If you reside in the U.S. you were likely exposed to multiple news pieces highlighting the 40th anniversary of the famed Woodstock Music and Arts Festival.  Rolling Stone’s blog Rock & Roll Daily, USA Today, and ABC News are just a small sampling of the outlets that showcased a Woodstock retrospective.  Cultural significance aside, this anniversary is salient to marketers because it is a good example of how the salacious (sex, drugs and rock & roll) can help sell a story to the media.  It also illustrates how- in the world of 24/7 news-something as simple as an anniversary can have a similar effect.   NPR’s Marketplace ran a great story (An influx of 40-year anniversaries) on the use of anniversaries as a promotional ploy. In addition, there are a seemingly endless number of secular and non-secular holidays and cause or awareness related days, weeks, and months that can be used to connect a company, product, or brand to a larger story.  August is National Inventors month in case you didn’t know.

Reflections:

How would you use an anniversary celebration to garner media mentions and word-of-mouth for your business?

Are there any cause or awareness related days, weeks, or months that tie into your business?  What connectors would be interested?
 


Comments

Hugo Ottolenghi

Wed, 19 Aug 2009 06:54:02

I have found that many companies do not connect their anniversaries to something larger. They promote their existence for 10 or 25 years with no news angle: Story of the founder; look ahead to next 10 or 25 years; perspective on how the world has changed in those years; and so on. Woodstock works because it was an event, a non-corporate event at that. So can the anniversary of a product if it has a connection to popular culture.

 



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