Mentus Life Science | Investor Communications

Corporate Social Responsibility Reports

Corporate Sustainability Reports

Our three decades in producing annual reports have given us a unique perspective in managing the transformation of this critical communications tool from an obligatory financial document into a powerful, engaging, multi-use corporate marketing and recruiting tool.

Your Annual Report is not just a “year in review” document. When used effectively, it is the centerpiece of your corporate communications effort for the year. It not only sets the tone of your discussion with shareholders, it also establishes the visual and messaging framework you’ll use in communicating your company’s story.

In the past 30 years, we’ve created, written, and produced hundreds of annual reports for a range of companies – micro cap to large cap, newly public to Fortune 500, banking and biotech to food service and finance. We’ve worked with them all and won numerous investor relations, finance and design awards along the way.

You’ll find examples of these award-winning annual reports in the Recent Work section of this website. And check out our article “Don’t hide behind your 10-K” that appeared in IR Update magazine.

10-K Wraps

Budget and image considerations are increasing the use of 10-K wraps, with over a third of filing companies choosing to produce them over traditional annual reports. We’re happy to develop annuals that are within your budget, but we won’t scrimp on the creative energy we put into them. If anything your 10-K wrap needs to have more visual and messaging impact than its bulkier cousin.

A 10-K wrap bundles the 10-K filing with a short editorial, usually the shareholders letter and a brief overview of the company’s products, services or technologies. Absent are the summary financials and MD&A found in traditional annual reports. The editorial can be perfect bound with your 10-K, or be incorporated into a folder that includes a pocket to house your 10-K and any other corporate material you may want to include.

Although the editorial section of a 10-K wrap is usually leaner than that of a traditional annual report, in recent years we have seen it lengthen significantly. This is in part due to the shared goals of these two annual report presentation formats – to present the company’s mission, objectives, financial performance and accomplishments with clarity and impact.

We’ve produced 10-K wraps at every budget level, yet invested the same creative energy and talent despite their smaller size. Our creativity and focus on effective storytelling has been recognized, and we’ve received our fair share of industry awards for the 10-K wraps we’ve produced.

To see a few of our successful 10-K wraps, just go to the Recent Work Section of this website. And don’t forget to check out our article “Don’t hide behind your 10-K” that appeared in IR Update magazine.

Summary Annual Reports

A summary annual report unites the compelling narrative format of a 10-K wrap with high-end financials. Its intermediate size provides a little more space – just enough for Mentus to creatively tell your story without breaking your budget.

A summary annual report is just that – an abbreviated version of a traditional annual report that has a narrative section with summary financials that include about 4 to 10 pages of financial statements. Summary annual reports are generally more economical to produce than a traditional annual because they contain fewer pages.

Mentus has produced a host of summary annual reports at very attractive budget points. Check out the examples in the Recent Work section of this website.

Online Annual Reports

Mentus has produced a host of online annual reports that add interactivity and some real-time pizzazz to their printed companions. As the shift continues from print to online, we have the team in place to bring Mentus creativity to the development of a vibrant annual report designed specifically for the web.

The positioning and messaging found in your annual report are far too valuable to be buried in a static PDF. Investors are increasingly demanding a highly interactive, on-line annual report that is accessible and easy to navigate.

Your annual report is the single most important interaction your company has with its shareholders. The ability to offer the annual online raises the stakes on this document and makes it more important than ever that it come alive on your website and engage a variety of audiences.

Check out our online annual report examples in the Interactive and Multimedia Section of this website.

Corporate Social Responsibility Reports

Shareholders are increasingly using more than just financial metrics to determine which companies to invest in. As your company grows in size and stature, so will the requirement to demonstrate how it is acting as a good corporate citizen in business and the community.

In this post-ENRON, Sarbanes-Oxley business environment, a Corporate Social Responsibility Report becomes an excellent vehicle to discuss these issues in depth. Designed for impact as well as clarity, this document will educate investors on your company’s approach to corporate governance, its business principles, and philanthropic and community activities.

Give us a call to determine how to best communicate your corporate responsibility activities and to maximize your return on this investment.

Corporate Sustainability Reports

As global environmental issues move to the forefront, many investors are adding sound environmental management policies and sustainable activities to the list of criteria they use in differentiating companies working in certain industries. Providing investors with a Corporate Sustainability Report can enhance your company’s public image and act as a companion to your annual report each year.

Companies in a number of industries are seeing the value of these reports, specifically those involved in aerospace and defense, automotive and transportation, bio-industries, chemicals and plastics, consumer products, forestry and building products, health, metals and minerals processing, petrochemicals and power generation.

Give us a call to determine how best to communicate how your company is integrating sustainability principles into its planning and programs. We can help you develop a powerful document that will educate investors and enhance your corporate value.

Investor Relations Collateral

Mentus has extensive experience developing a full range of investor communications, from annual reports to folders, fact sheets, quarterly updates and newsletters. We design these shareholder materials to brand your company in the minds of your stakeholders as an investment they’ll want to keep.

The key in managing shareholder perception is to continually engage your investors. In between investor conferences and quarterly conference calls, you need tools that keep the company’s vision and strategy at the forefront of your investors’ minds.

Newsletters and fact sheets are useful tools to maintain visibility with investors and to create an image of professionalism. Whether printed, in PDFs, or in emailable formats, these documents add impact to IR packages and put the company’s activities in a context that press releases alone can’t provide.

Give us a call to discuss how we can upgrade your shareholder package and engage your investors throughout the year.

Shareholder Meeting Support

We have nearly three decades of experience managing large and small business meetings, events, conferences and presentations. Mentus can provide the entire gamut of services necessary for a successful and productive shareholder meeting.

While it is the centerpiece of your corporate communications effort for the year, your annual report also serves another function – it announces your company’s annual meeting. Not surprisingly, your annual meeting materials and messaging should reflect what appears in the annual report.

Our first objective will be to weave your corporate brand and investor messages into the fabric of the meeting. This includes invitations, lobby and hall banners, posters, stage backdrop, table tents, employee team posters, video presentations and of course, your CEO’s PowerPoint presentation.

Give us a call to learn how we can make your shareholders’ meeting a hit with investors.

IPO Support Collateral

Before your Initial Public Offering (IPO), it will be critical for your company to choose the right business partners. In addition to selecting the right investment banking and accounting firms, you will also need to hire the right investor communications and media relations firm.

Mentus’ investor communications and PR experience will help establish your company, its products and services, in the minds of potential investors in the year prior to the quiet period. Our focus will be to gain more participation by investors during the IPO and afterwards.

Then three to four months before your IPO, your team will begin drafting the company prospectus. We can assist in the design of your prospectus cover – the major marketing tool of the prospectus. A strong cover will help create an investment “brand” in the eyes of your future investors.

The IPO team must also prepare a corporate presentation to market to the investment community. This “road show,” is based on the information in the prospectus and is presented by the IPO team in major cities, over breakfasts and lunches, to groups and in one-on-one meetings with analysts over the course of several weeks. Once again, Mentus can help you weave your investment brand into this presentation through graphics and visuals that will form the framework of IR materials you’ll use post-IPO.

By providing these services to companies over the last three decades, Mentus has learned what Wall Street finds compelling in young, leading edge enterprises. Our successful road shows, prospectus covers, and IR/PR programs have help build billions of dollars of corporate value. Give us a call to learn how we can help you start your company off on the right foot with the right image.