When an organization reaches a milestone, such as an 20th anniversary or 1,000th customer, it’s a public relations opportunity. Such an accomplishment is perfect for a milestone marketing campaign. It creates credibility in the eyes of the public and has internal benefits. First decide on a budget and time-frame for the campaign. Then groundwork should be in place: Talking points, logo revisions, additions to the website, special events and hashtag research. Develop a talking points document about the organization. Share it as a Google document to everyone in the organization to ensure a consistent message. For a 20th anniversary, include facts such as year founded, number of employees, growth rate, and future of the company. Think of all the questions that could be asked about the milestone and develop answers that are positive and truthful. Your employees will likely be asked by family and friends about the anniversary, while your CEO may be asked by a reporter who is doing a news article. Talking points leave no room for misinformation. Design a badge or tagline for your logo stating the milestone. Pearson Construction launched its anniversary after the actual 50th anniversary, so we added a tagline to the logo. ARC Abatement and First National Bank McGregor opted for a badge which could be part of the logo or not, depending on where the logo would be placed. Add information about the milestone on your website, perhaps design an entire page dedicated to it. Ensure the page is easy to find and links from the home page. Most milestone marketing campaigns include an event which can be publicized on social media and in a press release. Event ideas range from small to big: Free cupcakes to customers on a specified day, mint a commemorative coin or sponsor an event through your local Chamber of Commerce. In celebration of its 125th year, we recommended that First National Bank McGregor launched a program that recognizes the good works of area charities called Charity Champions. Write a press release — based on your talking points — about the milestone and event, top the release with your new logo or tagline. The campaign is launched the day you send the release to local media. If you have photos to help tell the story, offer to send the reporters photos. As part of First National Bank McGregor’s partnership with Baylor University, we secured a 10 minute radio interview to promote Charity Champions. Launch a social media campaign on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at the same day and time the press release goes out. Post at least several times a week. For campaigns lasting longer than three months, create a Facebook Page specific to the campaign. Employ hashtags to extend the conversation about your milestone. Monitor the hashtags and respond. According to the Wall Street Journal article, “Blinded by a Blizzard of Hashtags: Advertisers’ Pitfalls,” the head of marketing for LG USA, says, “You have to engage in a way that already works organically so it doesn’t feel like you’re trying to sell something.” For First National Bank McGregor Charity Champions campaign, we use #FNB125, #CharityChampions, #Bank125th and #YourBank4Life. Depending on your budget, buy advertising time on television for an image commercial. If you are an non-profit, produce a PSA. Radio and TV stations will air it at no charge. For print, determine the publication with the highest circulation and place an ad. Select the issue that will feature editorial that ties to your organization by looking at the magazine’s editorial calendar. Non-profits get special rates on print ads too. Billboards are another option. The timing of the ad campaign should coincide with the press release and social media campaign. Begin to wrap-up the campaign a week or two before ends by highlighting the successes and accomplishments on your website and in social media. The British Monarchy uses Storify to wrap-up the Royal Family’s campaigns (well, daily appearances). For the website, change to tone of the copy from “we are celebrating…” to “we celebrated…” Produce a video montage of the campaign including the event, press coverage generated, social media posts and throw in a few of the ads you placed. Once the campaign has ended, your team will no doubt have a sense of pride for being part of the organization. And the awareness of your organization will no doubt be boosted through this positive, image marketing campaign. So, it’s time to think about it. What is your organization’s next milestone?
