The First 12 Pages: A story worth investing in?

Audiences don’t flip to the back of the report. They read the start. If it’s weak, the rest is wallpaper.

And in today’s world, where economic uncertainty sharpens investor scrutiny, the First 12 Pages must do more than inform. They must captivate.

They must articulate who you are, why you matter, what makes you resilient, and how you create long-term value in a rapidly changing world.

In a landscape where regulation is standardising structure, tone and content, your competitors will sound more and more alike, merging into a compliance-heavy blur. As Annual Reports are getting longer each year, it’s not just about page count but rather impact per page.

The First 12 Pages is your chance to stand out. In those First 12 Pages, you’re not just telling a story.

You’re earning trust.

You’re building belief.

You’re making sure readers turn the page and stay invested.

“Annual reports are too long. Companies should produce 1-10 page summaries, rather than creating 100s of pages in a report to sift through!” – VP at JPMorgan

Why it matters

The First 12 Pages should set the tone, establish the brand narrative, and provide a snapshot of the company’s identity. Stakeholders often form their first impressions here – so it must be crafted with purpose and precision.

And, crucially, this opening should pull through the theme introduced on the cover – the core message that defines the year. Whether it’s growth, resilience, transformation or impact, the First 12 Pages are where that idea should come to life. The theme should echo throughout the rest of the report – not just be repeated, but reinforced, threaded through strategy, performance, governance, and ESG.

These First 12 Pages is your chance to capture your story. Page 1 is your first impression. Page 12 is your second. Everything after that should enhance and connect back to those First 12 Pages.

And yet, based on a review of 15 leading companies’ Annual Reports:

• 70% of companies did not carry their cover theme through to the First 12 Pages of the report; instead, leaving it on the front cover
• Just 27% of companies included any digital drivers such as QR codes or embedded links to online content or other sources outside of the report, missing an opportunity to streamline the report
• Just 46% included an investment case in the First 12 Pages of the report
• Only 46% included a discussion of market context in the First 12 Pages and, of those, few tied it into their strategy and growth opportunities effectively
• And only 40% presented a clear strategy discussion early on
• Less than half of companies had a First 12 Pages strong enough to stand alone, showing that many are still underusing the most valuable real estate in the report.

Anatomy of the First 12 Pages

To make those First 12 Pages count, here’s what they should include:

1. Who, why, what, where
   
   This is where it all begins. A succinct section that captures who you are, where you operate, what you do, and why it matters. It should also answer three fundamental questions: why do you exist? (your purpose), what guides you? (your values), and where are you heading? (your vision). It should include a purpose beyond profit and explain your role in creating a more sustainable society.

• 93% of companies reviewed did include a clear outline of the company’s purpose, vision, and strategy in the First 12 Pages of the report.
  

2. Highlights of the year
   
   This is your year in a page – the punchy, high-impact summary that gives stakeholders an immediate sense of how you’ve performed. It should combine the numbers that matter with the milestones – both operational and sustainability-focused – that define your progress.

• All of the reports included a clear snapshot of the performance highlights during the year. Some included narrative and storytelling in the form of an engaging ‘Year in Review’, while others only included figures.

3. What makes you a good investment
   
   In a market full of lookalike strategies and familiar promises, this is your moment to stand out – sharply and succinctly. What sets you apart from your peers? Why are you worth backing? Whether it’s your unique market position, your innovation, your customer loyalty, your leadership, or your ability to adapt – this is where you say it, boldly and clearly.

• 63% of companies did not include an investment case in the First 12 Pages of the report. Explicit, bold investment cases are still rare.

4. Market context
   
   What are the forces driving change in your industry? This section should set the stage. It’s where you explain that your company is tuned into the shifts, shocks, and structural changes shaping your sector.

• While 46% of companies addressed market context upfront, among those, few went beyond surface-level trends to show how these dynamics shaped their strategy and future growth.

5. How you create value
   
   Clear and concise – what do you do as a business, what are your competitive advantages, how do you generate revenue, how do you create value for your stakeholders?

• 73% of reports brought the business model into the First 12 Pages, using it to set the scene before diving into the detail in later pages.
  

6. Who leads the way
   
   Your leadership team isn’t just a set of names and titles – it’s the driving force behind your strategy, culture, and performance. What do they believe? How are they leading through uncertainty? And how are they driving your strategy and purpose forward – in their own words, not corporate boilerplate. Make it distinct, make it personal, make it different.

• Every report included a leadership statement, with 80% featuring both the Chair and CEO, and 20% relied solely on the CEO to set the tone in the strategic report.

“I really like it when a maverick Chair decides to forgo the rulebook and completely stamp their own style on it  – making it fun, interesting to read, ‘human’ and totally authentic. M&S and Next have had good ones in the past.” – Polly Ribet, Director, Hailhurst Limited

7. What is your strategy – and how well are you achieving it?
   
   This is the centrepiece of the strategic report – the part that connects purpose, performance, and progress. Your strategy is the ‘what’ – your overarching goal or vision for the business. Your strategic priorities are the ‘how’ – the levers you’re pulling to achieve that goal. Your KPIs are the ‘how well’ – the evidence that you’re actually making progress.

