German immigrant Richard Hellmann opened a deli in New York City in 1905, selling meats, cheeses, salads and two types of his wife’s homemade mayonnaise. To differentiate between the two, Hellmann tied blue ribbons around the small jars that contained one condiment version. That variety proved so popular that Hellmann decided to mass market the mayonnaise. He created the iconic Blue-Ribbon label that was affixed to large glass jars containing Hellmann’s mayonnaise. In 1913, he obtained a trademark for the Blue-Ribbon logo.
To mark the 100th anniversary of the country’s best-selling mayonnaise, Unilever, the consumer-goods company that owns the iconic brand, rolled out a marketing campaign for Hellmann’s mayonnaise with the anniversary tagline “Bringing the Best Together.”
The anniversary campaign applies three key “sell”-abration strategies we recommend to clients reaching milestone business anniversaries:
- Raise the brand’s visibility: The Hellmann’s mayonnaise business anniversary promotional campaign includes TV, print and digital ads, using the business anniversary tagline. A publicity campaign includes media coverage of a September 2013 special event, featuring the world’s largest picnic table.
- Tell the brand’s story: The website (http://www.hellmanns.com) offers a page that tells “Hellmann’s Blue Ribbon History.” The Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/hellmanns) has a historical timeline. Sharing the 100-year heritage is featured on Pinterest (http://bit.ly/13sFsPh).
- Connect the brand to customers and prospects: The Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/hellmanns) offers recipes, cooking tips and space to share memories of using Hellmann’s mayonnaise in favorite family dishes. YouTube videos feature chef Mario Batali preparing Hellmann’s recipes such as chicken pasta salad, juicy salsa burger and chocolate birthday cake (http://www.youtube.com/user/HellmannsMayonnaise).
Congratulations to Hellmann’s Real Mayonnaise on its centennial business anniversary! Spread the word.
Blogger Bio: Pauline Bartel, M.A., is President and Chief Creative Officer of Bartel Communications, Inc., an award-winning corporate communications firm, specializing in marketing, public relations and business anniversary consulting services. The firm created “The Bartel Years™” and “The Bartel Years 200™,” rosters of business anniversary symbols to inspire two centuries of business anniversary “sell”-abrations. Download free copies of “The Bartel Years™” and the special report “The Top 10 Business Anniversary Ideas for SELL-abrating Your Business Anniversary” by clicking on this link: http://www.paulinebartel.com/services/corporate-services/business-anniversary-consulting