Division B - Printed Tools of Public Relations
Category 2 - Annual Report
Children’s Home Society of Florida – 2005 Annual Report
Curley & Pynn Public Relations and Marketing Communications
Award of Distinction
Research/Situation Analysis:
For more than 100 years, Children’s Home Society of Florida (CHS) has
been a leader in the provision of services that build and support
healthy families, from the promotion of adoption and foster care to
child abuse prevention programs. The organization serves children and
families from more than 200 locations throughout the state of Florida.
In 2005, CHS engaged Curley & Pynn (C&P) as communications
counsel. While issues management and crisis communication have remained
a priority, C&P conducted a comprehensive communication audit that
analyzed all collateral materials in terms of intended audience,
distribution, messages, graphic design and overall effectiveness. An
informal market perception analysis was also conducted in each of the
14 divisions served by CHS, providing insight into the awareness of the
scope of services and effectiveness of messaging. Through combined
research, it became apparent that CHS was in critical need of a
complete re-branding program that would provide a system of consistent
messaging throughout the state with clean graphic standards and a
design that would translate across all media. CHS is a not-for-profit
corporation and, as such, must carefully watch its expenditures.
Consequently, while all collateral materials, from the Web site and
annual report to brochures and newsletters, have undergone a complete
redesign, the company is rolling out materials over an extended
timeline. Materials that have been finalized include new graphic
standards, the Web site, the annual report and a trade show booth. The
2005 Annual Report was the first printed publication that was produced.
Target audiences included employees and volunteers, donors, market
influencers including government, business and community leaders, past
and present CHS clients and media.
Objectives: Create an annual report that would 1)
incorporate the new design elements dictated in the updated graphic
standards; 2) engage the audience through graphic design that
complements the message of Embracing Children, Inspiring Lives; 3)
provide information that clearly shows the impact of services offered
by CHS through both qualitative and quantitative measures; and, 4)
encourage donors to continue support of CHS’ mission.
Implementation: The overall design of all CHS
materials relies upon creating an emotional tie to the audience through
graphics and colors that were specifically chosen to fuel a connection
with the viewer through the eyes of a child. C&P’s creative
services department completed all design work under the direction of
the communications strategist. Copy was generated in collaboration with
representatives from CHS. It was very important to choose images that
reflect the diversity of the children and families served by CHS while
focusing on images that are compelling, those that draw the observer in
through the eyes of the children portrayed. It was important to keep
costs in check as many images were required. Featured images included
CHS-owned photos, stock photography and those photos taken by C&P
design staff. CHS clients who had found success through programs
offered by the organization were interviewed and photographed for
stories. It was also important to provide a historical perspective,
while putting a face on the organization’s leadership. This was
accomplished through a narrative accompanied by a timeline along with
photos of leaders from across the state. The annual report also
enforced CHS’ mission statement and provided information on innovations
that the organization was implementing as it looked to the future. No
annual report would be complete without financial statements. This
information was presented in a clear, easy-to-understand format. The
CHS Foundation, an organization that was developed to provide financial
support to CHS, had a separate annual report in the form of a one page,
front and back document that was inserted in the front of the CHS
annual report.
Evaluation: As the first printed publication of
the overall re-branding effort, the 2005 CHS Annual Report elicited
rave reviews from CHS staff and board members and won an Award of
Excellence at the 19th annual Florida Print Awards. The report has
proven to be a highly effective tool for CHS executives as they
communicate with supporters, elected officials, community leaders and
potential sponsors and requests for the publication have been higher
than in the past. A total of 10,000 reports were printed with 3,594
being mailed. Of the 6,406 reports set aside for executive use, fewer
than 50 are left. All stated objectives were met – the report 1)
incorporated all new design elements as dictated; 2) used compelling
images and a clean design to reinforce key messages while engaging the
audience; 3) illustrated the many successes of clients and the impact
of the organization through individual client stories, along with
program descriptions that include the number of people served during
2005, as well as a total dollar value of volunteer time of $1,484,557;
and, 4) recognized donors, thanking them for their continued support
while providing a convenient pre-addressed donor envelope.
Budget: Taking into consideration that CHS is a
not-for-profit entity, initial estimates for design were kept to
$5,000. However, in the course of producing the report, we found that
to achieve our creative and graphic objectives, more budget would be
required. C&P absorbed the additional design costs as a pro bono
project and CHS was informed that actual design cost of the project
approached $10,000. Print, mail and shipping costs amounted to $14,725,
resulting in a cost to CHS of $1.97 per piece. It is worth noting that
that CHS management was so pleased with the final product that an
additional $7,000 was added to the upcoming 2006 Annual Report budget
(for a total of $12,000) and a new 12-page 2006 CHS Foundation Annual
Report has was approved.