Company anniversaries are exciting milestones, which we help our clients celebrate through a variety of activities, including media relations, social media engagement, blog development, event promotion, the introduction of new programs, and internal communications.
Below are some examples of activities we have executed on behalf of our clients to support various anniversaries. These examples range from companies celebrating two years in business to those celebrating 100-year milestones. I’ve also shared a couple of examples of what we have done to celebrate our own firm’s anniversaries over the years.
Regardless of the number of years an organization is celebrating, there are a variety of ways to mark the anniversary. Some companies host parties, receptions, events or contests, others leverage social media, videos, infographics and/or updated logos to drive awareness. The specific theme and activities depend on the objectives and resources available.
Tideworks: 20-Year Anniversary
Tideworks celebrated its 20-year anniversary in 2019. The culmination of the celebration was at its customer conference in September. Leading up to that event, we partnered with the Tideworks team to promote a video they developed, “We are Tideworks.” We provided YouTube description recommendations, as well as social media content (LinkedIn, Twitter, etc.). We secured a two-page article with one of the company’s target industry publications, Container Management, “Old head on young shoulders,” which focused on the company anniversary and milestones.
Delta-Q: 20-Year Anniversary
Delta-Q opted to focus the majority of its anniversary activities on celebrating internally with its employees. In addition, the team hosted a cocktail hour at one of the industry’s largest trade shows where they invited long-term partners. We invited key media to the event and company booth, which resulted in in-person interviews and coverage with industry media such as EE Power, “Delta-Q Turns 20 and Will Celebrate with New Mid-Power Chargers at The Battery Show.” We also drove coverage throughout the year related to ongoing company and product news leveraging the anniversary as a supporting proof point: 2019 at a Glance: Delta-Q Technologies.
Darigold: 100-Year Anniversary
As Darigold prepared to celebrate its 100-year anniversary, we developed a communication plan to complement the activities that the broader marketing team was organizing to celebrate the anniversary with its farmer members. The focus of Darigold’s celebration was primarily for those members, offering a large party at its annual meeting. As part of our media relations efforts, we secured a cover article in the Seattle Times, “Darigold aims to sell more than half of its dairy output abroad despite trade spat,” in addition to industry coverage.
Villa Academy: 100-Year Anniversary
In 2003 we were asked to drive coverage of Villa Academy’s 100-year anniversary. This activity led to a cover story with the Puget Sound Business Journal, coverage with the Seattle PI and other local and industry publications. There was also a reception to celebrate this milestone.
The Triple Door: Second-Year Anniversary
As part of its second-year anniversary, we proposed, and The Triple Door created, a charitable program called “The Young Artist Fund” to benefit the Garfield and Roosevelt high-school band programs. This was a significant proof point demonstrating The Triple Door’s long-term commitment to the community. The charitable program added a valuable news element to its anniversary, offering timeliness (the launch of the charity), proximity and human interest. We developed a communications plan and secured significant local coverage around the anniversary, the charity and The Triple Door (and Wild Ginger’s) commitment to helping local band programs.
Communiqué PR’s Anniversaries
In addition to the activities we executed on behalf of our clients’ anniversaries, we have celebrated our own firm’s anniversaries over the years.
For our fifth anniversary, we combined the celebration with the launch of our book, Strategic Public Relations: 10 Principles to Harness the Power of PR.
For our sixth anniversary, we executed a contest via social media, with winners receiving a copy of our book. This led to significant engagement – including establishing key relationships that have spanned the years since.
More recently we celebrated our 15-year anniversary in 2019 with a party to gather our clients, employees, partners as well as friends and family.
Celebrating milestones can offer a valuable way to connect and engage with employees, partners and customers. Consider your organization’s objectives when planning ways to acknowledge and celebrate an anniversary. In what ways have you or your organization celebrated significant milestones?