• 60% of reports missed the opportunity to introduce strategy within the First 12 Pages and, among those that did, only a third connected it to the CEO’s Review.

Our initial research has revealed that only two companies nailed the entire First 12 Pages: ITV and Legal & General.

ITV 2024 Annual Report

ITV’s First 12 Pages work hard – but they could work harder. The Annual Report opens strongly with a clear purpose-vision-strategy framework, performance highlights, and embedded links driving readers to the Social Impact Report, Pay Gap Report and wider website. This is followed by a clear business model, investor case, market context and CEO-owned strategy with KPIs – a best practice move. But without a unifying theme or stronger storytelling, the section feels functional, not stand-alone.

Legal & General 2024 Annual Report

Legal & General hits hard from the start. It opens with a bold, year-relevant ‘Year in Review’ – blending narrative, imagery, and facts to give an immediate sense of momentum. Financial and non-financial highlights are punchy and clear, alongside a clear overview of business structure and geographic reach. Leadership statements land a strong, warm ‘tone from the top’, with the CEO’s ‘First 100 Days’ personalising the narrative and humanising leadership. The investment case is tied to the year’s overarching theme – not forgotten about and left on the cover. Its new purpose and strategy follow, presented in a connected, cohesive way that builds belief and reinforces direction.

Why most companies get it wrong

Too many companies treat the First 12 Pages as an obligation, not an opportunity.

Here’s where many companies fall flat:

• Bland introductions that bury the lead
• Overloading the opening with technical jargon
• Failing to craft a unifying narrative that ties the story together
• ‘Too much, too soon’ – drowning the reader in data before telling the story.

The First 12 Pages should also act as the navigation point for the entire report, giving readers the essentials upfront, guiding them clearly to where they can find more detail, and reinforcing the key messages that define the year.

And in a digital-first world, the strongest reports now use these First 12 Pages as their online summary too, creating a seamless user journey across formats.

Whether it’s through embedded links or QR codes driving readers to more in-depth case studies online, or to relevant videos, using more digital drivers can help streamline reporting content and invite audiences to engage more deeply with your broader communications suite.

These First 12 Pages are supposed to introduce, not overwhelm. To engage, not exhaust. And yet, in so many reports, they read like an afterthought.

“If we can strip out the unnecessary complexity and provide clear, well-structured summaries with strong linkages, it goes a long way. Everyone’s time poor – and that kind of clarity makes all the difference.” – Sallie Pilot, Managing Director, The Investor & Issuer Forum

The Luminous fix: Storytelling meets strategy

At Luminous, we believe the First 12 Pages of your Annual Report aren’t just a formality, they’re your opening move. They’re your chance to set the tone, define your ambition, and show investors and stakeholders what kind of business you really are.

Across our work with clients, we consistently see familiar challenges:

• Front sections that are too factual and compliance-driven, missing the bigger story
• Purpose, strategy and performance disconnected instead of threaded together
• Data-heavy pages that overwhelm instead of inspire
• Themes introduced on the cover but forgotten by page one.

That’s where we come in.

Our approach blends storytelling with strategy. We don’t just tidy up content, we help companies sharpen their voice, simplify complexity, and shape a front section that tells a company’s story for the year.

Here’s what we focus on:

• Sharp, distinctive positioning from the first line
• Seamless narrative flow across identity, performance, strategy, and governance
• Design that enhances meaning, not just decorates
• Data storytelling that connects numbers to progress, purpose, and outcomes
• Purpose and ESG messaging that feels real, relevant, and reinforced across the report
• Smart page drivers and cross-referencing that guide the reader through the story intuitively.

Because great reporting today doesn’t just meet requirements. It invites investment –

in every sense of the word.

Let’s make your First 12 Pages – and your Annual Report – a story worth investing in.

We can start with a focused review of your front section, identifying how you can craft a First 12 Pages that resonates with your audience, sharpens your messaging, and captures the story you want to tell.

Get in touch to enquire about a ‘First 12 Pages’ review. Let’s turn your opening into an advantage.

Here are some other reports that we feel do the First 12 Pages right:

Aviva 2024 Annual Report

Aviva has a strong First 12 Pages that clearly captures the company’s purpose, ambition, performance, reasons to invest, how the company is delivering for customers and shareholders, and leadership’s discussion of strategy and market context. Aviva’s First 12 Pages also includes clear and useful signposting to other areas of the report.

Coca Cola HBC 2024 Annual Report

Coca Cola HBC has a clear, compelling First 12 Pages where each page works hard to capture the company’s key highlights, what the business does, why it exists and its social impacts, how it’s positioned for growth, what its key markets are and the market trends impacting its business, how it creates value for stakeholders, who its stakeholders are, how it engages with them and the outcomes of that engagement, and how its leadership is delivering on its strategy and purpose. The report also does a great job of linking the First 12 Pages to other areas of the report that enhance its story.

Zurich 2024 Annual Report

Zurich includes bold key messaging that clarify and connect to its theme on the cover – a theme that captures the company’s ambition and plan for the next three years. Within the First 12 Pages, the company explains its performance, business structure and geographic reach, and provides a united leadership voice communicating market movements and strategic progress.