies signpost their report on the homepage and the IR
sections of the website
• 69% of companies have a link on their homepage straight to the Annual Report (versus
52% last year)
– This may be an image based link or a text link
• 82% have a link on the IR section page (down from 76% last year)
• Our analysis of traffic to the report shows that most of the visits to the online report is
within 1 month of publication
• Where there is good signposting of the report, between 30% and 50% of traffic from
within the website to the online report is straight from the homepage; and about 10%
from the investor section page
• It is surprising therefore that more companies don’t have these direct links
SIGNPOSTING THE REPORT
5
© Black Sun Plc 2015 www.blacksunplc.com
• We analysed the different formats of
online reports
• The % of companies providing HTML
reports remains largely unchanged at 55%
v 54% last year
• However within the HTML reports, the
trend towards more interactive single page
summaries continues – up from 6 to 21
this year
• These one pagers have grown at the
expense of the multi-page, part HTML
reports which are down from 25 to 12
• Full HTML remains unchanged at 7; and
full front end HTML down from 9 to 8
• The split of flat pdf v flipbooks and
interactive pdfs remains largely
unchanged
REPORTING FORMAT
6
21
7 7
16
9 8
18
25
12
0
6
21
0
7 7
15 15 12
8
4 6
22
27 27
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
2013 2014 2015
OAR Format
Full HTML
Front HTML
Part HTML
Part HTML 1
page
Single summary
page
Flipbook
Interactive pdf
Flat pdf
© Black Sun Plc 2015 www.blacksunplc.com
• There has been minimal change in
companies putting their HTML reports
within the website or as a separate
microsite.
• 72% of companies who had HTML report
created a separate website, 28% have
included it within the website
• Generally those companies providing full,
front-end or the single interactive page do
so in separate microsites
HOUSING THE HTML REPORT
7
87%
70%
72%
13% 30% 28%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
2013 2014 2015
HTML report in corporate website or separate
In site
Separate
© Black Sun Plc 2015 www.blacksunplc.com
• There is a wide variety in the terms
used in the IR navigation that includes
the online report
• However 50 companies now have a
main navigation in the IR section
dedicated to annual reports
• The trend continues towards putting
results, reports and presentations in
one section for easy access
• In terms of nomenclature:
– Annual reports/reporting and
Reports/reporting, are the most popular
– Terms continue to be used that give no
idea the report could be found in it, for
example:
• News & press
• Investor information
LOCATION OF THE REPORT IN IR SECTION
8
0 2 4 6 8 10 12
Financial & regulatory reports
Financial reports & key documents
News & press
2014 at a glance
Annual reports & reviews
Annual Report downloads
Annual & half year reports/interims
Results, reports, webcasts & presentations
Economic and financial information
Results
Reports & accounts
Investor information
Financial results
Financial performance/information
Company Reports
Corporate reporting
Financial reporting
Financial information
Reports & Publications
Results & presentations
Reporting centre
Annual report 2014
Annual Reports/reporting
Reports, results & presentations
Financial Reports
Reports & presentations
Reports & results
Reports/reporting
Naming of primary Report navigation
© Black Sun Plc 2015 www.blacksunplc.com
• The reporting content accessed the most is similar for all clients and should be
prioritised on the homepage
– Overview
– Strategy
– KPI’s
– Business model
– Downloads
– Chief Executive’s Review
– Chairman’s Report
• Our analysis shows that animations and videos double dwell time on the online reports
– 19 companies now include video within the online report
– 10 include a form of animation
KEY CONTENT AND INTERACTIVITY
9
© Black Sun Plc 2015 www.blacksunplc.com
• Downloads are a key user requirement
in online reporting
• All companies provide a full report
download
• 58 provide separate downloads for the
different sections
• Only 11 now provide excel downloads
of the accounts and statements – a big
reduction from 22 two years ago
• 9 companies also provide downloads
of other related reports, such as CSR,
on the same page
DOWNLOADS AVAILABLE
10
100
57
22
10
100
55
11
9
100
58
11
9
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Full Section xls Other reports
Downloads provided
2013
2014
2015
© Black Sun Plc 2015 www.blacksunplc.com
• There have been some changes in the
features incorporated within online
reports
