Anniversaries are a time to reflect on all that you and your coworkers have accomplished as well as look forward to what the future holds. Of course, anniversaries are also a time to celebrate! When your business or firm reaches its next milestone birthday, consider supplementing the standard company-wide email with something more creative. Here are five tips on how to celebrate with panache.

1. Show Thanks

There is probably a long list of clients, friends and family that have been a part of your long or short history. You can use anniversaries as an excellent opportunity to show appreciation for those friends and clients while reflecting on years of quality work. Throwing a party or sending a gift are great ways to do this.

Be creative with your gifts and party invite or theme. If you really want to be unique, you can use them as a chance to highlight your firm’s core values. For example, a pair of headphones reiterating your ability to listen. Your clients will not only be thankful, they will also be reminded of the great work you do for them.

Takeaway: Use your anniversary as a chance to celebrate those who’ve helped you along the way.

2. Chart a New Path for Growth

With proper planning, an anniversary can be a favorable time to demonstrate growth and success by expanding your services and practice areas, adding new hires or even establishing a new office (if the time is right). It will be important to make these decisions well in advance, so you can prepare ahead of time and unveil any news in line with your anniversary.

In doing so, you’re more likely to capture the attention of news outlets and other external audiences who will be in awe of your accomplishments. Everyone has company anniversaries, but few can go beyond the celebration. Aligning a company change with an anniversary makes it much more special and noteworthy.

Takeaway: Leverage your achievement with company growth to exemplify success.

3. Share your Story

Take a moment to reflect on the history of your company; that’s your story. Make sure this story lives somewhere, whether that be on your website, social media, etc. If it already exists, consider telling it in a new way. For example, use video to engage your audience and create content that can be repurposed for your website, social media and other outlets.

You may also want to consider sharing knowledge or lessons you’ve learned over the years. This can be done through a white paper, infographic, brochure or even a video. After 20 years in business, we wrote Lessons from 20 Years of Legal Marketing to offer up some advice to others in our field. Your peers with thank you and see you as a thought leader in your industry.

Takeaway: Share your story, knowledge or lessons learned to establish yourself as an industry leader.

4. Celebrate your Community

Let your success benefit others. Consider gifting your time to a cause that is close to your company’s values. If you specialize in the environmental sector, consider cleaning a local park. A company that specializes in education could start a scholarship fund, and a personal injury firm might adopt a highway to maintain safe road conditions.

You can even pick a local charity to donate to. Many firms and businesses already have a cause or philanthropy that they support, but if not, it is never too late to choose a charity that everyone in your firm can get behind.

Takeaway: Give back to your community as a way to pay it forward.

5. Update your Look

Think about your company’s look, from the website to the logo to the office documents. Do they still adequately represent your brand? If not, you may want to consider some changes. Think of it as an evolution. Even the most established companies update their logos over time. Simply tweaking your typeface or colors can breathe new life into your brand.

Of course, if you do not want to commit to a complete overhaul of your website, stationery, etc., then you can use your firm’s anniversary as an opportunity to add updated elements to the firm’s existing “look.” You can even adapt a commemorative logo for the year of your anniversary. We employed this strategy at Androvett Legal Media & Marketing by adding “20 Years ” to our existing logo, as well as refreshing our e-announcement templates, website and ads with the updated logo for the entire year.

Takeaway: Explore the opportunities to rejuvenate your brand, be it permanent or temporary.