Advertising and Media Planning: Company Website

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Overview

Company websites provide information on the organization of a company, as well as the company's core mission and vision.  For publicly traded companies, these websites also contain important information for investors such as copies of annual reports, press releases, and company news.

Mission and Vision Statements

Mission and vision statements are often available on a company's website, though the terminology may be slightly different.  Rather than searching for "mission statement," try searching for just the word mission or our mission – a commonly used phrase.

Do not retrieve a mission statement from a third party site as these types of statements change over time. Current mission statements should come from the company directly.

Annual Reports and 10-Ks

Annual reports and 10-Ks can contain a wealth of information about your company. Annual reports are compiled for shareholders and other interested parties, while 10-Ks are formal documents that publicly traded companies are required to file with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Both documents contain similar, if not identical information, including:

  • Names of executives with titles
  • Business units and products
  • Revenue and profits
  • Initiatives
  • Key competitors

Investor Information

Publicly traded companies will have a page of investor information on their website.  Look for a link labeled Investors, Investor Relations, or Corporate Information to find annual reports, SEC filings, stock and financial information, and press releases. If you don't see an option on the company's main page, try looking for an About Us section.

Using Google to search a company's website

Not all websites have robust search engines available.  You can use Google to search the content of many companies' websites by adding site:yourwebsiteurl.com to the end of your search.

For example, you could search Coca-Cola's website using the following Google search:

mission site:coca-colacompany.com

Try searching your company's website for its mission statement using the search box below:

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