The CMO's Guide to M&A Brand Strategy: How to Get it Right
Matt Bowen • January 10, 2021
Mergers and acquisition are on fire.
The total hit $3.6 trillion (with a T) globally in 2020 according to the Financial Times. And this was after deal-making in the first half of 2020, due to Covid, came to an almost screeching halt. So the second half of the year was truly exceptional and reflects what’s to come.
There are a lot of financial reasons for this, interest rates are low, equity markets remain high and companies are stockpiling cash.
If you look more closely, though, the reasoning and rationale behind the spurt of M&As is evolving. Whereas the typical key driver was once related to augmenting organic growth or attaining intellectual property or technology, many of the M&As are being driven by the shifting state of business—and even more so by the introspection created by a global pandemic.
While some acquisitions purely expand a customer and technology base—take Grubhub’s acquisition of Just Eat Takeaway, for example, others reflect something else that’s happening which has a major impact on Brand Strategy. Benjamin Gomes-Casseres, an expert on alliance strategies and professor at Brandeis University, refers to M&As as “remixes.” I like this because that is exactly what is happening, and more and more in not so traditional ways.
Take the acquisition of Salesforce and Slack, CVS of Aetna, or Amazon and Wholefoods. All are key examples of how the business landscape around us is shifting quickly, and companies are rethinking their portfolios to gain a new competitive edge, redefine an approach to their market or simply be on the defensive.
But here’s the rub: according to research led by Harvard University's Clayton Christensen, up to 90% of M&As fail to live up to their planned potential. What gives?
While each case is different, there are common themes surrounding why – more often than not – M&As don't produce value. Most often, the culprit is shortsightedness—focusing too narrowly, and often unrealistically, on cost savings and financial synergies. The classic “spreadsheet” approach to inorganic growth.
As technology journalist Joan Indiana Ridon related in Red Herring Magazine “the lack of integrating the two companies is the real reason why most fail.” Integration comes on multiple fronts, including people, culture, technologies, processes, vision and encompassing it all: brand strategy and architecture.
My experience working with many post-M&A companies is that the integration of brands and the building of a forward-looking, strategic brand architecture is one of the key components that most often gets punted for later, and usually for all the wrong reasons.
Companies are very protective of their brands, and while negotiations are happening the tough brand discussion (beyond “what are we going to call the new organization?”) rarely gets addressed up front. It's thought that this will naturally work itself out over time. Marketing will sort it out.
But what really happens is nothing. Companies end up with a confusing mix of brands and product lines that make little sense internally, and even less so to their customers. This is true even years after the M&A.
I call these amalgamated messes “brand goulashes.”
The period just after the M&A presents an unprecedented gift to the leadership of the company. It’s a time to make changes—and take on the tough challenges. If decisions—such as what the new brand portfolio of products and services will look like are not made at this initial stage—they most likely will not be made later either and it will get exponentially harder. And an ideal reason (M&A) for making the changes fades away.
This, in turn, saps the company of clarity and simplification and allows “brand tribalism” to take over the culture.
Your new combination of corporate brand and product/service level brands need to work together in a way that tells your new, and complete story. Every time an acquisition happens, the company’s narrative changes. It’s a perfect time to revisit the corporate brand narrative so that it is truly differentiated, simple, and clear. Your employees need this badly and the market wants to understand who you are becoming.
But 2021 will also present an additional, heightened challenge to M&A brand strategy: the changing and evolving needs of your market due to the impacts of reevaluating almost everything brought on by the global pandemic.
Before you can determine what the best brand architecture strategy will be, you need to get inside the evolving mindsets of your customers. Companies frequently make the mistake of not taking a more data influenced approach to understanding the real equity that corporate brands hold and rely too much on internal points of view. In an M&A situation, this immediately sets up two entrenched camps of thought, with the acquirer usually calling the shots leaving a bunch of confusion, disillusionment and hard feelings in the wake.
By taking the first 90 days of the M&A to conduct deep dive brand market research, you can determine exactly what the perceptions, awareness and intent-to-buy levels are for all of the brands in the new portfolio.
Additionally, you can determine if the target persona’s reasons for choosing one brand over another—the associated Value Drivers—are changing. Assumed value drivers, from my experience, are almost always created by internal teams based on their experience or third-party analysts’ reports. As a result, companies find themselves off the mark when these assumptions get translated into marketing and sales messaging.
M&As further complicate this matter. In a study of over 220 marketing leaders conducted by Brandigo, 72% stated they have no or only limited confidence that their organization understands the unique and changing pain points of their target audience.
