speeches, audiovisual productions, flags and banners, and even
songs and rituals that stir the spirit and reinforce the corporate
message. For instance, a highlight of events produced by Mary Kay
Cosmetics, Inc., is the moment when its distributors stand en
masse and sing the corporate theme song “I’ve Got the Mary Kay
Spirit Down in My Heart!” with such enthusiasm that passersby
stop and watch through the ballroom doors.
The corporate culture engenders the corporate message to both
its employees and its customers. Older, more established compa-
nies such as Xerox and IBM are known for their dress codes and
uniform approach to sales and service. While their regimentation
has been relaxed somewhat in recent years as younger generations
enter their workforces and markets, the image of a strong business
focus remains embedded in their cultures and the perception of
their clients. By contrast, the more newly arrived Silicon Valley
and dot-com genre of companies embraces casual dress and a
work-hard, play-hard philosophy. Employees are encouraged to
take time out for exercise, to stroll through the office park, to par-
ticipate in family days, and even to bring their dogs to work.
Understanding the underpinnings of a corporation’s behavioral
expectations is essential in marketing its events. Management and
decision makers will help you understand not just the nature of
the culture, but also the reasonsfor which that culture exists. Is it
to attract a certain type of employee persona? Is it to attract a cer-
tain generation of market segments? If you are marketing that cor-
porate message to its employees, shareholders, customers, and al-
lies, ask decision makers the following types of questions:
■Where did the company come from? How long has it
existed? Where does it expect to go (short- and long-range
projections)?
■What has worked? What has not?
■What is the corporate working environment? A casual “dress
down” company executive will likely welcome a casual
“warm and fuzzy” approach. The converse will probably be
true with a more tradition-oriented enterprise.
■Who are the major competitors? How do their values and cor-
porate philosophies differ? What makes us better (what
should be emphasized)? What makes us worse (what must
we correct)?
■Who are the corporate heroes, past and present? How can we
honor them to set standards of performance for our employ-
ees who gather at the event?Selling the Corporate Message 137