Planning a Business Anniversary: 9 Crucial, Preliminary Tips

If you’re planning, or even just considering a business anniversary celebration, you may already be aware of an overwhelming array of options and suggestions. These range from opulent black-tie events to more subdued gatherings. They also run the gamut from corporate retreats to charitable initiatives to carnivals to open houses—and dozens of other possibilities. Obviously, a number of factors will influence how, and even if, an observance might be appropriate. These include your organization’s financial health, its size, its mission, industry conditions, logistics, and how much time—and money—can reasonably be budgeted.

The purpose of this post is not to provide yet another list of ideas for business anniversary observances. There are, again, already a number of valuable articles and resources devoted to that topic.

This post will focus instead on some preliminary considerations you might want to keep in mind in approaching a business anniversary—and regardless of the size or nature of that celebration.  And these initial considerations are relevant whether the upcoming milestone marks your organization’s 100th anniversary or its first. These tips are also helpful whether your budget will allow you to spend lavishly or only frugally.

1) Make Your Business Anniversary About More Than Your Business

Your business or organization should, by definition, be the centerpiece of your anniversary celebration.

But that doesn’t mean that it should be the exclusive focus.

Anniversary celebrations can often come across as too insular and self-absorbed. This inward focus can undercut interest in your celebration outside your organization and even stymie enthusiasm within it.

Mullerhaus, a firm that specializes in company brand storytelling, urges a broader perspective. Your celebration should be about more than the staying power of your company or organization. It should also be about the relationships that characterized and made possible, its longevity, and its success. These include relationships not only with staff, but also customers, community members, and those communities themselves.

2) Tap Into Employee and Manager Creativity

One of the best ways to ensure your business anniversary celebration feels meaningful and authentic is to actively include the perspectives of your employees and managers. After all, no one knows your organization’s culture, quirks, and daily triumphs better than the people who help drive its success every day.

Opening the floor for suggestions can spark ideas you may not have considered—from small but heartfelt gestures, to larger initiatives that celebrate collective achievements. Consider holding brainstorming sessions or setting up a simple online suggestion box to gather input. You might be surprised at the ingenuity and insight your team brings forward.

Ultimately, celebrating together and giving your staff a personal investment in the festivities can foster enthusiasm, deepen the sense of shared pride, and make the occasion truly memorable for everyone involved.

3) Highlight Your Business Anniversary Online

Marking your business anniversary on your website can be more than a routine update—it’s an opportunity to reinforce your brand and foster engagement.

Visual Accents and Banners
Consider adding a prominent visual element to your site, such as a header banner or pop-up that acknowledges your milestone. This needn’t be limited to a simple line of text. Incorporate a striking graphic or visual motif that subtly—but clearly—signals your anniversary on every page. Linking this banner to a retrospective page or special blog post gives visitors an immediate way to learn more about your journey.

Dedicated Anniversary Content
Diving deeper, you might create a featured article or blog post that not only looks back at your organization’s growth and evolution, but also addresses how your industry or community has changed during your years in business. If you’re feeling ambitious, pair this with an interview series or short videos featuring founders, long-standing employees, or even dedicated customers. These stories can add texture and warmth to the anniversary narrative, while also offering insight into your organization’s vision for the future.

Highlighting Milestones and Timelines
For organizations celebrating a significant milestone, such as a quarter- or half-century, an interactive timeline on your “About Us” page can offer a compelling look back. Visitors can see at a glance how your story has unfolded over the years, with key achievements, photographs, or even press clippings. This not only spotlights your longevity, it can underscore your adaptability, commitment, and evolving expertise.

Updating Social Media and Company Bios
Don’t overlook your digital outposts. Briefly referencing your anniversary in your company bios and about sections on platforms like LinkedIn and Facebook can help amplify the reach of your celebration. This creates alignment across your digital presence and signals to both new and returning visitors that your milestone is part of your broader organizational story.

4) Frame Your Business Anniversary Celebration Messaging

This broader perspective can also inform your messaging efforts surrounding the celebration. A recent article in Forbes makes the point that the “why” of your celebration can be critical. Why exactly should anyone care about the fact that your organization or company has been around for x number of years?

The article goes on to suggest some possible ways of providing that “why”, including podcasts with interviews with current and former employees, special newsletters with anniversary-related stories, etc. But the broader, more significant point here is that this kind of content can do more than serve the short-term goal of raising awareness of your anniversary observance. It can also have a permanent place (and function) in marketing your organization as, for instance, additional content for your website or landing pages.

