Rebranding initiatives driven by a merger or acquisition can be the most challenging type to manage. If you’re a marketing pro who hasn’t yet experienced the fast-paced and often ambiguous nature of these rebranding scenarios, read on for some valuable tips we’ve gained by walking your peers down the “M&A brand change” path.
Depending on the industry and situation, you may find yourself with exasperatingly little information to work with while the regulatory details of the merger or acquisition are being hammered out. During this time, there are legal restrictions that prevent executives and lawyers from discussing details about the businesses yet executives may already be demanding cost estimates and launch plans for the rebranding effort. In these instances, you may find yourself needing to craft your brand transition strategy before the deal is approved, with expectations high and time short. You may also find once the deal closes that there is a requirement to eradicate “legacy” logos by a certain date.
If you’ve never led a rebranding before, engaging a firm like BrandActive means you’ll have financial analysts, implementation strategists and project managers using industry-specific expertise and benchmarks to run these numbers and proactively prepare you for how to approach launch and satisfy rebranding requirements. We calculate acquisition brand change cost estimates based on data points that are predictors of cost and effort, including the number of employees and facilities at both organizations. Being professionally armed with “pre-deal-close” data that’s as solid as possible will allow you to move much more quickly once the deal is approved.
While deals and brand transition strategy discussions take place in boardrooms, communication throughout the organization about what’s happening, why, and when, is crucial. Employees at both organizations often experience discomfort and distraction due to the inherent ambiguity of mergers and acquisitions. Demonstrating “visible progress” toward implementing the new brand identity can speed up the integration of the two organizations. Here, the objective is to support the organization’s overall integration strategy moving to a single brand as soon as possible.
BrandActive is a brand implementation firm with offices in Boulder, Colorado and Toronto, Canada. We work with clients to support them in the implementation of their brand change through-out North America and around the globe. Bookmark our blog page for valuable insights and industry best practices, and be in touch with us anytime to learn more.
