De Beers Socio Economic Report

Challenge

In 2004, De Beers signed a socio-economic agreement (SEA) outlining obligations the company had to deliver on.  These promises are all about De Beers giving back to the northern communities in which it works.  De Beers made several commitments related to local hiring, training opportunities for workers, local business development, social and cultural preservation and the creation of the De Beers Socio-Economic Monitoring Agency.   This agreement stemmed from the development of the Snap Lake Mine, 220 km northeast of Yellowknife. 

As part of this agreement, De Beers must report on how it has met or is working towards meeting its SEA obligations.  Tait Communications was hired to work in partnership with De Beers to create the 2009 Socio Economic Report.  The 2009 report followed a year of global recession, and a year where De Beers temporarily suspended operations for several months.  The challenge was in underlining its continued commitment to its SEA obligations even through these challenging conditions.

Solution

Tait focused on profiling De Beers’ success through stories of its people (employees and contractors), and positioned De Beers as a company that has come through a period of economic downturn as more efficient, stronger and poised for a prosperous future. 

After working closely with De Beers through all stages of production, Tait provided De Beers with a 32 page, full colour magazine that both conveyed how De Beers was fulfilling its obligations to the North and acted as a promotional piece with strong visuals and interesting, engaging content.