Why you should celebrate your brand’s anniversary on social

January 23, 2018

Anniversaries are a great opportunity to celebrate the high points from the last year. They also give brands an opportunity to devise a social campaign to make strengthen their brand messaging and appeal to a particular audience.

For optimum success, they’re best celebrated alongside a news story, launches, initiatives, products, events and redesigns.

Social is the perfect way to publicise these. You could gain great coverage from helping communities or charitable causes. If you’re looking for inspo for how to celebrate your brand’s anniversary with social, read on.

Encourage user-generated content. You can choose from hashtags, snap filters, geo-location tagging galore to make sure your audience plays a big part in the celebrations.

Provide your audience with a clear call-to-action, so they take the desired route! Are you driving sales? Do you want to drive awareness? Or are you aiming to change the way that your brand is perceived?

Give the fans something to get excited about. Brand trivia? Fun facts? Video content? Heart-warming stories? Think about shareability.

Here’s some examples of great brand anniversaries to inspire you:

50 years of Captain Bird’s Eye

Bird’s Eye brought back their well-known brand ambassador, Captain Bird’s Eye, for their 50^th anniversary. This included placing a statue of the Captain in Greenwich and then chance for consumers to win Captain Bird’s Eye soft toy. To remain relevant with younger generations, they partnered with Snapchat and created an AR lens to transform users into the Captain. When a second person entered the frame, they became a fish finger. Fans will snap and share away – this is all user-generated content, which drives brand awareness. And all thanks to social.

60 years of Miffy

Remember Miffy, the tiny white rabbit from children’s books? The lovable children’s character celebrated her 60^th with the launch of a new television show and a hardback book. Fans could join the fun on social media with the hashtag #CelebrateMiffy – a great opportunity to encourage user-generated content and engagement. Fans were incentivised with a chance to win prizes.

50 years of Vans

Vans showed what they’re best at for their 50^th with the launch of a new shoe collection to celebrate! Alongside the anniversary, they appealed to their music-loving fans with 10 events spread across the globe, showcasing an art show with an interactive display of The Story of Vans campaign. They hosted a free event in London to give a bit back to their fans, with performances by Dizzee Rascal and Annie Mac. There is no question as to whether attendees use Snapchat and Instagram stories at these events. Free events with success on this scale works wonders for user-generated social content and shareability.

So, to implement a successful brand anniversary campaign on social, consider user-generated content. Make your content 100% shareable. Develop an emotional bond with your fans. Tell them what to do with a loud and clear call-to-action. And give a bit back – incentivise your audience. We’ve shared a few, but which brand anniversaries stick in your mind?

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