Annual Report Reimagined
About The Project
Each year the Arkansas Soybean Promotion Board (ASPB) invests checkoff dollars to fund soybean research through the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture. To promote the essential work being done, the ASPB contracts with The Communications Group to produce an annual research report. After several years of producing this report, The Communications Group discovered there was a large number of printed pieces that were not being distributed each year. Our client challenged us to investigate ways in which to improve the report, distribute it more effectively, and eliminate waste.
The first step in this process was to conduct primary quantitative research to understand the impact the report was having. After conducting an audit of the project, and reviewing the report projects produced in previous years, we discovered that at the end of each year there were hundreds of copies left undistributed and were eventually recycled. It was also interesting to shop print estimates on this project, as we noticed a significant increase in printing and postage expenses over the last few years, which we learned were attributed to ongoing supply chain shortages and other contributing factors related to the pandemic.
It was concluded that the more responsible action would be to order fewer copies and assign those dollars to fund other projects and increase the overall impact of the ASPB’s marketing and communications investment. It was also deduced that the report was being distributed in a very inefficient manner via the mail to our primary audience - producers in Arkansas with 100+ acres of soybeans. We discovered that increasing postage and production costs were limiting the number of copies we could actually distribute via mail. This led us to take into account what alternative methods of distribution were at our disposal.
During the research process, we realized that most of the funded projects span multiple years, meaning that the content of the report changes very little from year to year. This sparked the question of how we could generate more interest in the report by incorporating more differentiation.
Added more visuals and appealing content to the report and created a digital version to cut down on number of printed/mailed copies.
Planning
Using the findings of our research to inform our decisions about the project, our team developed the following SMART objectives with an overarching goal of reducing the cost of production while maintaining the reports format and enhancing its content quality.
- Reduce the annual cost of production for this report by 50% during FY22.
- Increase our total distribution from 75% to 100% of qualified soybean producers in Arkansas during FY22.
- Eliminate wasted printed pieces completely within FY22.
To achieve these objectives, a budget of $5,000 in outside expenses was set, with approximately 30 billable hours of fee time allotted to a team consisting of 1 account executive, 1 public relations director and 1 creative director.
Implementation
The strategy devised to achieve our goal and objectives was quite simple. First, we decided to leverage existing content that was relevant to the research projects funded by the ASPB, and repurpose that content as feature articles in the report. This raised the profile of the content included in the report that previously was quite stale and unimaginative. By adding more visual support imagery, the quality of the content was further enhanced. It was decided too that only a minimum print order of 500 pieces would be purchased, significantly reducing the cost of production. We were able to slash the total cost even more by turning to an alternative distribution method. Rather than relying on the mail to deliver the reports, we opted to send a digital copy of the report to growers via direct email to our existing contact list of growers and supplemented with a list provided by the United Soybean Board.
We enhanced this distribution even further by adding the digital copy of the annual report to the ASPB website and directing traffic to it via ASPB’s owned media channels including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and ASPB’s monthly e-newsletter. As an added bonus, the content in its digital form was embedded with live actionable links directing readers to other related content featured on the ASPB website, which helped to boost traffic to the website.
The reports left over from the previous year that would normally be thrown away or recycled were instead distributed to secondary audiences that were not the intended recipients but still benefited from receiving them. A portion of the extra copies was distributed to the UofA Cooperative Extension Service, which paid to have them shipped to each of their county offices across the state. Other portions were given to 4-H and FFA instructors to provide to students learning about production agriculture, while the rest were given to local libraries and higher education institutions. No extra copies were thrown away or recycled. This year, in particular, there were more than usual left over as many copies are typically given out at trade show events throughout the year. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, though, many of these events were canceled. This tactic will be employed next year to deplete our supply of any remaining copies not given away.
THE FINAL
Result
Overall, the plan proved successful as we were able to meet each of our goals. By doing our due diligence in shopping for the right print and production quotes, were able to plan ahead and set a budget precisely 50% lower than it had been in previous years. The decision to cut out postage and choose alternative digital methods of delivery not only saved money, it allowed us to reach a much broader audience than we typically had. In fact, the methods with which we distributed the report actually allowed us to capture more performance metrics as opposed to simply saying “we mailed this many copies.” It is important to note that lists used to mail vs. email the report are markedly different, hence the use of the term “qualified soybean producers.”
Qualified in this instance refers to all known producers whose relevant contact information is accessible. While the numbers of contact on these lists are different, we were able to distribute to 100% of the producers with 1+ acres of soybeans who provided an email address to either ASPB or USB.
Finally, with a little coordination, we were able to create value for and generate interest among secondary audiences with the outdated copies of the annual report which eliminated virtually all waste. Using this tactic moving forward will eliminate waste entirely.