{"id":70685,"date":"2011-10-12T09:12:13","date_gmt":"2011-10-12T08:12:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.strattoncraig.com\/insight\/the-copywriter-janaury-2010\/"},"modified":"2011-10-12T09:12:13","modified_gmt":"2011-10-12T08:12:13","slug":"the-copywriter-janaury-2010","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.strattoncraig.com\/us\/insight\/the-copywriter-janaury-2010\/","title":{"rendered":"The Copywriter January 2010"},"content":{"rendered":"

Word Clouds <\/strong><\/span><\/span>
\nWishing you a very happy new year!
\nJust before the end of 2009, we were asked by Communicate magazine to look at the language used in the annual reports of the four nominated companies for Best Overall Annual Report in the FTSE 100 category at the IRS Best Practice Awards. Below is the article.
\nIn January we’re offering our word cloud service to anyone who would like us to review a piece of communication. To find out more please email copy@strattoncraig.co.uk<\/span><\/span><\/a>.
\nHere’s to a busy and exciting 2010!
\n_________________________________________________<\/span>
\nAt the time these word clouds appeared, these four companies were operating in the eye of the storm, which hit the financial markets in 2008. Some felt the effects more keenly than others.
\nThe 3i cloud is about as gloomy as they come. During the financial year to March 2009, the UK\u2019s oldest private equity group was in the thick of the most rapid economic downturn in its long and illustrious history. It took a beating, reporting a record loss of \u00a32.15bn in the year to March 2009. The cloud is darkened by words like \u2018debt\u2019 (54 mentions), \u2018fall\u2019 (32) and \u2018loss\u2019 (25). The word \u2018gearing\u2019 is mentioned 15 times. Given that 3i\u2019s own gearing reached an excruciating 103 per cent, while net debt stood at more than \u00a32bn this is perhaps not surprising. The word \u2018upturn\u2019 is dangled in front of investors\u2019 noses in the chairman\u2019s statement but doesn\u2019t make it onto the cloud.
\nMarks and Spencer, the grande dame of the British high street, was meanwhile suffering more than its fair share of difficulties as a result of the downturn. The words ‘customer’ and ‘food’ are writ large as it seeks to reassure investors it is focusing on shoppers and its celebrated (but pricey) food offering in the face of stiff competition from rivals. What is striking though is the word \u2018governance\u2019 with 75 mentions in all. At the time, Sir Stuart Rose was taking flak from institutional investors following a board decision allowing him to take on both the chairman and chief executive roles, against corporate governance best practice. The repetition of \u2018governance\u2019 may play into the popular idea that if you say a word often enough, people will start to believe you are doing something about it. M&S has just announced the appointment of a new chief executive and things have improved. From a position of relative safety, Sir Stuart was recently reported to have described the Christmas 2008 trading period as “Armageddon” although there is no reference to that word in the cloud.
\nIn Centrica\u2019s annual report, the word \u2018customer\u2019 is mentioned more frequently than the word \u2018shareholder\u2019, which is perhaps surprising given its investor audience. This may be part of a broader attempt to present a customer-friendly face after the owner of British Gas caused howls of protest in 2008 following soaring profits at its residential unit. The words \u2018higher\u2019 and \u2018lower\u2019 feature prominently too, and are perhaps indicative of the extreme levels of volatility in wholesale gas and power prices Centrica experienced at the time.
\nBut the picture was brighter at Tullow Oil and this cloud\u2019s lining looks distinctly silver compared to the others. The words \u2018upside\u2019 and \u2018potential\u2019 appear frequently with \u2018success\u2019 garnering 96 mentions. Tullow\u2019s renewed focus on exploration in African countries is shown in this cloud, with \u2018Africa\u2019 appearing 49 times, \u2018Ghana\u2019 74 times and \u2018Uganda\u2019 68 times. The company is not shy about its good fortune. The words \u2018deliver\u2019, \u2018growth\u2019, \u2018success\u2019 and \u2018strong\u2019 (which is mentioned 66 times), feature heavily. But the tone is measured, a reflection perhaps of the hazardous nature of its business: the word \u2018risks\u2019 crops up 110 times.
\nThe word \u2018responsibility\u2019 comes up in all three except the M&S cloud, although words such as governance, independent and audit are sprinkled liberally here. While the word may well feature in previous reports as organisations highlight corporate and social responsibility, you can\u2019t help wondering if it might have become even more attractive – sexy even – as companies sought to soothe and reassure in the wake of the seismic events of 2008.
\n <\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

\nCherkizovo <\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span>For the second year running we have been commissioned to provide the copy for the annual report of one of Russia’s leading meat production companies. We started with extensive groundwork, including a trip to Russia to undertake interviews with key personnel and gather information. With the support of our account management team we ensured that deadlines were met and feedback was incorporated. We are now preparing to replicate the success of last year’s report.\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Word Clouds Wishing you a very happy new year! Just before the end of 2009, we were asked by Communicate magazine to look at the language used in the annual reports of the four nominated companies for Best Overall Annual Report in the FTSE 100 category at the IRS Best Practice Awards. Below is the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[453],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-70685","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-archived-content-us"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe Copywriter January 2010 - Stratton Craig - Global Copywriting & Content Marketing Agency<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.strattoncraig.com\/us\/insight\/the-copywriter-janaury-2010\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Copywriter January 2010 - Stratton Craig - Global Copywriting & Content Marketing Agency\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Word Clouds Wishing you a very happy new year! 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