A Powerful
Marketing Advantage:
Your Company's Anniversary
Successful
companies have long realized the value of advertising their anniversary.
By Stephen G. Fossler
Every year, over two million companies
have the opportunity to celebrate a business anniversary, yet only a small
percentage realize what a powerful marketing tool an anniversary can be.
Whether your firm is 5 or 105 years old, a business anniversary offers
opportunities to promote your company, improve employee morale and boost
sales. The most powerful benefit is the
confidence your anniversary generates in current customers and prospects.
People like to do business with successful companies, companies they believe
will be around to back their products and service, companies with the
experience and know-how to get the job done right. Advertising and promoting a business
anniversary need not be limited to retailers or consumer goods companies.
As you'll see from the following business-building techniques, companies
in the material handling industry can also use the celebration of their
anniversary to increase awareness of their company and build sales.
Advertising
Your anniversary is a time when
you have something your competition can't match. When you feature your
anniversary announcement in your ads, you have the advantage. And think
about this: you even have an advantage over a company that's been around
longer than you, if they're not promoting their years of service. Successful companies have long
realized the value of advertising their anniversary. Here are some slogans
used by well-known companies. Use them to generate ideas for your own
anniversary advertising campaign:
- "A Golden Past, A Gleaming
Future" (Sheraton Hotels)
- "Some Things Just Naturally
Get Better With Age" (McCann-Erickson Advertising)
- "Here Today...Here Tomorrow" (Cross Pens)
If you don't have the budget for
an entirely new ad campaign, you should at least make mention of your
milestone year in your existing ads. Remember, by mentioning your anniversary
in your advertising you are reminding everyone—customers, prospects
and suppliers—that you're successful, you've stood the test of time,
and you'll be around when they need you in the years to come.
Free
Publicity
A well-promoted company anniversary
can generate valuable free publicity. It's easy to send a press release
announcing your achievement. Make your release interesting enough and
you might get coverage from the wire services, like the makers of the
world-famous Twinkie did. They had a Twinkie cast of solid gold, worth
$50,000, and gave it away to a customer during one of their anniversary
promotions. Too rich for your blood? How about
simply baking a pie? The Florida resort of Captiva Island celebrated its
15th anniversary by baking a 15 foot key lime pie. It was big enough to
get into the Guinness Book of Records—and generate plenty of free
publicity. To celebrate its 100th anniversary,
Maytag conducted a search for the oldest working Maytag washing machine,
offering $1,000 and a free new model in exchange. The story was all over
the radio generating free, national publicity. What can you do to announce your
success and remind people of the business you're in? How about donating
15 automobiles full of cash to your local library for your 15th anniversary?
Well, that might be a bit too extreme, but you get the point! Send your press releases to industry
publications that your customers and prospects might subscribe to and
don't forget your local papers, too. Use some creativity and try to make
it interesting enough for publication. Simply mentioning your anniversary
probably won't do the trick, but a historical tie-in might help. For example, "Acme Heavy Industries is celebrating our 25th anniversary" is not as
attention-getting as "Back when the first rocks were coming back from
the moon is the same year Acme Heavy Industries started moving rocks of
a different sort!"
Promotions
Don't limit your anniversary announcements
to your advertising. For the entire year, everywhere people see your company
name, they should be reminded of your anniversary. Print special anniversary
letterheads (or use the attention-getting foil seals) and business cards,
or print "It's Our XXth Year!" on your brochures, price sheets and quotes. Anniversary announcement cards
or letters are the perfect way for you to contact customers and prospects
during the year without seeming to sell. "It's our 10th Anniversary
and we'd like to Thank You for your support. We couldn't have done it
without you!" is a nice message that is sure to make people feel good
about your company. It also reinforces the message that you've got a strong
track record of success. To build good will and meet your
prospects and customers on your own familiar turf, consider an anniversary
open house. Send announcements inviting them and don't forget local politicians.
This is a good opportunity to show off your facilities and "bend a few
ears" while you have a captive audience under friendly, non-selling conditions.
Boost
Employee Morale
Don't miss this opportunity to
add a little swagger to the step of your employees. They're proud to be
a part of a winning team. How about special anniversary T-shirts, caps
or jackets? Customers will also love them and everywhere they're worn,
they promote your company and your success, all year long. You might also consider using
this special time to give recognition to your employees. Let them know
you appreciate their contribution to your success over the years. Reward
them with certificates or special awards commemorating their contributions
and years of service.
Sales
Contests
Your anniversary offers the perfect
theme for a sales contest while keeping your record of success in the
minds of your sales people. Anniversary number tie-ins are commonplace:
e.g., 25th anniversary...the first salesperson to reach $25,000 in sales;
8th anniversary...first to generate eight new accounts. The most important thing to remember
is this: Your anniversary lasts 12 full months. Don't make the common
mistake of only announcing it early in the year and then forgetting about
it. Each time someone notices how long you've been in business (even if
it's in the last month of your special year), they hear a powerful message.
Try a number of promotions throughout the year to get maximum impact.
And if 10, 15 or 25 years are
important, what about 11, 16 and 28? Smart companies know they simply
can't afford to wait another five years to start reminding their customers
of their track record of success. So they advertise their years in business
each and every year. Some companies report that announcing an "odd year" anniversary is even more effective because it attracts attention. Who
wouldn't stop and think for a moment when they see 14th or 23rd year announcements? |
