The United States of America, Budweiser, and United Airlines – these entities couldn’t be more different, but something they all have in common is that this year, they’re celebrating big anniversaries. The U.S.A. turns 250 years old in July, Budweiser turned 150 years old and United Airlines turned 100 years old this past April.
Resilience can be hard to market, according to Shubhranshu Singh, an associate professor of marketing at Johns Hopkins Carey Business School. That’s why anniversary campaigns are so important; a company or organization that markets its 100-year-old age can show investors, donors, or customers how resilient it is. But, these campaigns can be costly with gestures as grand as $10 million dollar Super Bowl ads and expensive celebrity partnerships, leaving experts like Singh with the question, ‘are the branded memorabilia and flash sales worth the sticker price?’
“Where do you want to put your money?” Singh said. “You want to put your money at a place where you can see that it will be best utilized, right? And organizations have to tell donors or investors, ‘your money will be well spent here. Look how long we’ve been around and look how long we’ve been turning profit.’”
Building brand confidence
The U.S.’s anniversary campaign this year is an interesting example, particularly because a country’s ‘marketing’ is inherently different than that of a business, but the reasoning behind anniversary advertising is still the same.
Singh says that the anniversary campaign for the U.S. shows it’s been strong for a long time. The 250th campaign prompts other countries to believe that this country is here to stay and builds confidence in the American dollar.
“If a country is believed to be around a long time, then people from all over the world invest in that country,” he said. “People want to go to that country. People want to buy the currency of that country and save it.“
While anniversary marketing campaigns are meaningful for these reasons, they might not always build immediate profit return, especially considering the often extravagant and expensive events or measures that entities implement to draw attention to their anniversaries.
But that’s the whole point, according to Singh, who referred to a concept called “money burning advertising,” which is exactly as it sounds. Some may say that anniversary marketing is considered a money burning strategy.
“These brands want to show the world that they are a brand that can burn money. Not everybody can burn money,” he said.
Singh points to the elaborate celebration most of America is expecting this July 4th holiday. There will be fireworks and parties, U.S.-made memorabilia, and plenty of taxpayer dollars that go into celebrating America’s semi-quincentennial.
Budweiser is another example of a brand going big for its anniversary. According to an April 2026 press release, Budweiser has released various limited-edition collectible packaging in its anniversary year for fans and is also offering the “Budweiser Great Delivery Sweepstakes,” where consumers 21+ can enter for a chance to win a Summer’s Worth of Beer.
“If a brand is going to spend a lot of money celebrating its anniversary, it’s because it wants to tell the world that it can.”
Singh says that brands that may not invest in anniversary campaigns are those with uncertain futures or those who don’t know how much longer they’ll be around.
“A struggling brand, country, or organization would be hesitant to invest in this kind of campaign,” he says.
A time-tested brand weathers the storms
In addition to building confidence, brand longevity might even counter negative brand perception in some cases, which gives brands all the more reason to invest in an anniversary campaign. Singh uses the airline industry as an example.
United Airlines, according to Singh, often faces negative perceptions from consumers, but their longstanding operations signify that the company is still one of the better airlines to date, having weathered so many challenges in the industry.
“United Airlines has its fair share of service failures,” he said. “Some people think United is a bad company and that it doesn’t know how to treat customers, but I argue that if it was really a bad company, then it would’ve ceased to exist by now.”
United Airlines’ 100th year anniversary campaign this past April boasted a brand collaboration with the popular shoe brand Adidas in addition to branding select aircraft with 100th anniversary logos. Meanwhile, one of their competitors, Spirit Airlines, went out of business this spring after only 34 years of operating.
Longevity is a component that makes brands “iconic,” it helps them reach a status that builds certainty among audiences despite headwinds, challenges, or negative perceptions.
“Iconic brands are time tested,” said Singh. “Think about Disney and Coca-Cola. Those are iconic brands.”
Disney has been around for over 100 years and Coca-Cola for 140 years.
“Those brands aren’t going away anytime soon,” he said.
