Brand Birthday: Tips for celebrating your brand's annual success
Stop whatever you’re doing and take a moment to bask in the glory that is me; it’s my birthday! A birthday is meant for celebration, for remembering everything that makes you great, and for celebrating the history of your accomplishments that led you to another year on our Mother Earth.
While I might be channeling my inner T-Swift (I’m feeling ~22~), I also find myself wondering how a brand could use its birthday as a marketing tool. So, join me as we unwrap the possibilities (and gifts) on brand birthdays!
New Year, New Me (New Brand)
With party hats in hand, the annual celebration of your brand can be an opportunity to switch it up and map out a new direction. Especially if your organization is beginning a new decade, such as a 20th year celebration, this can be the perfect opportunity to execute the re-brand you’ve had baking in the oven next to your birthday cake.
Launch a New Product
All the attention your brand receives through its birthday can be used for more than just social media impressions and media coverage; use your brand’s birthday to launch a new product. If the development team has been working on any new projects, coordinate with them to have all the bells and whistles in place by the time the birthday comes near. Using this strategy benefits the brand and bolsters the chances for positive reception for the new product.
Instead of receiving a gift, give back
Blow out the birthday candles and blow up conversations on social media, because if you use your brand’s birthday as an outlet to enact the latest CSR initiative, chances are people are going to pay attention. Like always, choose a cause that relates to your brand and support it around your birthday to capture audience attention. You might even want to host a birthday party to benefit the cause your organization supports.
Put the “birth” in birthday
Birthdays grant an amazing opportunity for story telling. Use this time for your brand to tell the story of when it was made, how it formed, and how it will grow in the future. As energizing as an event it is for your brand, it can be just as energizing for your audience to get excited for what’s to come by the next birthday.
UGC is on your wishlist
Foster engagement with consumers by literally having them give you the birthday gift of user generated content (UGC). In order to celebrate your brand’s birthday, create a campaign that utilizes the creativity of your audience to start conversations about your brand through a simple hashtag campaign, or make a competition out of your birthday and see what concepts your audience gifts you with through having them design a package, for example. In the real world, a great example of a UGC birthday brand bash is Old Navy’s selfiebration machine.
Hopefully these tips lead you and your brand to even more success than what’s listed in your annual report. I know I’m spending my birthday celebrating me, myself, & I, and your brand should do the same. Just remember that the celebration should be shared with your consumers!
About Trevor
Trevor Bryan is finishing his second year at Grand Valley, and he’s loved every minute of it. Trevor is an Advertising and Public Relations major with a Public Relations emphasis, and he’s also pursuing a Sociology minor. From PRSSA to GrandPR, the school has provided ample opportunity to explore his major. This year, Trevor’s efforts have been focused on serving PRSSA’s E-Board as the VP of Chapter Development and GrandPR as the Executive Director. When Trevor isn’t tweeting up a storm or tearing up the PRSSA podcast, PR Hangover, he loves to decompress with friends and laugh the night away.