ConocoPhillips’ spirit magazine delivers the best of print and web worlds

The fact that ConocoPhillips’ magazine, spirit (with a deliberate lower-case “s”), continues to be printed after 11 years is testimony to the value it delivers to both its internal and external audiences. Its enduring appeal has won spirit first place in the “Magazine” category of Ragan’s 2017 Employee Communications Awards.

Over time, spirit has maintained an impressive consistency, organizing content into four sections: The Big Picture (a series of three high-resolution photographs spread over two pages each and described in one-paragraph captions), feature articles (running from six to 14 pages), faces of ConocoPhillips (two-page profiles) and In The News (a compilation of events and news stories). 

An executive leader’s letter opens each issue, discussing the cover story. The last page, On Assignment, contains brief bios of contributors and a listing of the publication’s staff. 

The print product is absolutely gorgeous, but the web version demands attention, too, featuring videos, interactivity and a unique ability to compile a personalized PDF. 

The staff of the magazine uses a SharePoint site to manage production. A running editorial calendar helps identify content and keep production on schedule, along with weekly production meetings. 

The quarterly 72-page magazine could easily hold its own on any newsstand against any consumer publication. The photography is big and bold, the writing is crisp and the topics are intriguing. 

The professional rigor applied to this publication is one reason the organization has kept it going all these years, with its content repurposed on its website, in the annual report, in recruitment programs and on social media platforms—another sign of its success.

Congratulations to the editorial team of Ray Scippa, Jan Hester, Gus Morgan, Ashley Dillon, Michele Gunnett and Kevin Bonny.