BrownFlynn : Making notes

A report tool adds a new dimension of usefulness.

The Site

BrownFlynn, a US-based corporate responsibility consulting firm, makes note taking an integral service in its online annual reporting.

BrownFlynn has recently published its first annual sustainability report on a discrete microsite. Included on each page in a right-hand tools panel is an Add a Note button.

Clicking the button greys out the current page and overlays a smaller blank panel headed My Note that can be typed into and has options to Save, Cancel or Email This Note to BrownFlynn. When a note is saved, the caption for the button changes to View/Edit My Note, with Delete added to the command options in the panel. Save notes are retained for return visits to the site and are included in the PDFs generated by a My Report feature that allows a compilation of selected pages.

The Takeaway

BrownFlynn’s announcement of its report contains the declared intent to produce something that “allows you to use our ideas to inspire your own sustainability strategy and communications”. The note-making facility included on every page is one to take note of, including for other types of annual reporting.

For those with a professional interest in the report – analysts, researchers or, indeed, corporate inspiration-seekers – the facility, allied to the option of tailored printing/downloads, is a useful tool. And while familiar to users of Word programs, it is one rarely seen online. By adding an ‘e-mail to us’ option, BrownFlynn also stands to get direct benefit from user feedback and the encouragement of contact. Odd in that context, however, that there are no signs of standard viral options such as ‘share with a friend’, let alone ‘sexier’ forms of social media, to help spread its profile.

First published on 07 January, 2010