Most organizations know that celebrating a milestone is a great way to put your brand in the spotlight. That’s why, each year, the marketing landscape is full of brands publicizing major milestones. Smart marketers go a step further: They share their brand’s heritage and connect it to a strong vision for the future.
The really smart communicators, however, also look outside their brand’s timeline to find milestones in society they can authentically leverage.
The Challenge
How can your brand stay relevant and at top of mind both when a major anniversary is coming up and when one is nowhere in sight?
The Solution
Demonstrate how your brand is connected to key moments or movements in history. Your brand’s anniversary isn’t the only one you can celebrate. Moments in a brand’s past that are part of the cultural zeitgeist can provide a multitude of opportunities—these associations can remind audiences of your brand, inspire collaborations, and challenge people to think about the brand in new ways, to mention a few.
The only catch is that the connection has to be authentic, not forced or appropriated.
As our CEO Jason Dressel shared in an article on authenticity for PRWeek, in today’s world of AI and fake news, communicators have to prove their brand is what they say it is. Markers from a brand’s past are authentic touchpoints for its audience, especially when it comes to connecting to larger cultural moments.
2023 marked the 50th anniversary of hip-hop’s birth in the Bronx, NY. Musicians, celebrities, and organizations worldwide joined celebrations of the genre’s impact, artists, culture, and community engagement.
That summer, Sprite showcased its historical connections with hip-hop via its Summer of Drops, releasing collaborations, merchandise, and special experiences to celebrate hip-hop’s legacy and the brand’s support.
Pepsi Max joined in too. In collaboration with the estate and family of The Notorious B.I.G., the brand celebrated the cultural milestone with a campaign honoring Biggie that was grounded by a recentlydiscovered freestyle about the legendary rapper’s love of Pepsi.
Which brand, Pepsi or Sprite, used its history to make a better connection to the cultural milestone? You decide—and then check your own brand’s heritage to see what authentic connections are waiting to be discovered.