Celebrating a corporate milestone anniversary is about more than just the longevity of the company. Milestone years are the time to reinforce company values, recognize employees, thank customers, and outline goals for the future. It’s a time to re-energize and excite everyone who contributes to the company’s success.
Choosing a Theme
Every company is different, so there’s no “right” way to celebrate a milestone. The celebration should be a unique reflection of the company and its values. However, there should be a unifying theme that is strung through all anniversary events and activities. By choosing a theme early and sticking to it, employees and customers will receive consistent messaging and the celebration itself will be more cohesive. This theme should become the tagline for any social posts or print media published about the anniversary.
Tell Your Story
A milestone year is a time for reflection. What is the company’s journey so far? What is the key to its success? How has it overcome its challenges? By the time it’s reached a milestone year, every company has a rich history to tell. Sharing stories is a powerful way to connect with people and invite emotional investment. Tell this story to employees and customers alike. Through a video, a speech, social media, or all three, communicating the proud legacy of the company is a great way to make people feel that they’re part of it too.
Recognize Employees
As a vital part of every company’s success story, employees should be celebrated all year round. Depending on the size of the company, a gift, trip, or party for everyone may be appropriate. Keep in mind you are not only celebrating your company’s milestone and success, but you are also celebrating the people who helped the company get to that milestone! Highlighting exemplary or long-standing employees is a great way to expand upon the company’s story and values. Honor those who have gone above and beyond with a distinguished award and invite them to share their experience. The company is not truly celebrating itself unless it’s shining the spotlight on their employees.
Give Back
As a long-standing institution, it’s a great idea to consider philanthropic efforts. Consider the company’s mission, values, and the theme decided upon for the milestone anniversary, then apply them to a community effort. For instance, Lowe’s celebrated their 100th anniversary with a “100 Hometowns'' and “100 Murals” initiative which involved impact projects in communities nationwide and employed 100 artists to beautify public spaces. Now, most companies don’t have millions of dollars to spend on enormous philanthropy projects, but finding a way to give back to the community and aligning that with the company’s branding is always a good idea.
Go All Out
A milestone year deserves celebration. Properly marking the occasion not only instills pride in employees, but it also signals to customers that the company is reliable. Businesses should make the most of the event by showcasing themselves in a variety of ways across multiple mediums. They can drum up excitement on social media with a countdown, hashtag, videos, and interviews with key employees and clients. Sending “thank you” cards to top vendors and clients is another great way to engage people and nurture relationships. Creating a special milestone logo also goes a long way when marketing anniversary events. E. A. Dion celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2018 with this celebratory logo design:
A milestone anniversary year is a huge opportunity for companies to celebrate their successes and broadcast their achievements as loudly as they can. As long as they stay true to their values and branding, recognize those who got them this far, and put effort into the celebration, they really can’t go wrong.
By Aubrey Dion
Aubrey Dion is proud to be back working for the family business she grew up in. Over the years, she has performed a wide variety of jobs in both the office and factory, becoming a true "jack of all trades." Aubrey credits her quick learning ability to her strong theatre background, where memorization and attention to detail are vital. Working in the marketing department allows her to stay creative and work on exciting new projects for the company.