Branding that makes the complex uncomplicated (or simple, even?)
Mergers and acquisitions often bring an element of complexity and uncertainty. The stakes are high – and brand plays a big part in establishing (or re-establishing) trust and confidence.
Missteps can be costly. But that’s where we can help.
As an experienced branding agency, we’ve partnered with businesses to support them through the merger and acquisition landscape – unpicking the complexities and creating the clarity and consistency that forms the foundation of new growth.
Wherever you are in the process, we can develop or even course-correct your branding activity to communicate a single vision that brings stability and opportunity with it.
Good stories, better told
In the fight for attention, salience and loyalty, when it comes to merger and acquisition branding, the right strategic foundation is what separates the leaders from the thanks-for-comings.
First, we’ll help you define a compelling positioning and an authentic narrative. One that goes beyond what you do and the pursuit of profit. Then we’ll create the verbal and visual assets that cut through the market noise and bring your story to life.
And that’s just the beginning. Every brand touchpoint, every experience, is an opportunity to reinforce and amplify what you stand for and why anyone should care.
We’ll craft insight-led campaigns and communications that make use of that opportunity, ensuring they contribute to building the value of your brand every time.
Brand definition
Working with us means you can be confident your brand is built on the most robust strategic bedrock.
It all starts with defining your brand – creating clarity around the new direction and ambition brought about by merger or acquisition activity.
Our proven methodology, honed over time, will guide and challenge you toward a focused, compelling and unique brand position. And this will be the foundation for a story that’s easy to understand and articulate.
Brand discovery
A rigorous exercise in building understanding and gaining insight. It’s imperative we find exactly where the brand equity lies. Customer, competition, company, context – we leave no stone unturned.
Brand positioning
How do you want your employees, customers and other stakeholders to perceive you? The goal here is to bring absolute clarity to how you want your brand to be seen.
Brand articulation
With your positioning defined and your story clear, the challenge is to tell it well – so well, that others will buy into your purpose and tell others, too.
This requires crafting your brand identity. The image your brand presents to the world. The verbal, visual, and behavioural expression of who you are now, and what you stand for going forward.
As an agency that’s been creating brand identities for ambitious organisations for years, we’re well-placed to help you build a story with a stabilising and transformative effect.
Verbal identity
What you say and how you say it is a huge and often overlooked opportunity to drive distinctiveness and build salience in a competitive market. We work with our clients to create brand languages that go hand-in-hand with your visual identity to help you stand out.
Visual identity
Together with verbal identity, we’ll ensure your look reflects and reinforces your brand positioning, communicating through distinctive assets (or brand ‘codes’) who you are and what you stand for.
Brand amplification
From integrated external campaigns to one-off internal communications – all present an opportunity to build salience, trust and brand equity.
And yet few organisations truly recognise this – fewer still during mergers and acquisitions, where a short-term tactical mindset is typically the norm. The key is balance. We’ll address the immediate objectives with the requirement for impact over a sustained period.
Consistency is key. Internally and externally. And we’ll carefully consider every step to help you achieve brand performance during and after the merger process.
Campaign strategy & creative
Dramatising the solution to your customers’ problem in the most engaging and compelling way.
Integrated marketing communications
Insight-driven, joined-up activity, where a multi-channel approach has impact.
Employer branding
Attract and retain the best employees to help you achieve your goals.
Internal communications
Realising the full potential of all your people pulling in the same direction.
Creating a new identity that complements an existing brand can be a tricky proposition, but the approach, expertise and ideas of mark-making* delivered something that was truly bespoke to our needs. Our audience is a very specific one, and thanks to mark-making* we have a marque, palette and website that truly differentiates us from our competitors.
Gatehouse Investment Management
This campaign successfully provided us with a clear communications framework, during a time of significant change and impact for our colleagues. Our intention was that everyone would feel valued and included and ‘Altogether Better’ delivers this in such a positive way.
Pepper Money
Got questions? Here are a few we are most frequently asked.
What kind of merger and acquisition branding do you do?
Across the spectrum, really. From small acquisitions to large multinational mergers. All our clients in this area have one thing in common – a desire to make the transition as smooth and successful as possible. And we couldn’t agree more. If that sounds like you, then we’ll be a great fit.
What are the most common types of merger and acquisition brand strategies?
There are quite a few. You could keep both brands, known as dual branding. Or, you could look at a brand absorption programme. It might be that you do nothing – and continue to operate as two separate entities, for the time being at least. Sometimes, it’s best to create an entirely new brand. There are more, but for us, these are the most common options. Whatever the ultimate outcome, it certainly needs deep analysis and thought.
What sort of budget will I need?
No two situations are the same. Our approach to brand creation and brand development is based on a proven and robust methodology. Whilst the process is consistent, the inputs and deliverables may be flexed as necessary to meet different needs and objectives. Whatever stage you’re at, we can support you, starting with an initial chat. And if we don’t think we can help, we’ll be sure to recommend alternatives.
How do I convince others in my organisation to invest in the brand?
That’s a common challenge. Especially given the complexities that mergers and acquisitions bring. It can almost be tempting to ignore the challenge. But every category leader knows the value of consistently investing in brand building from day one. If you’re having trouble being heard internally, you’ll need to pull together a compelling business case. We’re always happy to help. We often find the support of an external voice is enough to pique leadership interest and create an appetite for brand development.
What type of strategy should we be adopting?
It depends on the answers to the questions you ask. There are a lot of things to work through. Which business has more valuable brand equity? What are the complementary or conflicting values in each business? What are the risks and opportunities that come from the merger? There is a lot more than that to unpick – something our strategy team love to get stuck into.
How is mark-making* different from other agencies?
Our clients tell us that what makes us different is a combination of our expertise and our culture. We’re the best at what we do and our goal is always to add value. We also recognise the day-to-day stresses our start-up clients are often under, so our focus isn’t just on producing effective work – making our clients’ lives easy is something we’re proud to be known for too. It probably explains the exceptional longevity we have in our client relationships, some now spanning over 20 years.