Add all of this together, and you can see why many M&As from a brand perspective just don’t deliver.
So, what’s the best-practices-approach to getting the brand M&A right? Below are steps that will lead you in the right direction.
- Take an outside-in approach. After an M&A, emotions are high and brand tribes form overnight. To help bring a more scientific and data-driven approach to tough brand strategy divisions, conduct quantitative research with target buyers. This will tell you which brands in the portfolio have the strongest equity and highest levels of intent to buy and will give you the data you need to do the necessary culling of brands right out of the gate.
- Focus on simplicity. The objective of brand strategy and brand architecture is to create clarity and simplicity to the company's assets. Creating a structure that is simple will ensure that it will scale with the organization, while bringing the clarity that everyone desires, both internally and externally. Data and insights will help this tremendously—while also helping to soothe internal brand tribal sore spots. One of the biggest mistakes companies can make is having too many brands without a strategic rationale for them all to exist.
- Create a new corporate brand-level story. How is your corporate brand differentiated in a meaningful way? Why should anyone choose you in relation to your competitive alternatives? Even if the acquisition was relatively minor, chances are it should have an impact on your corporate brand narrative. When you look across your portfolio of products and services (or swim lanes or divisions), does it tell a cohesive story? Or are they siloed? This should be part of your corporate brand narrative.
- Seize the window of opportunity to create brand clarity at the product/services level. The time of the M&A presents an unheralded opportunity to make tough decisions that, if not made then, only get tougher and more disruptive as the two companies settle into their new existence. Consider all of the brands that each company has, whether they are product or service brands or both. Draw out a logical structure for them that goes beyond just pushing the two organizations together. Which brands should make the transition? Which should not? Which should be downgraded from brand status altogether? This discussion will help drive the bigger conversation around the future business model of the combined companies. Cleanup your brand architecture now.
- Do not underestimate the impact that brand strategy has on company culture. Research shows that the tribal mentality that happens post M&A is a serious reason why they don’t produce the value that was hoped. Use your brand strategy as a way to drive a new unified culture and break down the inevitable walls that will arise. Internally, brands can do one of two things: create separate camps or bring teams together. You know which one you want.
Sorting out your brand strategy and brand architecture is never an easy task. Add an M&A to it, and it gets especially complex. Everyone internally, from both companies, has an agenda during this period. But don’t miss this great opportunity because waiting will most certainly cause disruptive issues and lessen the value of the corporate growth strategy. Culling the portfolio is especially challenging and should be based on data, not emotions. This is where a neutral, third party that uses brand research to inform a set of strategic recommendations can be an immense asset.
But, most importantly, take on the challenge as soon as possible. The odds are against you if 90% of M&A’s don’t deliver on their planned value. So make sure this won’t be the case for you. Nothing good will come from letting it “play itself out,” and, in fact, it might be the number one reason that will determine if the M&A is a strategic win.
For many companies, the fourth quarter is both a sprint and a launchpad. You’re closing out revenue goals, but you’re also laying the groundwork for the year ahead. The brands that finish strong and start fast aren’t lucky — they’re intentional. They know their customers, they have a clear positioning strategy, and they operationalize that strategy across every part of the business. There are currently a lot of economic factors that need to be considered – from consumer uncertainty to tariffs. If you want your brand to stand out in 2026, here’s your Q4 readiness checklist, built on the principles we use at Brandigo: deep customer insight, data-conscious positioning, and smart use of tools — including AI — to make your marketing more effective and scalable. 1. Revisit Your Customer Research Why it matters: Markets shift quickly. According to Salesforce’s State of the Connected Customer report, 71% of consumers expect companies to deliver personalized interactions, and 76% get frustrated when this doesn’t happen. Action : Review customer and prospect data from the last 12 months. Conduct a quick pulse survey or a set of short customer interviews to understand evolving needs, priorities, and challenges. Look for gaps between what you think your customers want and what they’re actually telling you. 2. Audit Your Brand Positioning Why it matters: Even the most powerful creative loses steam if it’s not anchored in a clear, differentiated brand position. McKinsey research shows companies with strong, consistent brand positioning achieve up to 20% higher profitability than competitors. Action: Review your current positioning statement and messaging pillars. Ask: Are we still saying something truly unique? Is it backed by proof points customers care about? Test your positioning with a sample of your target audience before rolling into new campaigns. 