AMiable Solution #180: Celebrate You!

No matter how long your organization has been around, the fact that it’s alive and kickin’ is cause for celebration.  If you have a significant milestone coming up--say, a 10-, 25-, or 50-year anniversary, or the anniversary of a key product or service--that’s even more reason to mark and market the occasion.

There’s no ideal way to celebrate your organization’s anniversary.  Your celebration will depend on your market, your history, your budget, and your organization’s brand or personality.  Here, however, are a few tips and suggestions to help get you started:

·        For a relatively inexpensive and value-added announcement, create a tip sheet with helpful hints for your target market.  Match the number of tips to the number of years your organization is celebrating.

·        Create a special anniversary logo, and use it the entire year on stationary, in marketing, on your website, etc. 

·        Mark the occasion with an organization-wide day of service to local non-profits or other community groups.

·        Market a limited-time sale or develop a limited-edition product to mark the anniversary.

·        Create and post a video of your organization and its history.  Include old photos, old and new marketing, old and innovative products or services, and brief interviews with various personnel, past and present.

·        Issue a press release announcing your organization’s anniversary, its major accomplishments, and its plans for the future.

·        Sponsor a local event or make a major contribution to a local need.

·        If appropriate, consider using this opportunity to update your company’s image or to unveil new products, policies, or initiatives.

·        Include your employees!  No matter how you choose to celebrate--with a big, formal party or a simple banner on the building--let your employees be part of the celebration.  After all, they’re what keep the company going and growing.

Don’t limit your plans to one event or one promotion.  You have an entire year to celebrate, so make the most of it.  Highlighting your organization’s years of service to the industry reminds your customers, your donors, your members, your prospects, and your suppliers that your organization is successful and plans to remain so for years to come.