Amidst all the madness of an acquisition, there’s one thing that can be easily overlooked and mishandled: branding. What should be done with the newly absorbed company’s brand? It is frequently assumed that the acquired company should keep its original branding, but this is typically not the best option. The most efficient way to handle newly obtained logos, product names, and entity branding? A carefully considered remodel to become more consistent with the parent company’s existing identity.
Brand cohesion doesn’t necessarily have to be a replica of the parent brand. Rather, cohesion entails making sure newly acquired companies echo similar messages, operate in a similar wheelhouse, and have some aesthetic connections.
Prioritizing brand cohesion post-acquisition yields several important benefits:
The most effective way to streamline marketing across a large company is to utilize a branded house strategy. This means the flagship firm is the brand for all sub-brands, products, and subsidiaries. This builds a strong, recognizable, and unified identity. Apple, Google, and General Electric (GE) all use this approach.
Many people are unaware that GE is not a singular company but an accumulation of companies such as GE Aviation, GE Healthcare, and GE Capital. GE has created an identity so strongly integrated that nearly a dozen businesses are viewed as one. All businesses share the same basic logo, color scheme, and messaging. As a result, they can all be encoded with the same marketing messages. This ability to streamline marketing cuts costs by reducing redundancies. What would have otherwise been several advertisements or marketing campaigns can now be condensed into one. This simplified process leaves more time, energy, and money for the marketing message.
Hosting a mix of different brand identities under a corporate umbrella ensures there will always be a certain degree of internal incompatibility. Cohesion opens the door for an enduring and profitable brand due to streamlined marketing efforts.
A key way to expand revenue streams is through cross-selling, or marketing additional products to existing buyers. Clients who are pleased with a particular company’s products may not try out others if it’s unclear that the new products are associated with the original company. Positive feelings toward the parent brand are trivialized if the new products have a separate identity and set of values.
A purchaser who buys machinery marketed as top of the line is unlikely to get corresponding maintenance supplies from a subsidiary advertised as cost-effective. High quality and cost-effective can often be conflicting attributes and may confuse prospects. This second set of values may even leave the purchaser questioning the validity of the initial “high-quality” claim.
Many organizations utilize a single salesperson to represent products from multiple umbrella companies. The more united related companies seem, the easier prospective buyers can back products of newly acquired enterprises. By aligning branding, companies can strengthen claims and illustrate that all products and services are complementary and well thought out.
A FedEx salesperson likely has minimal trouble convincing a previous client with good relations to try FedEx Freight or FedEx Express in addition to the standard service. All FedEx products operate under the same branded house. Homogenous branding makes it easier for prospective buyers to draw connections between companies in the branded house. Simply put, it’s an easier sell due to the familiarity and security brought on by the FedEx name alone.
One of the most difficult parts of an acquisition relates to the most important asset to every company: the people. Blending cultures and processes can be a difficult task. After an acquisition, culture change can be expedited through brand cohesion to break down cultural barriers.
The financial benefits of brand cohesion are joined by the symbolic gesture of turning a “you and I” into an “us.” Letting an acquired company keep a separate identity may at first seem a kind nod to its background, but it can become an unintentional source of division and inefficiency. Brand alignment provides employees an opportunity to rally around a common set of values, goals, and culture. This cultural integration lets new employees truly feel a part of the larger firm and aids in adopting the parent company’s messaging. This is positively contagious and infiltrates how the new acquisition does everything else from the ground up.
A brand is more than just a clever logo or an assortment of catchy slogans. A good brand is an identity, a selling point, and a message. Brand cohesion after an acquisition leverages these strengths for the advancement of the newly united company.
