Company Anniversary Marketing Events - There Is No Substitute

Creating company anniversary marketing events may be the most important thing you do to celebrate your organization's history.

Electronic media and all the forms of social media can nurture a connection, suggest a connection, facilitate a real connection but are still like talking to your loved ones through plastic screens at the county lockup. Meeting in person with no barriers is the surest way to actually make a connection.

Anniversary events can create bonds between people. There is simply no substitute for being in the same room with people who are buying your products, using your service, donating to your cause, selling materials to you, working for your organization, investing in your venture, supporting your presence in their community, and making regulations that affect your business.

Many organizations have their 'inside sales' people meet clients at events, such as conventions, trade shows, etc., because they understand the value of face to face contact to establish, build and reinvigorate a relationship. Social media is beneficial, e-mail is effective, phone conversations are indispensable but looking into someone's eyes when you are in the same room, enjoying a shared experience is worth, as my dad used to say, all the tea in China. It's worth a lot.

Despite what you see on 'reality television,' people generally are polite when they meet in person, which opens the door to build a relationship that includes shared experiences, common interests, and personal responses. Events also can lead to rebuilding a tattered or neglected relationship. So get into the room together.

Events come in all sizes, shapes and colors

Just one of the things that Harley Davidson did in celebration of its 100th anniversary was its Open Road Tour - a nine-city traveling festival billed as "The World's Largest Rolling Birthday party," giving people a chance to interact with the Harley-Davidson brand.

The culminating event of Honda's 25th anniversary of making motorcycles in Marysville, Ohio, was a three-day dinner, attended by a record 16,742 visitors, who helped kick off Honda's 25th year of building motor vehicles in Ohio.

The Kellogg Foundation sponsored a series of six program-related seminars designed to advance the impact of philanthropy.

Peet's Coffee and Tea, celebrating it's 40th company anniversary, invited customers to visit their neighborhood stores for in-store tastings, home brewing workshops, lectures, and complimentary beans and beverages.

Who to invite, what to say

Most important, when you are planning your corporate anniversary event, know what messages you want and need to deliver and to whom. And consider incorporating a major listening component into the event.

Red Hat, which bills itself as "The world's most trusted provider of Linux and open source technology," following its 10thanniversary, undertook a world-wide tour to meet people interested in Red Hat and to spread the message of open source, as well as to hear from customers all over the globe.

Invite to your company anniversary events those persons who mean the most to the future success of your endeavors. Listen to what they have to say. Tell them about your plans, and tell them how you figure in each other's lives going forward.

Don't go it alone

How do you determine the specific marketing objectives for your anniversary events? How do you develop marketing objectives embraced by all? How do you convince your employees that these events are important to their future? How do you irresistibly convince your sales force to follow up on the leads that are generated by your events? Find a marketing partner.

What strategies are you going to use to guarantee significant ROI on your events? How do you determine the best ways to promote your events? How do you shape your events from start to finish for maximum impact? Find a marketing partner.

Don't go it alone. This is just too important to fold into the assignments of an already overworked staff. Get assistance in determining the best events to use for your audiences and help in both developing and executing those events. This will pay you enormous dividends.