Two years ago, Jonas Carnemark, owner of Carnemark Design + Build, in Bethesda, Md., began to consider ideas for a new company logo. He decided to launch the logo to coincide with the company’s 25th anniversary, and this past September, when the company sent out invitations for its anniversary party, they featured the new logo.
More Than Just a Party
During the planning stage, Carnemark simply considered the party a marketing and branding opportunity. But the event came to mean more for the owner and his staff, marking a milestone and giving them an opportunity to reflect on the company’s longevity and to reconnect with past clients. A range of past clients — including some that Carnemark had worked with during the 1980s and ’90s — attended the event. “It was cool that so many people took the time to come and share that moment with us,” he says.
Carnemark invited some key former employees and also invited a few prospective clients, giving them the chance to find out more about the company’s culture by speaking to a room full of past clients.
At the party, held at the company’s office and showroom, past clients walked around the office pointing out photos of their projects in the gallery of images on the walls. Some bonded and shared project experiences, some reconnected with other clients they had met during past company events including wine tastings, cooking demonstrations, and seminars.
The fun, informal cocktail party followed the theme of the company’s long-standing mission: to create trusting clients who refer the company to their friends and family. After all, “it’s all about relationships,” Carnemark says.
—Nina Patel, senior editor, REMODELING.
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