Insight Creative & Lion Nathan partnership

International award-winning partnership continues for Insight Creative and Lion Nathan

New Zealand corporate design leader, Insight Creative has secured its third win at an international competition held in New York.

Insight Creative took the 2007 award for Best International Annual Report at the International Annual Report Competition (ARC) for its communication strategy, design and production of the Lion Nathan Annual Report. Insight Creative won the same award in 2003 and 2006, also for the Lion Nathan reports.

The ARC is the world's largest annual report competition and is run by United States based MerComm Inc., the world’s only independent awards organisation. The ARC winners were deemed the best out of nearly two thousand entries from 26 countries and judging was done by an international panel of judges over a three week period. All the ARC competition winning entries are now being exhibited at the Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe (Museum of Art and Commerce) in Hamburg, Germany.

Mike Tisdall, Managing Director of Insight Creative said they are delighted to have won the international award at the ARC for the third time.

“The win is the result of a long and fruitful partnership with Lion Nathan. Lion Nathan is a visionary company that really understands the importance of investor branding. They’ve listened closely to our counsel and allowed us to explore fresh ways of making their annual report relevant and engaging. The reason their report consistently stands out is because it truly expresses their corporate brand personality and brings it to life.”

Michael Roberts, Investor Relations Director of Lion Nathan says that over the years Insight Creative has gone from being a design supplier to a true branding partner for Lion Nathan.

“It’s been incredible how key elements featured in our Annual Report have been picked up around our business. It seems to have happened by osmosis. Insight has developed a definite style and personality in terms of branding, and I think this shows the power of a really strong central communications document,” Roberts says.

Mr Tisdall says that while some argue that an Annual Report is simply about presenting the financials of a company, over time they have become so much more.

“Today, Annual Reports include all manner of brand and corporate information and are a vital component of a company’s reputation management strategy.

“Companies often think only about their product brands, but in fact investor branding is imperative in communicating the corporate brand personality to investors - helping them to understand, trust and like a company. Developing a strong investor brand and bringing it to life through collateral is a way of differentiating one investment from another and showing what the company is really all about. Lion Nathan is a perfect example,” Tisdall says.

When developing Lion Nathan’s Annual Report, Insight Creative use the company’s key messages as a starting point.

“Delivery of those messages is greatly enhanced by using Lion Nathan’s unique corporate personality which we have helped them develop. Their overarching message is ‘making the world a more sociable place’ and that focuses our creative process, both in terms of the language and the visuals. Taking a ‘storytelling’ approach also plays a big part in ensuring the document has substance beyond simply reporting the performance tangibles,” Tisdall says.

Partly as a result of their compelling Annual Report, the Lion Nathan brand is clearly differentiated, not just in the crowded liquor industry arena, but also in the broader investment marketplace where they compete with thousands of companies for investment dollars.

“We are justifiably proud of our track record at the ARC awards, which we believe acknowledges that our distinct approach to investor branding is a winner,” Roberts says.

The ARC was established in 1987 to advance the standards of excellence in the fields of corporate communications, and is the most highly respected and prestigious competition in the industry.

ENDS

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