In 2012, Radio City Music Hall’s iconic precision dance company has three different business anniversaries to celebrate. The famed Rockettes (www.rockettes.com) can celebrate the:
- 87th Business Anniversary of Their Founding by Russell Markert in 1925. Inspired by the English dance troupe Tiller Girls that appeared in the 1922 Ziegfeld Follies, Markert had a dream of “a group of American girls who would be taller and have longer legs and could do really complicated tap routines and eye-high kicks.” Three years later his dream came true in St. Louis, Missouri, when he established a chorus line of beautiful, leggy women called the Missouri Rockets.
- 80th Business Anniversary of Their Opening Night at Radio City Music Hall in 1932. Markert took his dancers on the road to New York City for a stop on Broadway. The Missouri Rockets wowed theatre impresario Samual “Roxy” Rothafel. He convinced Markert to move the troupe to his Roxy Theatre and to rename the group the Roxyettes. When Rothafel opened Radio City Music Hall, he brought the Roxyettes with him. They performed on opening night, December 27, 1932, along with 16 other acts, including the Flying Wallendas, Ray Bolger and Martha Graham.
- 78th Business Anniversary of Their Name Change in 1934. Two years after their Radio City Music Hall debut, the Roxyettes were renamed the Rockettes. Through their various incarnations, Russell Markert remained the dance company’s chief choreographer.
Many companies have a similar array of milestones in their business histories. Which ones are the best to mark?
All of them, just not during the same year. Instead, spread the wealth of your business anniversaries over several milestone years.
For example, the Rockettes could celebrate in:
- 2012: the 80th business anniversary of their first appearance on stage at Radio City Music Hall. Part of that “sell”-abration could include behind-the-scenes stories of life as a Rockettte today (see www.rockettes.com/videos/html#).
- 2014: the 80th business anniversary of their christening as Rockettes. Part of that “sell”-abration could include a retrospective look at some of the more than 3,000 women who have performed as Rockettes.
- 2015: the 90th anniversary of the dance company’s founding. Part of that “sell”-abration could include a tribute to founder Russell Markert.
Use your company’s milestone business anniversaries as occasions for kicking up your heels in “sell”-abration — just like the world-famous Rockettes!
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” at this link: http://www.paulinebartel.com/services/corporate-services/business-anniversary-consulting