Organizing a corporate anniversary is a considerable corporate challenge. But so fascinating! The stakes are high because it is about putting the spotlight on the company. The stages it has taken, the involvement and skills of its employees, the culture, and the values that it has been able to transmit over the years.
A detailed and complete analysis of the organization must, therefore, be carried out well in advance. The goal? To make a tailor-made anniversary in accordance with the personality of the company and which will make a lasting impression.
As you may understand, there is very little margin for error on this type of event and it is therefore strongly recommended to work with an event planning agency. They will guide you step by step to make this company anniversary a success.
1. Brief the Agency on the Internal Context of the Company
As a first step, the agency will carry out a complete analysis of the internal context of the company. This first step is a real work of immersion within the corporate life of the company. The more they know the company from the inside, the more relevant their proposals will be in the organization of the anniversary, and the stronger will be the emotional impact generated in your employees. For this, the two essential points to analyze are the culture and the history of the company.
Here is all the information that you should provide the agency:
- What are the values of the company? What is the personality of the organization? (If the company was a person, how would it like to be described? Happy, serious, creative, friendly?)
- Have employees developed a feeling of belonging to the company? For what reasons?
- What were the highlights of the company’s history? (buyouts, level of growth in turnover, recruitments, new buildings, etc.)
- What are the “sensitive” points of the organization? (employee experiences, economic history, fires, accidents, disappearances, moves, etc.)
- How did the previous anniversaries go? (theme, activities, atmosphere). What are the points to improve?
- What vision do the leaders or the main actors of the company have? (To answer this question, do interviews with key men in the company: How do they approach this anniversary? Emotionally or rationally?)
All this information will allow the agency to understand in depth the identity of your company and the foundation on which this anniversary will be built.
2. Define the External Environment
The external environment of the company must also be taken into account by the agency when producing an anniversary.
- In what economic context is the company operating? What are the challenges to come, the negotiations in progress, the potential risks (buyout, merger, etc.)?
- What types of events have your competitors organized? Learn about the competition and its way of approaching a corporate anniversary (strengths, weaknesses, new ideas).
- What is the event context of the period envisaged for the anniversary? (football match, elections, vacations, trade fair, risk of strikes, etc.). If you wish, you can develop a theme around a particular event (Olympic Games, Football World Cup, etc.).
- For its part, the agency will inform you of new trends in the world of events, particularly in terms of technological advances (digitalization, participatory musical show, virtual reality, etc.).
Serenading a Mexican Pop Star
3. Describe the Profile of the Participants
Knowing your target audience is essential to celebrate a business anniversary:
- How many guests do you want to invite? Can employees come accompanied? With their children?
- Is your audience internal and/or external? (franchisees, resellers, partners, customers)
- Have you planned a grouping of geographic sites (antennas) to celebrate the event?
- What socio-professional categories will be present? (% of executives,% of employees, CSP +, CSP – )
- What is the male/female distribution?
- What is the average age of the participants?
- What is the dominant culture among your guests? (level of involvement in the company, common personality traits)
- What activities or events have participants already carried out?
When the number of participants is large, it is possible to produce an event in several sessions (2 evenings in a row, for example, to manage more people in a space not necessarily suitable for a single session or to be closer to the guests).
By doing this, you can also organize a tailor-made birthday party according to the type of guests (1 evening for VIPs, top management, customers + 1 evening for the rest of the employees).
The profile of the participants will be decisive in the choice of the theme, the location of the event, and the activities offered by the event agency.
4. Communicate Before, During, and After the Event
An obvious point to mention: a company anniversary is not celebrated every day! This great corporate moment usually takes place every 10 years. So bet on communication with all of your stakeholders: the company is celebrating and should shine!
Pre-anniversary communication
Beforehand, it is strongly recommended to ask the agency to create an anniversary logo and a graphic charter specially designed for the event. They will thus be applied to all the company’s media (from email signatures to employee vehicles). Drawing up a musical charter is also an excellent way to anchor this anniversary in the minds of employees.
On the practical side, some agencies offer their clients the design of a dedicated website that will communicate pre-event information (access, parking, hotels, dress code, etc.) and manage participant registrations (reporting, platform access administrator).
Communication on D-day
For D-Day, the agency ensures the production and redesign of intervention documents (PowerPoint, videos, jingles, etc.). A good idea will be a movie show about the history of the company, retracing the highlights of the organization. The audience will love it!
To ensure the smooth running of the anniversary, the general manager of the event (a member of the agency) will develop a document called “driver”. It is a real detailed score in time that covers the complete technical progress of the event (sound, video, light, speaker).
Do not hesitate to choose a theme for this anniversary and orient your communication around a major message (innovation, cohesion, sharing). However, make sure to remain consistent in the selection of speakers and activities. But don’t panic, the agency is there to advise you!
Post-anniversary communication
The anniversary has passed. The agency will put on line on the site dedicated to the event the photo report and the video clip produced during the evening. Share it all on social networks!
5. Manage Logistics Meticulously
Be careful with the logistics part!
- Finding a site to host the company anniversary is the real starting point for the agency: do you want to organize it in a prestigious location ( eg: Pavillon Baltad in Paris) or operate a specific location in the company (warehouse, reception hall, etc.)? The advantage of this second option, in addition to its low cost, is to make the event exist on the premises of the company!
- To book hotel rooms, the agency must be provided with the exact number of single rooms, twin rooms ( one room with 2 separate beds for 2 participants) and double rooms (for participants accompanied by their spouse).
- It will be responsible for collecting all the furniture necessary for the development of the site ( catering, room, lounge, technical, sanitary furniture) as well as the interior and exterior decoration.
- Transport management can also be taken care of by the agency: reservations, support, management of departures and arrivals, monitoring of car parks, individual taxis for the return trip, etc.
- Some hostesses will be provided at the reception: they occupy the badging of the participants on their arrival, the locker room, and possibly the delivery of gifts.
6. Create the Famous Icing on the Cake
This company anniversary must turn into a real festive show to be successful. And, of course, a birthday without a cake does not exist! The pastry caterer usually creates a special piece that uses the anniversary logo or a particular element of the company’s trade.
The arrival of the cake is the moment long awaited by the participants: it must, therefore, be as scripted as possible: simultaneous launch of a musical jingle, special lighting, and special effects can be added (laser, glitter, confetti, smoke). So many technical points to make this major moment a “Magic” moment in the event!
Conclusion
Organizing a company anniversary requires considerable preparation work (1 year or sometimes 2 years before the big day!). By working hand in hand with your agency and by following these different steps, you will succeed in creating a memorable anniversary in the image of your company!
