In marketing, a corporate anniversary is a celebration of a firm's continued existence after a particular number of years. The celebration is a
media event
A media event, also known as a pseudo-event, is an event, activity, or experience conducted for the purpose of media publicity. It may also include any event that is covered in the mass media or was hosted largely with the media in mind.
In media ...
which can help a firm achieve diverse
marketing
Marketing is the process of exploring, creating, and delivering value to meet the needs of a target market in terms of goods and services; potentially including selection of a target audience; selection of certain attributes or themes to emph ...
goals, such as promoting its
corporate identity
A corporate identity or corporate image is the manner in which a corporation, firm or business enterprise presents itself to the public (such as customers and investors as well as employees). The corporate identity is typically visualized by ...
, boosting employee morale, building greater investor confidence, and encouraging sales. As a
public relations
Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. P ...
opportunity,
it is a way for a firm to tout past accomplishments
while strengthening relationships with employees and customers and investors. The duration of the celebration itself can vary considerably, from an hour or day
[ to activities happening throughout the year.] Many businesses use an anniversary to express gratitude for past success. Generally, larger corporations have the means to stage more elaborate celebrations.
Characteristics
An anniversary can advertise a firm's staying power and longevity. A report in ''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' explained the marketing logic:
Marketers choose variables relating to anniversaries[Variables include number of past years to celebrate, place for the celebration, budget, and so forth.] to meet specific promotional objectives. While the length of time celebrated by an anniversary is often divisible by five, such as the 10th, 15th, 25th, 50th, or 80th anniversary, there are no hard and fast rules. For example, Google
Google LLC () is an American multinational technology company focusing on search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, artificial intelligence, and consumer electronics. ...
celebrated its 13th anniversary with a special "doodle" for its main search page which showed a colorful image of "cake, presents and balloons." Generally, anniversaries are chosen to coincide with marketing initiatives, such that "any coming of age will do," according to one view.[ An anniversary can commemorate not only a firm's founding year but the introduction of a successful company ]brand
A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create an ...
,[ a merger,][ a patent,][ or some other milestone. There are a wide variety of marketing gimmicks and appeals which can accompany an anniversary celebration: ]sweepstakes
A sweepstake is a type of contest where a prize or prizes may be awarded to a winner or winners. Sweepstakes began as a form of lottery that were tied to products sold. In response, the FCC and FTC refined U.S. broadcasting laws (creating the ...
,[ contests,][ thank you letters,][ special product editions,][ parties,][ guest speakers, birthday displays on websites,] giveaways,[ new product introductions,][ publicity stunts, sponsorships, fireworks, live musical performances,][ commemorative packaging,] anniversary rings, promotions,[ signs in retail stores,][ donations, scholarships, temporary price reductions or discounts,][ reflections on past accomplishments,] special ad campaigns,[ new logos,][ and so on.
]
Planning
Planning an anniversary can take years. In some cases, special marketing consultants and event planners
Event may refer to:
Gatherings of people
* Ceremony, an event of ritual significance, performed on a special occasion
* Convention (meeting), a gathering of individuals engaged in some common interest
* Event management, the organization of eve ...
have been hired to coordinate the effort. Large corporations typically work closely with their corporate advertising agency
An advertising agency, often referred to as a creative agency or an ad agency, is a business dedicated to creating, planning, and handling advertising and sometimes other forms of promotion and marketing for its clients. An ad agency is generally ...
as well as their marketing
Marketing is the process of exploring, creating, and delivering value to meet the needs of a target market in terms of goods and services; potentially including selection of a target audience; selection of certain attributes or themes to emph ...
and sales departments to plan sometimes elaborate campaigns, often with a special theme to mark the occasion. For example, Starbucks
Starbucks Corporation is an American multinational chain of coffeehouses and roastery reserves headquartered in Seattle, Washington. It is the world's largest coffeehouse chain.
As of November 2021, the company had 33,833 stores in 80 c ...
marked their 40th anniversary with a redesigned logo
A logo (abbreviation of logotype; ) is a graphic mark, emblem, or symbol used to aid and promote public identification and recognition. It may be of an abstract or figurative design or include the text of the name it represents as in a wordma ...
and media campaign. Guinness Brewery
St. James's Gate Brewery is a brewery founded in 1759 in Dublin, Ireland, by Arthur Guinness. The company is now a part of Diageo, a company formed from the merger of Guinness and Grand Metropolitan in 1997. The main product of the brewery is ...
celebrated its 250th anniversary with a global advertising effort. In 1972, ''Time magazine
''Time'' (stylized in all caps) is an American news magazine based in New York City. For nearly a century, it was published weekly, but starting in March 2020 it transitioned to every other week. It was first published in New York City on Mar ...
'' celebrated its 50th anniversary with events throughout the year:
There is flexibility in terms of choosing which dates to use when determining an anniversary. The start date is often the month or year when a firm was founded, but this can vary considerably, and exceptions are the rule; for example, Lego
Lego ( , ; stylized as LEGO) is a line of plastic construction toys that are manufactured by The Lego Group, a privately held company based in Billund, Denmark. The company's flagship product, Lego, consists of variously colored interlocking ...
toys celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2008 –– exactly 50 years after the time when the founder's son, Godtfred Kirk Christiansen
Godtfred Kirk Christiansen (8 July 1920 – 13 July 1995) was the Managing Director of The Lego Group from 1957 to 1973. He was the third son of company founder Ole Kirk Christiansen and took over as Managing Director in 1957, eventually becoming ...
, filed a patent for the iconic plastic bricks in 1958.
Difficulty in measuring success
Measuring the success of any advertising effort, including an anniversary celebration, can be difficult. Sometimes an anniversary generates negative publicity, such as the tenth anniversary of the merger between AOL
AOL (stylized as Aol., formerly a company known as AOL Inc. and originally known as America Online) is an American web portal and online service provider based in New York City. It is a brand marketed by the current incarnation of Yahoo (2017â ...
and Time Warner
Warner Media, LLC ( traded as WarnerMedia) was an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate. It was headquartered at the 30 Hudson Yards complex in New York City, United States.
It was originally established in 1972 by ...
, which was largely seen as a colossal business blunder. A report in ''The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' suggested that corporate anniversaries do not always lead to "happy returns":
See also
* Advertising
Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to put a product or service in the spotlight in hopes of drawing it attention from consumers. It is typically used to promote a ...
* Corporate identity
A corporate identity or corporate image is the manner in which a corporation, firm or business enterprise presents itself to the public (such as customers and investors as well as employees). The corporate identity is typically visualized by ...
* Event management
Event management is the application of project management to the creation and development of small and/or large-scale personal or corporate events such as festivals, conferences, ceremonies, weddings, formal parties, concerts, or conventions. ...
* Event planning
Event management is the application of project management to the creation and development of small and/or large-scale personal or corporate events such as festivals, conferences, ceremonies, weddings, formal parties, concerts, or conventions. ...
* Marketing strategy
Marketing strategy allows organizations to focus limited resources on best opportunities to increase sales and achieve a competitive advantage in the market.
Strategic marketing emerged in the 1970s/80s as a distinct field of study, further build ...
* Media event
A media event, also known as a pseudo-event, is an event, activity, or experience conducted for the purpose of media publicity. It may also include any event that is covered in the mass media or was hosted largely with the media in mind.
In media ...
* Public relations
Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. P ...
References
{{Reflist, 2
External links
Anniversary marketing
Public relations
Sales promotion
Anniversaries
Public relations techniques