Company anniversaries
Verifying company-history claims before an anniversary
The anniversary video says the company was first in its field, and nobody can say where that line came from.
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The short answer
Collect every factual statement about the company's past that will appear in a speech, video, display or printed item. Give each a source, a checker and a sign-off, and remove or soften anything that cannot be supported.
Staff memory and old brochures are starting points, not evidence. Questions about what the company may lawfully say, and about how awards, trademarks or partner names may be used, go to your legal adviser or the relevant owner.
Which statements need checking
- Dates: founding, name changes, moves, openings and mergers.
- Firsts, bests and rankings: 'first in the country', 'largest', 'leading'.
- Numbers: staff counts over time, customers served, units produced.
- Awards and certifications, and who gave them.
- Names and roles: founders, long-serving staff, former leaders, partners.
- Quotes attributed to people, living or not.
- Photographs and footage used for the story, and who owns them.
Evidence you can ask for
| Claim type | Evidence to look for | Who may confirm |
|---|---|---|
| Founding or registration dates | Company records held by the company secretary | Company secretary |
| Awards | The certificate, letter or the awarding body's own record | Communications or the award holder |
| Numbers over time | Annual reports, payroll or finance records | Finance or HR |
| Firsts and rankings | A named, dated source showing the comparison | Business unit head and legal adviser |
| Quotes | A recording, letter or the person's own confirmation | Communications |
| Photographs | Source file and rights record or permission | Communications or the supplier |
| People's stories | The person's own review and consent where possible | HR with the person concerned |
A claims log in five steps
- List every statement from scripts, slides, video voice-over, display panels and invitations.
- Add a source for each. If none is found within a set time, mark it 'unsupported'.
- Assign a checker who is not the person who wrote it.
- Decide for each unsupported item: confirm, rephrase to what can be shown (for example 'since' a recorded date), or remove.
- Obtain sign-off from a named approver before design, printing or recording begins, and re-check after any edit.
Sensitive history
Some company history involves people who have left, disputes, closures or incidents. Decide with the sponsor and HR whether to include them, and how. Ask the legal adviser whether anything needs review before it is displayed or spoken.
Where a story names a person, ask that person, or the family, whether they are comfortable with the wording.
Where this fits
The log sits inside the wider anniversary planning guide. Once claims are approved, designers use them in the branded materials covered in coordinating anniversary branding. The run-of-show builder can mark the cue where each approved speech or video plays.
Worked example · Fictional example
A fictional trading company checks its timeline
Fictional organisation and figures, for illustration only.
A fictional trading company's draft timeline lists twelve statements. Three have no source: a 'first in the state' line, a quote from a former director and an award year.
The company secretary confirms the founding year. The 'first' line is reworded to 'one of the earliest', and sent to the legal adviser to confirm. The award year is corrected from the certificate, and the quote is dropped because nobody can find the original. The sponsor signs off the final list a week before printing.
Use this yourself
Anniversary claims log
One row per statement. Nothing goes to print until the status column reads 'approved'.
| Statement | Where used | Source | Checker | Result | Approver and date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (exact wording) | (speech / video / panel / print) | (document and date) | (name) | (confirmed / reworded / removed / awaiting legal) | (name, date) |
Handle it in-house, or bring in help?
Your team can usually handle this when
- A short timeline with records the company secretary or finance can confirm quickly.
- No sensitive history or ranking claims.
Outside planning help earns its fee when
- Many materials are being prepared by different teams at once and nobody tracks which statements are used where.
- Rankings, 'firsts' or sensitive stories need review from legal.
- The owner needs help chasing evidence and keeping the log current while the design work continues.
Need the claims checked before the designers start?
A scoped project lead can build the claims log from every script and panel, chase sources and checkers, route the items that need legal review, and hold design and printing until sign-off is recorded. What the company is willing to say about itself stays with your leaders.
Questions organisers ask
Is a company brochure enough evidence?
Usually it is a clue, not proof. Look for the original record behind it, or reword the claim to what you can show.
What if no source exists for a popular story?
Soften the wording, label it as company tradition, or remove it. The sponsor decides.
Who should have final sign-off?
A named person at sponsor level, after the checker and, where needed, the legal adviser have responded.
Related resources
Content record: Draft. Written from the cited sources and checked by automated rules; not yet independently reviewed.