Ribbon Cuttings & Grand Openings: What You Need to Know!

Congratulations on your grand opening, expansion, or move! Hosting a ribbon cutting ceremony is a great opportunity to attract new business, raise awareness, publicly thank your stakeholders, and celebrate your accomplishments. Keep in mind, this resource isn’t strictly for ribbon cuttings—lifetime achievements, notable anniversaries, and events and milestones of similar scope can also warrant this package. In order to take advantage of this valuable resource most effectively, consider the following:

Who do you want to invite?

What audience are you targeting for your event? Current or prospective clients? Local dignitaries and politicians? Family members and friends? If you are looking to attract a broader crowd, is there a special demographic you want to attract? 

Keep your audience in mind every step of the way.

The Chamber can provide you with a list of political contacts.

Logistics

Day & Time:
What will work best for your business and your demographic? If you sell products to students, a ribbon cutting during the school day would not be ideal. If there is a guest of honor, you may need to plan around their schedule.

Refreshments:
Food and drinks are always a good idea to attract and please attendees. Consider the time of day, your audience, and the size of your expected crowd when choosing your order. Need help finding a caterer? Contact the Chamber for a referral.

Promotion:
As part of your membership, you have access to the full list of contact information for our members in ChamberMaster. Consider taking advantage of this resource to send out invitations. You can also ask us to post about it on social media.

Media coverage:
While local media outlets such as the Osceola News-Gazette, El Osceola Star and Positively Osceola don’t often cover these events in person, they will sometimes publish a press release and photos if you provide them. The Chamber can provide you with a list of local media contacts.

Making the Most of Your Event

Photography: 
Your photographer doesn’t need to be a professional; it can just be someone comfortable with a camera. If there are certain shots you definitely want (the ribbon cutting itself, for example), make sure to put together a list of those shots and review it with the photographer in advance. Post these on social media and your website as soon as possible

Attendees: 
Get the names and contact information for those who attend your event. You can do this with a simple sign in sheet, or by having a raffle that requires attendees to leave their business cards.

The ceremony: What time should you actually cut the ribbon?

Sometimes, this is done right at the beginning of an event, but more often it’s done about a half-hour into the event, once people have had a chance to mingle.

If a ribbon will be cut, who do you want to cut it?

This could be the company owner, a local dignitary, someone from the Chamber, family members, or any combination of these. Will anyone be asked to speak? Are you planning a toast of any kind?

The Chamber has one pair of wooden scissors with the Kissimmee Osceola County Chamber of Commerce name on it.

When It’s Over

Follow Up! Send out your press release and photos to the local media outlets. Post photos on your website and social media and ask your followers to share. Send out personalized “Thanks for coming” notes. You can even include an incentive to come back to the business, like a coupon.

More Chamber Resources: Send the Director of External Affairs the press release to post or write a blog if you’re an Opportunity, Unity, Visionary or Champion member. And don’t forget, we’re here to help every step of the way.