5) Involve Employees in Spreading the Word

Your staff can be some of your celebration’s most compelling advocates—and communication channels. As you consider strategies to share your anniversary with customers, partners, and the broader community, don’t overlook how employees’ everyday communications can amplify your message in authentic and effective ways.

A simple yet powerful place to start is the humble email signature. Encourage everyone in your organization to add a discreet but celebratory line mentioning the anniversary—such as “Proudly serving our community for 25 years.” This small addition to routine correspondence gently keeps your milestone top-of-mind for anyone receiving emails, from clients to vendors.

Similarly, consider reviewing other touchpoints where employees interact directly with your audience. For organizations with customer-facing staff, even temporary updates such as buttons or commemorative pins worn on uniforms can spark curiosity and conversations. This is an approach that works whether your people are in retail, hospitality, public service, or the trades.

For those with phone systems, on-hold and after-hours messages represent rare opportunities: a truly captive audience. Refresh your scripts to mention the anniversary, or infuse a bit of historical perspective or humor—think, “Celebrating a century of service, back when a ‘stream’ was just a body of water.” These small touches not only reinforce your brand but also offer moments of surprise and delight.

By weaving your milestone into daily communications and touchpoints, you extend the reach and resonance of your anniversary far beyond the main event. Each interaction becomes a subtle reminder of your legacy and the people who made it possible.

6) Consider Creating an Anniversary Logo

A business anniversary celebration should go beyond simply recognizing your organization’s continued existence. At its core, it is also a way of showcasing,  and furthering, your brand itself.

A logo is one of the most visible symbols of your brand.

You may therefore want to solidify your messaging efforts by creating a special anniversary logo. Here again, a commemorative logo of this sort can provide marketing and promotional benefits long after your celebration event itself.

An anniversary logo doesn’t have to supplant your established logo. On its own, it can pay benefits long after the event or observance.

7) Tap (or Begin Curating) a Company Archive

Another preliminary business anniversary strategy involves amassing archival material. An organizational archive might draw on a variety of materials, including memorabilia, interviews, and other artifacts of the organization’s development and growth. For younger organizations, a historical archive might consist primarily of recollections of a company’s start-up and launch phases.

Historical material of this sort, whatever its form or vintage, can significantly enliven an anniversary observance. It can also provide invaluable source material for future observances as well as more immediate marketing and promotional campaigns.

8) Highlight Your Milestone on Your “About Us” Page

Another practical way to amplify your anniversary is by revisiting your company’s “About Us” or history page. This section is often the first stop for those wanting to understand your organization’s journey, values, and achievements. Use the occasion to weave in the story of your milestone year. Consider building out this page with a dedicated segment or timeline marking key moments, notable achievements, and the evolution of your company.

Interactive timelines can be particularly effective for significant anniversaries—think quarter-century marks or beyond—allowing visitors to explore major developments across the decades. Supplement the story with photos, archived marketing materials, testimonials, or even a video montage. Not only does this provide richer context for your visitors, but it also demonstrates both heritage and forward-looking momentum.

9) Integrate Business Anniversary Awards & Gifts

There is a final suggestion that can both complement and unite the remaining strategies above. This is also a strategy aimed at not only heightening immediate interest in your event but also ensuring that it is remembered.

The gallery above showcases a selection of custom anniversary and milestone commemoratives. They reflect a diverse cross-section of organizations and companies.

Custom gifts and awards can provide this kind of visible, tangible, and most important—lasting— reminder of your event. They can be tailored for your organization: your logo, mission, service, product, or anything that uniquely captures your brand. These awards and commemoratives can be displayed for years to come throughout your organization, in reception areas, conference rooms, and individual employee offices.

At The Corporate Presence, we’ve been helping companies and organizations in a variety of sectors and industries celebrate milestone anniversaries and achievements for over 40 years. See how we can extend the celebration (and impact) of your business anniversary with truly memorable custom commemoratives. Get the design process started now.

David Parry is the Director of Digital Strategy for The Corporate Presence, and for Prestige Custom Awards, a designer and provider of custom corporate awards ranging from creative employee and client recognition pieces to the N.F.L. Commissioner’s Awards, and ESPN’s ESPY awards.