• Print basket (ability to add pages to a
pdf) continues to decline – mainly due
to it being a rarely used feature
• Share has slightly increased as
companies think more about social
media
• Search has grown significantly – driven
by reports being within a corporate site
which has search
• Surprisingly being able to request a
printed report has also grown slightly
FEATURES AND TOOLS
Search was not researched in 2013
11
5
15
34
11
14
4
13
21
1
26
6
4
6
24
3
48
15
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
chart tool print basket share feedback Search Request
print report
Features and tools
2013 2014 2015
© Black Sun Plc 2015 www.blacksunplc.com
• The number of Apps has grown in the
past year
– 34 v 19 last year
• In terms of the type of App:
– Only 2 companies have Apps solely for
the Annual Report
– 23 have Apps for their IR audiences
– 9 have Apps for IR and the media
• Many companies that have Apps do
not have a responsive website, so it is
a way of delivering a good experience
on mobile
APPS
12
2 2
14
23
3
9
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
2014 2015
Apps
IR & Media
IR only
OAR
CONCLUSIONS AND
RECOMMENDATIONS
2
© Black Sun Plc 2015 www.blacksunplc.com
Signposting
• The quality of signposting the report varies greatly.
• Our view is that companies should have links straight to the Annual report from both the
homepage and IR section.
• For a month after the report has been published this should be an image as well as a
link to increase traffic.
Navigation
• The terms used in IR navigation varies greatly. There is no right or wrong answer, it
depends on the overall IR structure
• Our view is that whatever navigation term is used it must be clear that the report will be
within the section. So Annual reports; results, report & presentations are good
examples. News & press and investor information are poor examples
OUR VIEW: SIGNPOSTS AND NAVIGATION
14
© Black Sun Plc 2015 www.blacksunplc.com
Format of the report
• A small number of companies are still producing full HTML reports, but the biggest
change has been a growth in interactive single page reports, and a corresponding
reduction in multi-page part HTML reports
• Our view is that there is no single answer to the best approach. On the one hand a full
HTML report is not recommended due to levels of readership, nor is just a simple flat
pdf which does nothing to communicate your messages through digital channels.
• So producing some form of HTML report to communicate your performance is
recommended. Consider the profile of your audiences and then develop the right
solution for them
OUR VIEW: REPORT FORMAT
15
© Black Sun Plc 2015 www.blacksunplc.com
Content and interactivity
• Readers of the online report are focused on:
– Overview
– Strategy
– KPI’s
– Business model
– Downloads
– Chief Executive’s Review
– Chairman’s Report
• Readers also engage with videos and case studies – which are often in the top 3
elements of content viewed
• Our view: embed interactivity and video if you can to grow engagement and use
analytics to track which content is most important to users, and develop your online
solution to surface this key content
• Interactive elements help bring the site to life – such as page loading, rollovers and
make the experience more enjoyable
OUR VIEW: CONTENT & INTERACTIVITY
16
© Black Sun Plc 2015 www.blacksunplc.com
Downloads
• All companies provide downloads, but only 55 provide downloads of sections
• Our view:
– A full pdf has to be provided
– Sections of the report should also be provided for the different audiences
– A single download for the Strategic Report should also be provided
Features
• The incorporation of features has slightly reduced this year
• Our view:
– we would advise including a search feature, and given the profile of social media we would also
recommend enabling sharing via social media and via email
– Other features such as a Print basket are generally not used so only include these if your
analytics tell you it is a well used feature
OUR VIEW: DOWNLOADS & FEATURES
17

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Analysis of FTSE100 Online Annual Reporting

  • 1. ANALYSIS OF FTSE100 ONLINE ANNUAL REPORTING 6 June 2015
  • 2. © Black Sun Plc 2015 www.blacksunplc.com Objectives • To review the current approach of the FTSE100 to publishing online reports • To assess the different approach and develop a best practice guide for our clients Scope • All the FTSE100 companies as at May 2015 • The analysis covers: – signposting the reports – where they are located in the website – the format the report takes – the features associated with the report PURPOSE OF THE ANALYSIS 2
