You may have noticed our new logo. Click here to learn more about its story.

Sherwin-Williams

Global Anniversary Campaign

Rallies Team Around Founder’s Values

As Sherwin-Williams’ 150th anniversary approached, the company faced challenges on two fronts. The well-known paint company knew it needed to reinforce its unique history and culture among its employees, customers and communities. Simultaneously, the company was getting ready for a leadership transition: The COO was preparing to become the ninth CEO in the company’s history. The goal was to inspire a future built upon the company’s founding DNA.

History Factory worked with Sherwin-Williams’ anniversary task force to develop a global campaign that defined target audiences, established programming that would build excitement before the kickoff and throughout the anniversary year, and included frameworks for implementation.

History Factory proceeded to craft an anniversary brand identity as well as key storylines and messaging that reflected the character of Sherwin-Williams. To ensure consistency across geographies, History Factory developed a bank of historical content that served as the foundation for all anniversary tactics. In tandem with the development of this campaign, History Factory archivists cataloged and digitized more than 600 linear feet of archival materials.

The culmination of the anniversary celebration was the publication of the definitive history of Sherwin-Williams, a 230-page book that tells the story of the company’s accomplishments and rich heritage, boldly illustrated with a design inspired by the most popular paint colors throughout its history.

What’s Worth Doing Is Worth Doing Well

More than 12,000 employees attended, the largest gathering of employees in the company’s history. Similar events followed in South America, Europe, Asia and Cleveland. Following these events, employees were invited to visit a website devoted to Celebration 150, rich with stories, imagery, trivia and quizzes. The website had nearly 15,000 unique users and more than 200,000 page views. Employees charged with promoting the anniversary made ample use of the anniversary toolkit, with templates, stories and archival assets for use during the anniversary year.

Related Work
Brooks

Brooks Brothers

Archival Discoveries Share A Tale Worth Telling

Learn More
Lockheed

Lockheed Martin

Content Campaign Fires Up Aerospace Giant

Learn More
Adobe

Adobe Photoshop

Candid Snapshots of an Iconic Brand Energize Social Media

Learn More