When Bayer wanted to celebrate its 150th anniversary together with its employees it was “appreciation the Bayer-way”, that the 30,000 Bayer employees and their families from all over Germany were to experience. Based on the Mission Statement “Science For A Better Life” this “better life” was to be in the focus, in a celebration that strengthened the sense of togetherness, of the “we”, and made this community tangible.

Thus, it could not be a mere “frontal show”, but instead this feeling of “we at Bayer” was to be experienced throughout the event, by every one of the 30,000 guests.

Three grand activations formed the core: all 30,000 guests 1) sang Bayer’s Anniversary song 2) performed a percussion of Bayer’s heartbeat 3) formed the largest Bayer cross – always stressing the importance of everyone’s contribution.

The unique “Bayer-ness” was exemplified in interviews with Bayer sport stars, couples, who had met at Bayer, people at Bayer working for charities etc.

Furthermore, 1,500 volunteers from different Bayer-clubs, contributed as helpers, musicians and standard bearers, making “we are Bayer” authentic.

The message behind this became tangible: the different facets of the people at Bayer, who all make relevant contributions to the Bayer community.

The many enthusiastic statements such as “Pure Adrenaline”, “an unforgettable moment”, speak for themselves. They were embedded in the intensive press coverage (German regional and national media, such as ARD, WDR, RTL, overall print coverage of 21.069.152), in internal Bayer media (world-wide print run of 165,000) and also left their impressions in the many postings by participants on the official Facebook site (with an impressive live coverage of 150,000) – which the Head of Corporate Communications referred to as “candy storm”.

The reactions show that concept achieved its goal: created a sense of belonging, and made “We are Bayer” tangible.

Proof for the effectiveness of the creative design was the straightforward response of all 30,000 guests, who joined in all activation elements, showing how well the event design was catered to the audience – ensuring that everybody did indeed feel part of the community.

Moreover, the 1,500 volunteers from Bayer sports clubs and associations actively contributing to the event, was not just impressive but also served to fortify motivation and identification of the employees. It was this authentic “Bayer-ness” of the event, which left an impact on the guests: only “we at Bayer” can master an event like this.