Everything You Always Wanted to Know about Financial Tombstones… But Were Afraid to Ask
Corporate / financial tombstones and deal toys are two of the industry’s strangest named products, but also the two with the most intriguing history.
What are corporate / financial tombstones?
A corporate or financial tombstone is a physical piece / gift created to commemorate a significant merger, acquisition or financial success. Financial tombstones are usually crafted from Lucite / acrylic and generally contain details of a significant event.
The origin of corporate tombstones
In the early 1930’s, the Securities Act introduced the requirement of publishing a tombstone ad in a printed newspaper as the final part of any financial deal. Because only the most basic information was required in the ad, the ads tended to resemble stone tombstones with big spaces and limited print. As a result, companies began not only publishing the details of the financial deal, but also commemorating the deal by creating a visible remembrance of the milestone.
Tombstones
Although nobody seems to know when the first commemorative tombstone was created, it seems likely that it was in the 1970’s. At that time, it was simply the tombstone ad embedded in Lucite. Over the years, corporate / financial tombstones have become significantly more interesting and intricate; often downright playful, hence the term “deal toys”.
Deal toys
Deal toys are the playful little brother of the corporate tombstone.
Deal toys are generally given to each individual in a deal or project and the sky is the limit on the creativity of these awards.
As a result, deal toys are quite unlike financial tombstones which can be somewhat more austere. Deal toys are meant to be “eye catchers” in the office; on a desk or bookshelf, displaying a creative deal toy is a way of indicating participation in something prestigious and exciting.
Financial tombstones transition to corporate tombstones
No longer relegated to the financial sphere, corporate tombstones and deal toys are used to celebrate achievement and recognize the hard work of individuals in any large collaboration.
Also, they allow for each partner to showcase their logo and branding for the company. This makes corporate tombstones a “win/win” for businesses looking to acknowledge their employees’ participation in a unique way.
How to create a memorable corporate tombstone to celebrate your employees’ achievements
It’s a point of pride for many companies to try and come up with unique and creative designs for financial tombstones / deal toys. This can be a fun but daunting task.
As you can imagine, the people whose job it is to design and create interesting deal toy designs on a daily basis have seen it all and can provide a wealth of ideas about how to create a one-of-a-kind corporate tombstone that will be unbelievable and memorable.
Here at Clearmount, our designers work with clients to help create the ideal deal toy – the perfect marriage of design and marketing on any budget. Our in-house facilities make it possible for customization on every level to capture the spirit of your particular project in a way that will exceed expectations. Decades of experience and creativity are behind every piece. It is this custom aspect that makes the deal toy an item that the recipient will be talking about for years to come.