One of the things I’ve been really fortunate to experience in my career a few times is brand expansion by acquisition.
I’ve lived through it from the sold company side, on the side of the acquiring group, as well as from the outside in a consulting role a few times.
As a leader or company owner, there are so many things you need to consider during this phase, just from the marketing aspect alone, that I decided to create a “things you probably haven’t thought about” series. This is especially helpful if this is your first time seeing the process.
Typically, HR and Finance are the first departments to roll into new systems – this typically starts immediately. IT should also be included in this initial group.
Marketing has a bit of breathing room, as there are decisions to be made before rolling out something that will be used by Sales, Products, and Leadership.
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Marketing plays a critical role throughout the acquisition process because buyers are evaluating more than financial performance, products, and customer relationships. They are also assessing the strength, consistency, and scalability of the company’s brand and its ability to support future growth.
Marketing staffing should be reviewed early. Buyers will want to understand who owns marketing strategy, which responsibilities are handled internally, where outside agencies or consultants are used, and whether important knowledge is concentrated in one person. Clear documentation of roles, processes, vendors, passwords, platforms, and ongoing campaigns reduces transition risk.
Marketing budget provides insight into both historical investment and future requirements. Companies should be prepared to explain current spending across advertising, digital platforms, content, events, agencies, technology, and other marketing activities. A buyer may maintain that investment, reduce it, or increase it depending on growth expectations and how the acquired company fits within the larger organization.
Internal brand communication becomes especially important once an acquisition is announced. Employees need clear guidance regarding what is changing, what remains unchanged, how customers should be addressed, and who is responsible for communicating externally. Inconsistent internal messaging can quickly lead to inconsistent customer communication.
Branding changes should be approached strategically rather than immediately. Decisions about maintaining the existing brand, creating an endorsed relationship with the acquiring company, or completing a full rebrand should consider customer recognition, market equity, SEO value, sales relationships, and the acquired company’s existing reputation.
The strongest acquisition transitions treat marketing as part of the integration strategy—not simply as a set of logos, websites, and promotional materials to update after the transaction closes. Protecting brand equity while building a clear path toward the new organization can help preserve customer confidence, employee alignment, and long-term market value.
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Marketing Staffing Strategy
Are you going to inherit, hire, or outsource a team? Each approach gives you different benefits.
Inheriting marketing people can be a fantastic benefit. They already understand the products and culture and potentially have an excellent plan in place. There may be some overlap in roles, so you’ll need to figure out the best way to manage those decisions.
Many times inheriting a team can put highly experienced people at your disposal, but sometimes you also get people parked in the wrong role for their skill set. People who are struggling to do a job they aren’t suited for, on top of a huge change of leadership and systems, bring a team’s morale down and slow down your overall progress.
Look closely at your new group and determine where the gaps are, where you have too much of the same capabilities stacked up, and who might be ready for a more challenging role.
If you inherit someone who has been in the same role in the same company for 25 years, you’ll need to carefully review those skill sets and any need for additional training. Please make additional training available for these members as they may not have been encouraged or allowed to do so previously.
Marketing Budget Review Pre- and Post-Acquisition
This is an obvious one, and typically the department budget is reviewed prior to the company’s purchase.
You may have had a recent request to share the current marketing plan and budget with leadership for no apparent reason. M&A due diligence is occurring.
If you inherit a department with a weak plan, you’ll have work to do. If you are in this position, you likely already had the opportunity to review it before the agreement was signed.
When your marketing department is reviewed, you’ll need to make adjustments to fit into the new spending expectations. It’s not all bad news! I have seen departments gain more appropriate budgets with new ownership, which is always exciting! And it immediately lets you know that things are moving in a positive direction.
Internal Brand Communication for the Win
Internal brand communication is really critical for anyone new and making so many fast adjustments. If not rolled out clearly, or it’s lacking leadership support, it can be a huge bone of contention. Sometimes it can feel like the last straw for people, especially if they have a lot of loyalty to the old brand.
When branch or location brands start to be updated, be sure to give all your internal departments a heads up. This includes accounts, production, and building supervisors for things like updated signage on the shipping dock. A timeline should be set to allow for all communication channels to catch up and none of this should ever be a surprise to anyone in the company.
I highly recommend having deadlines in place to help complete these changes, as other responsibilities will take precedence. You want to avoid the half-baked look of disorganization.
Sometimes legal reasons prevent a brand change from being made publicly, which can be tricky to clarify. Work with Legal and your site leaders to determine the best path forward. This can occur with multi-site or brand locations.
Typically, the clearest way to bring about this change is for leadership to announce it internally, explain the reasons and the timeline, and field any questions.
Branding Changes. Everyone has an opinion on the direction of the brand – no matter what department they work in. If your company has been acquired, expect to see some things happen very quickly and others take more time to be considered and worked through.
Your email signature will change fairly immediately across the company, typically within the first week and sometimes the first day of announcement.
Other changes to the messaging, value statement and product lines will come over time, as each element needs to be carefully weighed. This top-level decision typically takes a minimum of 6 weeks, depending on the people involved and the scope of the company and the other decisions in the mix.
If you are a part of the purchased company, know that the brand value of your group (solid or otherwise) will have been taken into consideration as a part of the overall sale agreement.
Understand that just because an equity group or large umbrella corporation has paid to buy your well-kept and trusted brand, it doesn’t mean that trust transfers automatically, especially if the new parent company does not have much public trust banked. It’s not an impossible situation, but it does mean that you’ll have more work to do moving forward.
Last, but not least, everyone on the working marketing team should have a complete set of corporate logos, colors, fonts and a brand book if one exists. This makes work efficient across the board, no matter if brand development is handled externally or internally.
If you are about to go through this massive company change and want to talk to someone who has been through it, contact Amanda for a 30 Minute Consultation.
