How to Brand After a Merger
There is no event that can change a company's identity more dramatically than a merger. When two companies merge, both are changed significantly. After merging, companies share multiple departments and are guided by a single executive. Because the two premerger companies had their own brands, it is more "politic" to come up with a new brand than to attempt to force one company's identity down the other's throat. There are no hard and fast rules for how to brand after a merger; however, most newly merged corporations retain hints of both old brands in the new brand, so as to hold on to brand-loyal customers.
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Instructions
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Arrange a meeting with the people from the other side of the merger. Schedule a meeting with the CEO and the top marketing executive, both to discuss the direction for the brand, and to acquaint yourself with people you will be working with closely in the future. Make the initial meeting a lunch or dinner meeting to set a relaxed pace for a casual discussion over the future of the brand.
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Talk to your team, and the other side's team, about which aspects of your respective company's identities were most important to the company. Discuss this casually at the meeting you arranged. Ask about the key aspects of the brand (color, logo, slogans, main product names), and write down the three most important elements mentioned by both groups.
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Speak at the meeting with the marketing people from both sides of the merger. Ask them whether they have any market research data on the degree of brand loyalty for both premerger brands. If they do, ask them to provide you with the research data that can support their claims.
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Conclude the meeting by asking everyone to suggest at least one "desired behavior" for the new company. A desired behavior is simply any action or policy that the company would take under ideal circumstances. For example, for a restaurant, "fast service" could be a desired behavior.
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Write a name for the new company. If the old companies both has one word names, simply stick the two names together or merge the two words into one word. For example, change "Swimfun" and "Fastball" to "Swimfun-Fastball" or "Swimfast,"
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Hire a graphic designer to develop a new logo and color scheme for the new company. Ask your friends in the industry to recommend a graphic designer who does high quality work. Contact that designer and ask for a quote. Provide the designer with the old logos and color schemes of the previous companies, and instruct him to design a new logo and color scheme that combines elements of the old ones. Provide the designer with the "desired behavior" recommendations your team came up with, and ask him to take these into consideration when designing the logo and color scheme.
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Show the key marketing people you met with the name, logo and color scheme you now have. Ask them whether they want to use this brand, or whether they think something needs to be changed. If they want to see something changed, make a list of their criticisms, run these by your designer, and ask her whether they can be accommodated.
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