The Belden brand is well known and highly regarded by regular buyers of specialty wire and cable products. Among investors and other general audiences, however, the company and brand are less recognized.

Our challenge was to create an annual report, a new investor relations web site and Power Point investor presentation to help these non-technical audiences understand the company, its products and its strategic positioning.

Previous investor communications often focused on the sophisticated technology that Belden's products support. With these communications, our goal was always to change perception, helping investor audiences understand the differences between Belden's specialty products and ordinary wire and cable.

With the current year's report, we took an entirely different tactic. Instead of wowing readers with whiz-bang technologies, we shifted our concentration to the human needs they address. Using captivating people photos as illustration, we described in simple terms how Belden wire and cable products enable consumers and industries worldwide to use technology to do their work and live their lives. "Linking people with technology" is the brand message we integrated throughout the media mix, which included a Flash animation and a new investor relations web site.