  • 3. © Black Sun Plc 2015 www.blacksunplc.com Investor section page CREATING AN EFFECTIVE ONLINE REPORT Reporting section Online report Quick read Content Downloads Tools Homepage Social Media Printed Report Website signposts 1 click access Quick link to priority content Engagement features - Animation - Videos - Carousels 3 Other sections of the website
  • 5. © Black Sun Plc 2015 www.blacksunplc.com • We assessed how well companies signpost their report on the homepage and the IR sections of the website • 69% of companies have a link on their homepage straight to the Annual Report (versus 52% last year) – This may be an image based link or a text link • 82% have a link on the IR section page (down from 76% last year) • Our analysis of traffic to the report shows that most of the visits to the online report is within 1 month of publication • Where there is good signposting of the report, between 30% and 50% of traffic from within the website to the online report is straight from the homepage; and about 10% from the investor section page • It is surprising therefore that more companies don’t have these direct links SIGNPOSTING THE REPORT 5
  • 6. © Black Sun Plc 2015 www.blacksunplc.com • We analysed the different formats of online reports • The % of companies providing HTML reports remains largely unchanged at 55% v 54% last year • However within the HTML reports, the trend towards more interactive single page summaries continues – up from 6 to 21 this year • These one pagers have grown at the expense of the multi-page, part HTML reports which are down from 25 to 12 • Full HTML remains unchanged at 7; and full front end HTML down from 9 to 8 • The split of flat pdf v flipbooks and interactive pdfs remains largely unchanged REPORTING FORMAT 6 21 7 7 16 9 8 18 25 12 0 6 21 0 7 7 15 15 12 8 4 6 22 27 27 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% 2013 2014 2015 OAR Format Full HTML Front HTML Part HTML Part HTML 1 page Single summary page Flipbook Interactive pdf Flat pdf
  • 7. © Black Sun Plc 2015 www.blacksunplc.com • There has been minimal change in companies putting their HTML reports within the website or as a separate microsite. • 72% of companies who had HTML report created a separate website, 28% have included it within the website • Generally those companies providing full, front-end or the single interactive page do so in separate microsites HOUSING THE HTML REPORT 7 87% 70% 72% 13% 30% 28% 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% 2013 2014 2015 HTML report in corporate website or separate In site Separate
  • 8. © Black Sun Plc 2015 www.blacksunplc.com • There is a wide variety in the terms used in the IR navigation that includes the online report • However 50 companies now have a main navigation in the IR section dedicated to annual reports • The trend continues towards putting results, reports and presentations in one section for easy access • In terms of nomenclature: – Annual reports/reporting and Reports/reporting, are the most popular – Terms continue to be used that give no idea the report could be found in it, for example: • News & press • Investor information LOCATION OF THE REPORT IN IR SECTION 8 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 Financial & regulatory reports Financial reports & key documents News & press 2014 at a glance Annual reports & reviews Annual Report downloads Annual & half year reports/interims Results, reports, webcasts & presentations Economic and financial information Results Reports & accounts Investor information Financial results Financial performance/information Company Reports Corporate reporting Financial reporting Financial information Reports & Publications Results & presentations Reporting centre Annual report 2014 Annual Reports/reporting Reports, results & presentations Financial Reports Reports & presentations Reports & results Reports/reporting Naming of primary Report navigation
  • 9. © Black Sun Plc 2015 www.blacksunplc.com • The reporting content accessed the most is similar for all clients and should be prioritised on the homepage – Overview – Strategy – KPI’s – Business model – Downloads – Chief Executive’s Review – Chairman’s Report • Our analysis shows that animations and videos double dwell time on the online reports – 19 companies now include video within the online report – 10 include a form of animation KEY CONTENT AND INTERACTIVITY 9
