An Annual Report You Want To Read

Annual reports can be powerful communication tools—not just a yearly obligation.

With the right structure, annual reports can become a narrative of impact, a discovery tool for members, and a cornerstone asset for broader communications.

This case study illustrates how required reporting can be transformed into meaningful, engaging content that builds clarity, trust, and connection.

The Challenge

Annual reports often check boxes, but is your community reading them?

Like most membership-based and arm’s-length organizations, the Vancouver Division of Family Practice faced a familiar challenge: their annual report needed to satisfy formal governance and funding requirements, while also serving a diverse audience with varying levels of interest, time, and familiarity with how the organization operates.

Traditionally, annual reports tend to be lengthy, highly technical documents. They are often structured around internal departments rather than outcomes, and are dense with text that makes them difficult to scan. While these reports can be informative when read in full, this format often limits engagement—particularly for members who want to quickly understand impact, relevance, and results.

Rose Agency pitched the idea to leverage a content marketing strategy to transform the annual report as a communications and engagement tool, without compromising its legal, financial, or reporting obligations.

Our Approach

A Brand-Strategy for Different Audiences — Not Just Compliance

We began by acknowledging a key reality: annual reports serve multiple demographics. These include regulatory and government stakeholders, board members and leadership, members, donors, partners, and readers with very different levels of engagement. Rather than assuming one reading behaviour, we designed a layered information system that allows readers to engage at the depth that suits them whether they are skimming for high-level insight or reading closely for detail.

Re-Structuring the Report Around Impact

Instead of reporting by department, we organized everything around outcomes and impact.

In the case of the Vancouver Division, content was previously organized by department. While logical internally, this structure didn’t reflect how members experience the organization.

Instead, we anchored the report to the Board-approved Strategic Plan and reorganized content around three strategic priorities: Member Services, Primary Care Network (PCN) Management, and Primary and Mental Health (PMH) Support. Each department submitted accomplishments under these shared priorities, which allowed the final report to highlight collaboration, outcomes, and impact rather than siloed activity.

Creating a Funnel for Every Subject

Readers could skim the highlights or dig deeper, depending on their interest.

Each initiative was structured using a clear editorial funnel. Content began with a top-line summary written in plain language, followed by key outcomes that explained what the work meant for members and stakeholders. For readers who wanted to go deeper, additional links directed them to reports, analyses, and supporting materials. This approach allowed readers to quickly understand the breadth of the organization’s work, discover initiatives they may not have been aware of, and explore specific topics in greater detail without overloading the core document.

Visual Tagging for Themed Priorities

Simple visual cues made key themes easy to spot at a glance.

In addition to strategic priorities, the Vancouver Division identified three cross-organizational themes that were important to reflect wherever applicable: Environmental Awareness, Technology Integrated, and Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (JEDI). We introduced a simple visual tagging system that appeared consistently throughout the report, allowing readers to identify initiatives aligned with specific values at a glance. This reinforced organizational priorities in a subtle but effective way, without adding additional explanatory text.

How did Rose Agency manage this process from start to finish?

Behind the scenes, we made the process clear, efficient, and easy for everyone involved.

Rose Agency project-managed the entire process end-to-end.

We developed a clear submission framework for directors and department leads that outlined exactly how information should be provided. This included a standardized submission spreadsheet, defined word counts and content limits, clear guidance on what would and would not appear in the final report, and dedicated fields for linked resources and further reading. This structure ensured efficient use of internal time, consistent submissions across teams, and minimal confusion even though contributors were being asked to report in a new way.

Editorial Synthesis & Design

We turned complex inputs into a clear, cohesive, and visually engaging story.

Once submissions were collected, Rose Agency synthesized content across departments and refined it into cohesive narratives. A Rose Agency science writer consolidated the material, ensuring consistency in tone and clarity, while preserving the substance of each initiative. Our design team then produced a magazine-style layout that made full use of the organization’s brand guidelines, incorporating white space, photography, and a clear visual hierarchy. The final product balanced professionalism with approachability, making the document a pleasure to read rather than an obligation.

Print & Digital Delivery

The report was delivered in both print and digital formats. A high-quality print edition was produced for the AGM, with QR codes embedded throughout to link readers to deeper resources. A digital PDF version was also made available online, with fully embedded hyperlinks for seamless navigation. Both formats supported layered engagement without duplicating effort.

The Outcome

The final report was compliant, engaging, and actually enjoyable to read.

The final annual report met all governance, funding, and reporting requirements while remaining accessible to members with varying levels of familiarity with the organization. It communicated impact rather than internal structure and evolved into a reusable engagement asset—not just a yearly obligation.

For the Vancouver Division, the report evolved into a communications tool, a member engagement touchpoint, and a clear reflection of organizational priorities.

For Rose Agency, the project demonstrated how alignment of strategy, content, and design can fundamentally change how essential documents are experienced.

Get in touch today to make your next Annual Report the best yet.