Internal Marketing for Mergers and Acquisitions

September 30, 2008 | Posted by: Jim Ivers

In my last three roles, I have found myself dealing with companies either formed by mergers or companies in the midst of acquisition, or both. Such circumstances create some unique challenges for the marketing team in creating or modifying the identity, messaging, and brand of the company. I will address some of my experience in multiple entries, with the first topic the subject of dealing with the internal culture and the employees.

For any company to gain identity in the market, the employees must be ready to put down the flag of the old company (or companies) and take up the flag of the new. In my experience, employees will continue to identify themselves with their pre-merger company until you have given them reason to do otherwise. Indicators are such things as retaining the old company name in email signatures (formerly...) and continued use of pre-merger branded materials. This serves to undercut the efforts of the marketing team to establish the new identity for the company and sends conflicting signals to the market.

Remember that many of these people have invested a significant portion of their work life with the pre-merger companies. Their identity is tied to the identity of that company and there is a sense that the company and culture they helped build is somehow being lost. You have to present them with an exciting and compelling case for the new company, and back that up with the messaging and materials that allow them to let go of the things that gave them comfort in the past.

When we launched Cybertrust (formed by the merger of three companies which were in turn formed by merger) formally to the market we in fact had two parallel campaigns. The first was a normal external launch directed to the market. We had a second, equally coordinated internal launch that aggressively took the new messaging and branding directly to the employees with materials created specifically for the internal team. The marketing team came in the weekend of the launch and cleaned out the employee pantries of old coffee mugs, eliminated all of the old collateral materials from lit racks, and replaced the pictures on the wall. At team meetings that followed the launch we carefully laid out the new messaging and branding, and encouraged employees to embrace the new company. A comprehensive set of newly branded materials, collateral, stationery, and sales giveaways were ready for use.

The results of the internal campaign were very good, largely because we gave the employees something exciting that had real form and substance. By the time Cybertrust was acquired by Verizon Business, the brand had quickly gained traction, and I am convinced that the internal campaign was a huge factor in that success because the employees were aligned with the brand and reinforced the efforts of marketing on a daily basis.

Have fun with it! Push a trash bin through the halls, shout "bring out your dead" a la Monty Python and replace old logo wear on the spot. Collect all of the old materials and have a bonfire in the parking lot (call the fire department first, please). But find a way to take the message to the employees because without them on board, the marketing road will be far steeper.

It is easy to move past the employee and culture issues and go straight to the broader marketing challenges in a merger or acquisition scenario. Constraints on time, resources, and budget make running a two pronged approach difficult. But getting the employees squarely behind the messaging and branding of the resulting organization is the first, key foundational element toward success.