One Long-Running and Important List
Since 1955, Fortune magazine has annually put out its list of the 500 largest U.S. corporations. The companies are chosen based on revenue and are thought to represent the cream of the crop of U.S. Business. According to the Fortune website, these 500 companies account for two-thirds of the U.S. gross domestic product and combine for $12.8 trillion in revenues. It’s an impressive list to be on because it means your company is doing exceptionally well.One of these corporate giants tapping you on the shoulder and reaching out for your help with a challenge coin order is a big honor. Over the years, we’ve been lucky enough to work with a number of companies on the Fortune 500 list in the creation of their custom company challenge coins. One thing a lot of these coins have in common is their focus on the people within these companies who make their success possible. Whether presented for excellence within the company or as safety incentives, company challenge coins are the perfect way to keep the focus where it belongs within these massive corporations.
Coca-Cola Challenge Coins
One Fortune 500 company we’ve been lucky to work with on multiple projects is Coca-Cola. Much like McDonald’s golden arches, the signature red of Coca-Cola cans and their classic font are images that automatically illicit specific reactions. Their branding is so strong that if these recognizable symbols are off by even a fraction, everyone will know it. Moreover, when the presentation is spot on, no more information is needed to let people know which brand you’re referring to.
Our Coca-Cola challenge coins are a strong example of the Pantone color matching system at work. Because the red they use is a brand specific color, we have to make sure we get it exactly right every time. The 485C Pantone color we use on all of our Coca-Cola coins perfectly matches the color they use in all of their marketing.
One thing our Coke clients value highly is safety in the workplace. A number of the challenge coins they’ve ordered have been designed around that theme. Keeping their employees safe and rewarding employees for good safety practices is one of the ways this company keeps the focus on the people that matter most.
Fortune 500 Coins With an Outward Focus
One popular use for Fortune 500 coins is for the company to show appreciation to more than just their employees. Companies like GE and Gatorade are fond of creating coins in honor of Veterans Day that honor their employees who happen to be veterans as well as the community at large.
Coins like these serve to remind that the companies have responsibilities that go farther and deeper than their bottom line. Challenge coin designs are often a glimpse into what the customers who ordered them value the most. To spend the money and get these specific images immortalized on metal means they must be special. For these Fortune 500 companies, showing their honor and appreciation to the men and women who have served our country is a core value.
For other companies, turning their attention outward includes shining a light on some of the important work they do in addition to their typical functions. When Facebook approached us to create a coin for them, we didn’t really expect the coin to end up being about their work with global security. And yet, that’s what the social media company was most focused on at the time.
PayPal, which rings in at the 222 position on the 2018 Fortune 500 list, had a similar situation arise with their challenge coin. When the company achieved a level of global financial crimes compliance, they had coins created to commemorate the event.
The PayPal coin is more in keeping with the traditional uses of corporate coins in that it marks a milestone within the company, but the milestone in question is one that rests on external help and consultants to accomplish. In a way, the PayPal coin is as much in honor of that outside help as it is in appreciation of the internal staff who made the goal a reality.
Not Even Fortune 500 Companies Avoid Branding Challenge Coins
At the end of the day, a lot of the corporate challenge coin orders we get in are still about a company’s branding efforts. They’re earned by employees, but they still primarily focus on the logos and insignia important to those companies.
Microsoft is the most recognizable company in the country. Even with that being the case, there’s something oddly comforting in recognizing that their challenge coins still rely on branding to the same extent that smaller companies have to to make sure their products remain visible.
In the end, our Fortune 500 customers aren’t so different from our other corporate customers. While they’re less likely to rely on their coin orders for fundraising efforts, they keep the focus of their coins on their employees and the people who make their brand what it is. They also work just as hard as any other company to keep their branding accurate.
We work hard to make sure we can deliver the same level of customer service, high quality product and attention to detail to all of our clients. When a Fortune 500 company approaches us for coins, we know how crucial it is to get the specifics of their order right, but we’re also no strangers to giving that same level of consideration to our other clients.
