Electrolux saw the opportunities of a digital annual report

Electrolux has provided digital annual reports since 2009, and the 2018 version was no exception. This year, however, Electrolux decided to go digital first. We had a chance to listen to Sophie Arnius, Head of Investor Relations at Electrolux, and find out exactly what that meant for the company.

At our sister agency Hallvarsson & Halvarsson’s yearly annual report seminar, Sophie walked us through Electrolux's exciting journey from a traditional printed report to their new digital first approach.

Sophie Arnius, Electrolux, and Sarah Östberg, Hallvarsson & Halvarsson at Hallvarsson & Halvarsson's annual reports seminar 2019.

More opportunities with digital first

Why do we refer to a “traditional printed report” if Electrolux have been creating complete digital versions for the past 10 years? Well, the big difference is that the digital version is now the primary format of the report. Rather than digitising an existing print copy, all the content – text, images, graphs, videos – was produced for the digital report first.

A digital report is a lot more flexible and provides more opportunities to work with different formats. In the case of Electrolux, this meant, for example, that they could create a video version of the CEO statement, videos for cases, and animations to better explain processes and progress.

Electrolux also saw an opportunity to share parts of the annual report on their intranet and LinkedIn, which meant that they put their content to better - and more frequent - use.

A natural step for an innovation-driven company

Going digital first was a natural step for an innovation-driven and sustainability-conscious company like Electrolux, not in the least because they mainly communicate via digital channels.

Sophie also mentioned that investors would rather bring their tablets with the annual report to meetings with Electrolux rather than printing them. With the digital version, the annual report could be used more actively in the meetings.

A legal annual report was produced in a printed format that could be sent to the shareholders who requested it.

Electrolux Annual Review 2018

What to keep in mind when going digital first

Sophie shared her tips for going digital first:

• Anchor the process with all stakeholders and ensure that everyone has understood the choices being made
• Understand that the digital production process is different Ensure that there is digital competence, both within the company and at the agency
• Develop your annual report step by step, with continuous evaluation
• Plan for film production and editing, since it is time consuming
• Write the web copy from at the beginning of the process

Make the most of your annual report

As a communications manager, it's wise to think about how you plan on getting the most out of your financial and annual reports. Is the information easily accessible? Can we use the digital format in new, innovative ways? Can we reach more target groups? Compare the longevity and usefulness of a printed version versus a digital one. Learn more about how we at Comprend work with corporate reports, or contact us directly: