Branding mergers and acquisitions

The post-mergers and acquisitions landscape of corporate branding can be quite a puzzle. Sometimes, the evolution is so far-reaching that leaders face a difficult strategic question: do we keep the legacy brand(s)… or do we create something entirely new?

Taking on a strategy that opts for creating a whole new brand is the boldest scenario. It's a declaration: “We are no longer who we used to be and our brand must prove it.” Therefore, it needs to be applied with caution.

One of the most visible examples of this in the past decade is Facebook’s transition to Meta Platforms, Inc. Meta is the result of a history of Facebook's corporate acquisitions. Over the years, Facebook had acquired multiple companies, most famously: Instagram in 2012 or WhatsApp and Oculus VR in 2014. The corporation was no longer just “Facebook the social network.” It resembled the structure of a merged conglomerate, yet the corporate brand still carried the name of one product. This possibly created confusion for stakeholders, employees, regulators and even investors. In October 2021, Mark Zuckerberg announced that the corporate company would rebrand to Meta, signalling a new long-term strategic focus: building the metaverse, immersive digital experiences, and next-generation technologies.

Switching to the Meta brand allows the company to clearly separate corporate identity from consumer products and organise the portfolio clearly. Another plus is reducing the dependency on Facebook's reputation which at the time started being controversial. The new brand embodied a forward-looking vision, enabling Meta to be more than a social media company.

When is a new brand the right choice?

• The company has outgrown its legacy identity.
• The portfolio has become multi-brand or multi-segment due to acquisitions.
• The strategic direction is fundamentally different from the past.
• The legacy brand carries meanings that limit future ambitions.

Except for crisis-related cases, creating a new brand is not necessarily an act of abandoning the past. It’s an act of designing the future. Facing your own brand architecture challenge? Discover our strategic services here: https://www.skinn.agency/strategy