Case Study: Neenah Paper, Inc. 2004 Annual Report
It's a big day in the life of a corporation when it becomes a publicly traded company. Neenah Paper, Inc., a world-class manufacturer of premium fine papers with a heritage extending more than half a century, joined these ranks in December 2004 when the company spun off from Kimberly-Clark.
The spinoff presented an opportunity for a unique annual report communications strategy. Neenah was obviously excited about its new independence and a chance to prove its ability to grow and prosper, and the company's management wanted its debut annual report to introduce its distinct value proposition to shareholders. At the same time, as a leading producer of premium fine papers, including papers used in annual reports and corporate identity programs, Neenah wanted its own annual report to be a showpiece for its products, and wanted to be able to use the printed annual report as a marketing and sales tool to reach design firms, paper specifiers and other fine paper customers.
After a national search, Neenah selected see see eye to help the company craft the right annual report design and messaging that would excite both investors and customers about the new opportunities ahead for Neenah.
Our Solution: Produce Two Annual Reports in One
What better way to address the needs of two distinct stakeholder groups than by creating two reports in one? see see eye recommended and designed this "two-books-in-one" approach. Literally, one-half of the annual report was dedicated to telling an investor story of strong brands and opportunities for continued success. The second half, geared more to customers, presented a story about Neenah's wide range of innovative products. Bound together, the reports can be opened from either side.
Pages of the report were printed on a number of different lines of Neenah fine papers. Illustrators were commissioned to develop symbolic illustrations of the company's mission and goals (e.g., Share a Strong Vision, Listen to Our Customers, Utilize the Best in All Our Businesses) and to present the strong reproductive capability of the Neenah brands and papers selected.
Strong visuals of Neenah's newly empowered employees and the plants where they worked helped carry the message that employees are making a difference and that the company is committed to reinvesting capital in its business. An index in the back of this report identified the paper stocks and weights for the "curious" shopper.
The "flip side," geared more to customers, shows other actual end uses of Neenah Paper's collective brands – from CLASSIC CREST® Papers, used to print the 55th presidential inaugural invitation, to the Technical Papers' division Duraform® Washable Label Stock, used for the patch on the back of blue jeans, and Neenah Paper pulp, used in consumer products such as facial tissue.
On the front covers of both sides of the report the company is introduced with the question "How do you make a great first impression?" followed on the inside by "Start with a blank sheet of paper." see see eye developed this theme and approach to demonstrate that Neenah Paper is truly building a new kind of paper company – one where people, knowledge, technology and innovation are making a difference.
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