It always amazes me when companies overlook the simple things, like their own birthdays. Marking major milestones, like 10 years in business, is a great way to engage customers, reinforce credibility, and garner press. If you or one of your clients has a significant birthday coming up in 2011, here are five celebratory ideas to weave into the marketing plan.
1. Note it on your website. I’m not talking words, but rather some sort of a visual that appears on every page. (Yes, you’ll want to note it in words as well — a blurb on your home page and a press release in your media section will work.)
2. Create a promotion around the number. For example, if you’re celebrating 10 years in business and you’re an acupuncturist, have a contest where you’ll give one lucky winner 10 FREE treatments. You can get a lot of mileage out of a contest like this, since you can promote it through your website, newsletter, Facebook, Twitter, email signatures, etc. To enter, people can fill out a form and write a brief statement (250 words or less) as to why they should be the winner and what they’d use the treatments for.
3. Expand your “About Us” section on your website. Add “Through the Years” or a “Time Line” (or both) on your site where you visually walk people through some of your major milestones. For ideas, check out these cool time lines from Green Giant and Wrangler.
4. Throw a party. Seems obvious, right? But I mean throw a party for your employees, customers, and vendors. No, not everyone will be able to come, but a party mid-year (late June is a good time) is always a great way to thank people for their involvement in your success. Here in Massachusetts, a cool, fun place to hold a corporate event in Kimball Farm (great ice cream!) in Westford, Mass. Michael Katz of Blue Penguin has been holding events there for the last several years.
5. Give gifts. Identify your top tier clients and send them a gift that signifies your business milestone. Use the traditional/modern themes for anniversaries as a starting point, but then let your imagination run wild. For example, if you’re celebrating 20 years in business, consider sending an arrangement of day lilies to your top clients with a heartfelt thank you note (the day lily is the flower associated with 20th anniversaries).
Have some other ideas? I’d love to hear them. Leave ‘em in the comments.
These are all great ideas to celebrate, but let’s not forget what a company anniversary is: a milestone. You should look back as a ways of looking forward, and reflect on you company’s history and how you got there.
Weaving stories from your company history into your anniversary communications add authenticity and help communicate the achievement of your anniversary.
Absolutely. That’s one of the reasons I suggest expanding the about section with a “Through the Years” and/or time line. Thanks for stopping by!
Absolutely. That’s one of the reasons I suggest expanding the about section with a “Through the Years” and/or time line. Thanks for stopping by!
corporate events are filled with lots of exciting things and some promotional items too *`’
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