How To Celebrate Company Milestones To Connect With Customers, Example Caseys General Store
The magic of doughnuts to focus on history and customer loyalty. Photo by Sharon McCutcheon on Unsplash
When you think company milestones, the most logical point of interest is the date when the company first began. And when we work with corporate or organizational clients, most often it’s in preparation for a significant anniversary.
Marketing pros work with the leaders at a company or organization to recognize this high-profile milestone. Celebrating is a way of connecting with both customers and employees. And the priority to connect is admirable, but often the history goes back on the shelf as soon as the anniversary passes.
In this post, we’ll explore a number of examples of how a company can celebrate, connect, and inspire their customers and employees using their history. We’ll look at Casey’s General Store to suss out other history milestone examples, too.
CELEBRATE THE OPENING OF INDIVIDUAL LOCATIONS
With a quick review of Casey’s history on their website, we learn that founder Donald Lamberti started with the first location at the corner of Broadway and East 14th Street in Des Moines back in 1959. From there, he moved on to opening another store in Boone, Iowa, and then the next one in Creston, and the one after that in Waukee (which performed best of all the stores at that time).
In fact, the success of the Waukee store was so good that it solidified the model Lamberti used to open subsequent stores. He realized that small communities needed and wanted exactly what his convenience stores offered.
These days, Waukee is listed as the fastest-growing city in Des Moines Metro. Recognition of a shared success in growth is something that could be touted for both Casey’s and Waukee, a municipality now nearing 145 years since it was incorporated.
Beyond celebrating the first stores, Casey’s has continued building locations in small communities across the U.S. There are many opportunities where both Casey’s and the small town could celebrate a milestone to ignite enthusiasm that the whole community can enjoy.
In 1996, Casey’s opened its 1,000th location, positively amassing stores (with most of their focus in the Midwest). Many small towns are struggling these days due to population shrinking. Finding ways to tout the historic opening of a quintessential store and its alliance with local communities could show how vital small-town America is and can continue to be. Many of those communities have shared history with Casey’s, which has been their friendly neighbor sometimes for decades.
Another focus is recognizing the progress of Casey’s and its relationship to the changing economy of the United States. Interestingly, the convenience store phenomenon started on the East coast in the late 1920s and barely made its way to the Midwest by the late 1950s. President Eisenhower signed the Federal Highway Act in 1956, and soon after the increased traffic of automobiles and trucks traveling across the country began passing through small towns, which required more stops for gas and amenities and thus further Casey’s locations.
CELEBRATE THE FOUNDER’S BIRTHDAY AND STORY, INSPIRE MISSION AND PURPOSE
Lamberti opened his first store to compete with the big supermarkets, which were squeezing out the small Mom & Pop grocery stores that used to be all over Des Moines. As Lamberti saw success and his business thrived, he turned to serving the community.
Although Casey’s is now a publicly traded company, its founder Donald Lamberti was a significant figure in Des Moines. A quick search of newspaper clippings reveals that he was active in contributing his time and money to organizations such as the YMCA and the Oakridge Neighborhood Endowment.
Surely, anniversaries and significant dates of those foundations and organizations where Lamberti shared his resources could also provide an opportunity to highlight Casey’s connection to the community. This history would also demonstrate how Lamberti viewed his responsibility to share his success with the towns he served.
Lamberti’s work-ethic, innovation in the industry, and focus on giving back would be inspiring to employees and customers alike. Opportunities abound to draw on Lamberti’s story and how it culminated in the mission of Casey’s to “provide quality products at competitive prices with courteous service in clean stores at convenient locations.”
PIVOTAL PRODUCT INTRODUCTION MILESTONES TO CONNECT WITH CUSTOMERS
More than the iconic signage outside and the clean interiors inside, Casey’s is well known for its pizza and doughnuts. Casey’s has been serving doughnuts since 1980 when they first offered homemade doughnuts to go.
Maybe it’s because I have a special place in my heart for doughnuts, but any number of milestones about the doughnuts (such as the types that have been introduced over time) would make for engaging storytelling that Casey’s could capitalize on. Casey’s footprint to this bit of Americana across the nation along with factoids about their evolution of offering food would make for fun information to share with customers.
But hands down, the pizza is a HUGE Casey’s success. Casey’s offered their first breakfast pizza in 2001 and started offering delivery of their pizza in 2011. Check out Casey’s Facebook page, and numerous comments appear raving about their Taco Pizza.
When did Casey’s start serving Taco pizza? And, heads up, Taco Pizza originated in Iowa! It’s just one of many pinpoints to share with customers who love the product while helping spread the message further.
OUR BRANDS OUR CONNECTION TO EACH OTHER
Sharing company history with a myriad of milestone markers reveals a company as stewards of history with a shared experience. Infusing company history is marketing that works with customers who relate their personal story with the iconic brands they’ve enjoyed.
Company history is a powerful brand tool that deserves a front-and-center place in messaging. The feel-good opportunity to highlight company milestones blows the dust off a one-and-done anniversary project by allowing the company to reveal its connection to its community.
We like to reminisce and see our footprint in context with a shared life experience. Our favorite shops, restaurants and venues bring us together. When companies and organizations remind the public of their ongoing presence, the message is that they’ve served as an important companion along the way.
Sherry is the founder of Storied Gifts a personal publishing service of family and company histories. She and her team help clients curate and craft their stories into books. When not writing or interviewing, Sherry spends loads of time with her grandchildren and lives in Des Moines, Iowa.
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