6 decisions for newly merged or acquired brands

If your brand is taken over by another company or your company takes over other brands, either as a stand-alone buy or as part of a broader merger and acquisition, what aspects of your current brand should stay as they are and what might you look to change?

Many brands find themselves caught in a change of ownership. Sometimes there is no choice in what is left alone. For example, if a company is acquired by a major power brand, the chances of other brands remaining within the stable are small. If, on the other hand, either the acquirer or the acquired runs a house of brands, there are a number of things to weigh.

Six aspects for deciding what to do with the brand(s) you have:

1. The Circumstances Of The Sale – was the brand flourishing or declining when the sale took place? A strong brand could of course be a key reason for the sale, in which case customers should see as little change as possible. If on the other hand, the brand was weak or weakening, then a change of ownership is a good opportunity to revamp the strategy for that brand (to align with the intentions of the new owner) and perhaps to rebrand to clearly signal this shift.

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