Brand Architecture Project for Multi-Billion Financial Service Firm
Post-Mergers-and-Acquisitions

Brand Strategy:  At the midpoint of a major acquisition effort, Computershare needed to assess its brand strategy.  Top brand and research firms were brought in to assist with the research, brand personality ideation, and the creation of broad key messaging.  After working closely with the external agencies, the in-house marketing team then translated the brand parameters into a high-impact “go-to-market” strategy.  Over 20 product, systems, and company brand identities were consolidated – with 95% of those brands being led in the US and Canada.

Approach – Starting With the End in Mind

The overall framework included needs assessment and market perception studies, brand personality and attribute development, go-to-market strategy and business model construct.
While the company held a brand leadership position, nothing was taken for granted. Extensive interaction with the marketplace yielded informative data points that ultimately resulted in stronger customer engagement and growth

In addition to enhancing the company’s core brand, the insights provided valuable information for integrating acquisitions that also held strong brand positions. This was no easy task as employees, as well as customers, were not always willing to embrace new ownership.

A Strong Brand Promise

Computershare’s new positioning, as well as integration strategies, fell into place once the analysis was complete. Three core principles formed the foundation of the unique selling proposition and the tenets of the organizations brand promise.

Executing Across Marketing Channels

Value Propositions: The strength of the brand promise was tested in ad campaigns and other marketing assets. The bridge symbolized the positive, results-based connections we made between shareholders and public traded companies. The brand promise and it’s meaning were easy to leverage, a sign that we had clearly built a market-based message.

Result = Solutions-Based Portfolio

While the organization continued to evolve with the addition of new acquisitions, the brand work built a strong infrastructure against which future integrations became much more seamless. Marketing’s scope went far beyond its traditional role to include M&A strategy, employee communications, public and investor relations as well as sales compensation.

The final outcome was a clear and understandable go-to-market strategy that ensured our brand promise could be delivered upon at every step of the way.

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Brand Identity Refresh Aligns Offering & Image

Brand Identity:  Sometimes a brand identity simply needs a few alterations to really give it the right personality and message.  When Chefwear first launched the company logo it contained a frying pan – not truly connected to the company’s innovative apparel line.  To bring the identity forward, the frying pan was changed out to a toque and a permanent tagline was added. 

The brand identity evolved a second time to incorporate a more contemporary toque design and the words “the Original.”  Fierce competition had begun entering the market and plenty of knock offs were being sold.  It was important to clearly identify the high quality innovator from others.  The company won a trademark battle on the use of the term “chefwear” and eventually went back to using the tag “The Look That Cooks.” 

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Elevating Brands with Brands: In addition to the highly recognized brand identity, Chefwear was known for featuring key chefs and celebrities in its catalogs and promotional material.  It also partnered with fashion designer Nicole Miller to launch a line of accessories and unique patterns.  All labels were sewn on the outside of the garments and became a signature style for all chef apparel in the industry

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