  • 10. © Black Sun Plc 2015 www.blacksunplc.com • Downloads are a key user requirement in online reporting • All companies provide a full report download • 58 provide separate downloads for the different sections • Only 11 now provide excel downloads of the accounts and statements – a big reduction from 22 two years ago • 9 companies also provide downloads of other related reports, such as CSR, on the same page DOWNLOADS AVAILABLE 10 100 57 22 10 100 55 11 9 100 58 11 9 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 Full Section xls Other reports Downloads provided 2013 2014 2015
  • 11. © Black Sun Plc 2015 www.blacksunplc.com • There have been some changes in the features incorporated within online reports • Print basket (ability to add pages to a pdf) continues to decline – mainly due to it being a rarely used feature • Share has slightly increased as companies think more about social media • Search has grown significantly – driven by reports being within a corporate site which has search • Surprisingly being able to request a printed report has also grown slightly FEATURES AND TOOLS Search was not researched in 2013 11 5 15 34 11 14 4 13 21 1 26 6 4 6 24 3 48 15 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 chart tool print basket share feedback Search Request print report Features and tools 2013 2014 2015
  • 12. © Black Sun Plc 2015 www.blacksunplc.com • The number of Apps has grown in the past year – 34 v 19 last year • In terms of the type of App: – Only 2 companies have Apps solely for the Annual Report – 23 have Apps for their IR audiences – 9 have Apps for IR and the media • Many companies that have Apps do not have a responsive website, so it is a way of delivering a good experience on mobile APPS 12 2 2 14 23 3 9 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 2014 2015 Apps IR & Media IR only OAR
  • 14. © Black Sun Plc 2015 www.blacksunplc.com Signposting • The quality of signposting the report varies greatly. • Our view is that companies should have links straight to the Annual report from both the homepage and IR section. • For a month after the report has been published this should be an image as well as a link to increase traffic. Navigation • The terms used in IR navigation varies greatly. There is no right or wrong answer, it depends on the overall IR structure • Our view is that whatever navigation term is used it must be clear that the report will be within the section. So Annual reports; results, report & presentations are good examples. News & press and investor information are poor examples OUR VIEW: SIGNPOSTS AND NAVIGATION 14
  • 15. © Black Sun Plc 2015 www.blacksunplc.com Format of the report • A small number of companies are still producing full HTML reports, but the biggest change has been a growth in interactive single page reports, and a corresponding reduction in multi-page part HTML reports • Our view is that there is no single answer to the best approach. On the one hand a full HTML report is not recommended due to levels of readership, nor is just a simple flat pdf which does nothing to communicate your messages through digital channels. • So producing some form of HTML report to communicate your performance is recommended. Consider the profile of your audiences and then develop the right solution for them OUR VIEW: REPORT FORMAT 15
  • 16. © Black Sun Plc 2015 www.blacksunplc.com Content and interactivity • Readers of the online report are focused on: – Overview – Strategy – KPI’s – Business model – Downloads – Chief Executive’s Review – Chairman’s Report • Readers also engage with videos and case studies – which are often in the top 3 elements of content viewed • Our view: embed interactivity and video if you can to grow engagement and use analytics to track which content is most important to users, and develop your online solution to surface this key content • Interactive elements help bring the site to life – such as page loading, rollovers and make the experience more enjoyable OUR VIEW: CONTENT & INTERACTIVITY 16
  • 17. © Black Sun Plc 2015 www.blacksunplc.com Downloads • All companies provide downloads, but only 55 provide downloads of sections • Our view: – A full pdf has to be provided – Sections of the report should also be provided for the different audiences – A single download for the Strategic Report should also be provided Features • The incorporation of features has slightly reduced this year • Our view: – we would advise including a search feature, and given the profile of social media we would also recommend enabling sharing via social media and via email – Other features such as a Print basket are generally not used so only include these if your analytics tell you it is a well used feature OUR VIEW: DOWNLOADS & FEATURES 17