Brand anniversaries
Brand anniversaries
Henry Ford said that "You can't build your reputation on what you're going to do”. A statement that seems to resonate with the number of brands that are currently celebrating significant milestones in their history – and using them to focus stakeholders’ attention on their heritage, past accomplishments and brand values.
In the current climate of economic uncertainty, consumers are increasingly looking for authenticity, reliability and trust. A brand’s past is probably the strongest reassurance we have to judge its likely future performance. But perhaps the best anniversary celebrations also look forward and incorporate ideas about how they will grow, develop and collaborate with their customers in the future.
Recent anniversary celebrations have included Boots (160 years), Hovis (122 years), Google (10 years), Lego (50 years), Persil (100 years) and Selfridges (100 years). Here is a bit more information on some of what I think some of the best recent examples of anniversary celebrations:
Sainsburys – is currently celebrating its 140th anniversary with a change of advertising stapline from “Try something new today” to “Trying something new for 140 years”. The television commercial sets out milestones in the company’s history:
1869 – made good food affordable to all
1914 – first employed women
1944 – halved labels to save resources
1962 – introduced the avocado
1994 – first supported fair trade
2007 - made reusable bags sexy
2009 - all eggs from free-range hens
Sainsbury’s website has a timeline of the company’s history as well as recipes for great British favourites from toad in the hole to apple pie.
Sainsburys continues to demonstrate that it is in tune with today’s consumer lifestyles with initiatives such as Feed your family for a fiver, recipes for leftovers and Active kids scheme.
Marks & Spencer – M&S’s 125th anniversary celebration campaign also charts the company’s history from 1880s penny bazaar to modern M&S. Its anniversary TV commercial is fronted by Twiggy and tracks the innovations the retailer has introduced to the UK market including the avocado (although Sainsbury’s is arguing this point – see above), machine-washable lingerie, “curry in a hurry”, drip-dry clothes, bra fittings and sell-by dates on perishables, as well as a reference to its eco-plan, “Plan A”.
During May, M&S also went back to its Penny Bazaar roots by offering 2 million items at 1p each for three days.
It also established a partnership with the University of Leeds that will see highlights of the company’s archive exhibited to the public for the first time. The M&S archive includes more than 60,000 items, many of which have never been seen publicly before – from products and photographs through to company literature and advertising.
Virgin - in January, Virgin Atlantic took us back 25 years to the year of its birth in 1984 with an unapologetically glitzy and nostalgic advert which had Frankie Goes to Hollywood's Relax as the soundtrack and featured yuppies, Asteroids, a Rubik's Cube, brick-sized mobiles and headlines about the miners' strike. It also incorporated other iconic brands for the eighties, including Wimpy and Our Price.
As reported in The Guardian, this was a “sanctuary from the apologetic, sanctimonious, depressing, credit-crunching, money-saving ads that are filling commercial breaks”
Tuesday, 09 June 2009 10:40