We love celebrating milestones here at Mobas and this year is a bumper one for our clients. Marmalade, the specialist car insurance firm for young drivers, is turning 10, architectural systems company Reynaers Aluminium is marking its first 25 years in business and the innovative green recycling expert Ellgia is having not one, but two anniversaries this year. While we’re gearing up to see these important dates out in style, we wanted to share our five top reasons for how to celebrate and the stories to tell.
- Legacy
It’s great to look back and pay tribute to the heritage of your founders, your first products, and first premises but to grab attention you need to find a news hook. Captivate the world with the story of your early struggles and breakthroughs; if your founders sacrificed everything to bring their dream to fruition or persisted through crippling set-backs, make use of it in your anniversary campaign. Bring back retro branding via your online channels and product packaging, or you could even offer open door experiences and site tours to give your audience an exclusive experience that money can’t buy.
- Innovation
If your company has survived some whopping cultural or technological shifts, how have you kept yourselves relevant? Alternatively, what makes you timeless in a quickly evolving market? Whether you have invented an original product that is consistently popular or it’s your constant innovation that makes you stand out, remind everyone – and yourselves – how you earned your place. This can translate into future marketing campaigns and brand strategy: you should be proud of your endurance and ability to adapt throughout the years.
- Unity
Bringing everyone together to celebrate is a fantastic way to inject a big feel-good boost into employee morale and client/consumer-brand attitudes, as well as showing staff and customers your appreciation for their hard work and loyalty. Throw a party or awards ceremony for your staff, and don’t forget the cake! For clients and consumers, you could run a promotion or give away gifts. Something as simple as a quirky mug could live on in kitchens and offices forever. Happiness is a priceless asset and will do wonders for productivity, engagement and sales.
- Reflection
A milestone day or year offers an ideal chance to look back on company history, assess your current position and look forward to the future. You don’t often get the opportunity to step back and refresh your perspective on what’s working – or not – so make the most of it. Create an infographic on your company history or changing industry trends to share with the world on social media, or bury a time capsule to be unearthed at your next milestone. Nostalgia is great, but don’t forget to consider what’s happening in years or months to come.
- PR
Make a song and dance about your anniversary! This doesn’t have to be done with a sterile press release, American Express Global Business Travel launched a microsite last year to commemorate a century of business travel, and just last week Thomas Cook announced its first ideas for marking its 175th-anniversary. The media loves to pick up on significant events: be creative, be visual and try to encapsulate what your company and brand stands for. Any coverage will be infinitely beneficial to your brand; you’re a successful company that’s great to work with or for, with more on their agenda than just sales and money.
You wouldn’t let the birthdays of your nearest and dearest pass by unnoticed, so don’t neglect the corporate anniversaries. Whether it’s one, five or a hundred years; invest in your success to make it an event that reflects the character of your business and gets as many people as possible on board. These traditions won’t be forgotten and can be repeated or developed for years to come.
If you’ve got an upcoming anniversary and need some creative ideas on how to mark it, talk to the team at Mobas today. You can reach us at say.hello@mobas.com or +44 (0) 1223 841699.
