Unlock the potential of your online annual report: webcast Q&A

Unlock the potential of your online annual report
Live Webcast: Thursday September 24, 2009.

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Read our Q&A transcript summary from this live webcast event to learn how to get more from your IR budget and transform your online annual report into an effective communication piece.

1. Is there a role for web 2.0 or social media in online annual reports and are there some examples you can share?

Dominic: I don’t have any examples that spring to mind but there are a handful of companies that are trying to engage their shareholders in discussion with a feedback form. There’s a lot of opportunity for social media in OAR. Think about using a video that might accompany a CEO Letter. You can use social bookmarking  for your OAR publicly and you can widgetize your reports and make them shareable. The reality is, there is going to be discussion about your annual report, whether you like it or not. It will happen on your site or off your site.

2. How long do you see annual reports and sustainability reports existing separately?

Tim: This is a good question and one we consider all the time. Every company has a different view, but from our perspective they are different reports, different users, and different time frames. Sustainability information is not available at the same time our annual report is released. Although we produce a summary manual we separate them. The user experience is different, too. If we did it all in print it would be trashed—no one wants to read a 200-page book anymore.

3. What is the use of videos in OAR and is there an opportunity for an OAR to be exclusively in video only?

Kate: Absolutely not. You want to provide your reporting information in as many different ways—that’s the point of the web—you need to give users options. The user might want to watch a video or download a pdf—let them do that. Barclays Annual Report provides a very good example of custom video just for their OAR; there is a section that includes six to seven speakers.

4. Regarding concepts of engagement in a sustainability report. Do you think companies always need to produce a complete printed report?

Tim: We look at who our primary users are. We have about 90% institutional shareholders. Our European base is far more concerned about sustainability than our North American shareholder base. As a trend, sustainability reports are becoming increasingly important for investors. Our perception studies show that investors think we are doing a good job in sustainability; we do focus on our user but we cannot plan our IR program around a very small portion of potential users. We still print a summary report but there is cost benefit for us to publish online.

5. What is your opinion on putting videos on YouTube? Are there any issues of disclosure?

Dominic: I don’t see any issues. As long as you enable people to share and interact. YouTube is also cheap.

6. As far as someone getting started with producing on OAR, what are the basics for functionality?

Dominic: As per my presentation, these are the minimum requirements:  HTML, searchable and print-friendly.

7. How big is the IR team at PotashCorp and how do you manage the process of producing so many online reports?

Tim: We have a small team and draw on additional support. One of the best things about PotashCorp is that everyone gets involved in disclosure. We have great support from the legal and financial side. We only produce one OAR a year so it isn’t that many to manage. As far as our overall focus is concerned we rely heavily on our investor relations team. It takes a lot of responsibility and we rely heavily on Creative Fire, zu and one or two other key players.

8. How about doing OAR for your mobile devices?

Kate: I think this is a forward-thinking question given the majority of people aren’t quite on the web properly. I think it’s important to get online first in the appropriate way we’ve discussed today. I would look at having an IR mobile site which has your stock price and news feeds for easy access. A mobile device has it’s own rules and limitations and it needs to read from a special browser script to display properly. Get your corporate site on your mobile device first then worry about your AR for mobile. I would challenge everybody to check out their own website on a mobile device.