Origin Strategy Director gives Investor Relations pros guidance on interactive annual reports and digital dialogue with shareholders

Houston—July 25, 2008—Shawn Collier, Origin Strategy Director, provides a commentary to the Houston Business Journal “Public Companies Report” based on the firm’s 2008 study of 185 public companies' annual reports, including best practices for electronic communications.

"We're past the tipping point," Collier said. “IR professionals are embracing sweeping changes in the ways they communicate with shareholders in the electronic environment. They’re capitalizing upon technologies that teenagers have used for years to share their weekend exploits on their social networking sites.”

At the National Investor Relations Institute annual conference in San Diego in June, Collier observed sessions on electronic financial reporting were the most crowded with more than 1,300 IR pros in attendance.

Since the 2007 adoption of the U.S. Security and Exchange Commission's "notice and access" rule, companies only have to notify investors that financial reports are available online. They no longer have to issue paper documents.

"Looking to save money while they also offer faster and more comprehensive access to information and make greener use of resources, IR departments are moving quickly to the digital realm," Collier said.

Origin creates about two-dozen annual reports a year for publicly traded companies, including leading-edge interactive work for clients Apache and CenterPoint Energy )

However, Origin’s study found most companies still fail to capitalize fully on advances in online video and graphics. Only seven of the 185 companies reviewed used online animation to help explain their businesses, although most consumers have access to broadband Internet connections that allow them to view it.

Collier’s commentary also asks corporate communicators, “Is your CEO ready for a blog?”

Investor Carl Icahn has started blogging to make his case for a Yahoo! merger with Microsoft and for changes in corporate governance. Mesa Petroleum and BP Capital founder T. Boone Pickens launched a video blog to promote his sweeping plans to promote wind and natural gas.

“You know the game truly has changed when you find links to a MySpace Profile, Facebook Profile, Twitter, YouTube and RSS feeds on an 80-year-old Texas oilman’s Web site,” Collier jokes.

But Collier also advises communicators to take CEO blogs seriously, as these are subject to the same “fair disclosure” rules as printed materials. Trends, company history, or employees’ community involvement provide the most suitable blog fodder.

Time can be a concern too.

“Blog-worthy topics can lose relevance quickly, so it may be better to assign an executive who can devote the time and attention to it, rather than the CEO.”

Read the Houston Business Journal article online here:

http://houston.bizjournals.com/houston/stories/2008/07/28/focus4.html

Click here to request your copy of the Origin Energy Annual Report Study or call Shawn Collier at 877-520-9544