3. Align the Organization Around the Brand Why it matters: A brand strategy that only lives in the marketing department won’t move the needle. Operationalizing your brand means integrating it into sales conversations, customer service interactions, hiring practices, and product development. Action : Host a Q4 “brand alignment” session with leaders from every department. Provide a simple one-page “brand playbook” that outlines tone of voice, value propositions, and core messaging. Encourage each department to share how they’ll bring the brand to life in their own work. 4. Review and Refresh Content for Q4 Campaigns Why it matters: The end of the year is noisy. To stand out, you need content that’s relevant, timely, and connected to your brand story. HubSpot reports that companies publishing 16+ blog posts per month generate about 3.5 times more traffic than those publishing 0–4. Action: Map your content to both year-end offers and early-year positioning. Refresh high-performing evergreen content with updated data, visuals, or CTAs. Plan for post-holiday engagement — not just pre-holiday promotions. 5. Embrace AI to Accelerate Marketing Workflows Why it matters: AI isn’t replacing brand strategy — it’s amplifying it. According to PwC, 86% of CEOs say AI is a “mainstay” in their offices, with the biggest gains coming from productivity and personalization. Action : Identify 1–2 AI tools that can help you speed up specific workflows, like content drafting, image creation, or data analysis. Set clear rules for how AI will support — not replace — your team’s strategic and creative decision-making. Train your team to use AI ethically, ensuring your brand’s authenticity is never compromised. 6. Set Measurable Goals for the New Year Why it matters: The best time to plan Q1 is before Q4 ends. Brands that start January with clarity waste less time “warming up” and more time gaining market share. Action : Define key brand metrics for Q1: awareness, consideration, engagement, and conversion. Align these with broader business goals, ensuring they’re measurable and trackable from day one. Set up dashboards or reporting tools so progress is transparent across the organization. In Short… Your Q4 is more than just the final quarter of the year — it’s your brand’s launchpad into the next. By combining deep customer insight, differentiated positioning, internal alignment, and the smart use of tools (including AI), you can finish strong, start stronger, and keep your brand ahead of the curve.
According to the June 2025 Consumer Economic Pulse study from Angus Reid , Americans are starting to see glimmers of hope in the economic landscape. Positive sentiment about the U.S. economy has reached its second-highest level since early 2023, and fewer people now expect the situation to worsen in the next six months. That’s the good news. But dig a little deeper, and a more complex story unfolds. While economic outlook is trending upward, consumer behavior reveals lingering caution, financial stress, and a pullback on spending. Half of Americans have switched brands to save money this year. Three-quarters have cut back on dining, entertainment, and other non-essential spending. Nearly one in three is accumulating more personal debt. And 41% have scaled back or cancelled summer travel plans due to economic concerns. This presents both a challenge and an opportunity for marketers. In this liminal moment—where hope is rising but hardship remains—brands must evolve how they speak, sell, and serve. Value Is Non-Negotiable In today’s marketplace, value doesn’t just mean low prices. It means helping consumers feel smart, secure, and seen. The fact that more than half of consumers are switching brands to save money signals that brand loyalty is fragile. People aren’t abandoning brands out of disinterest—they’re doing it out of necessity. This creates an opening for smart challengers and private labels to win on value, transparency, and quality. But it also gives established brands a chance to double down on relevance. Marketers should resist the temptation to race to the bottom on price. Instead, consider how to enhance perceived value—through bundling, loyalty rewards, subscription offers, or stronger emotional positioning. People are willing to invest in brands that align with their values, solve real problems, and offer tangible, repeatable benefits. Empathy Is the New Differentiator Brands that acknowledge the consumer’s reality—without exploiting it—will earn trust. With 77% of Americans cutting discretionary spending and 49% saying their debt is growing or stagnant, there’s a prevailing sense of financial fatigue. Tone-deaf or overly aspirational messaging risks alienating your audience. Instead, brand communications should reflect humility, optimism, and empathy. Think: practical luxury, not excess. Thoughtful convenience, not indulgence. Hopeful messaging grounded in the now—not the fantasy of pre-2020 normalcy. Brands that humanize the experience—by showing they understand and are here to help—can become beacons in uncertain times. Strategic Adjustments to Brand Positioning In light of this shifting sentiment, here are four strategic pivots marketers should consider: Reassess Category Role: Is your product a necessity, an affordable indulgence, or a delayed purchase? Adjust the way you frame your offering accordingly. Shift Messaging from Aspiration to Empowerment : Replace glossy perfection with realistic outcomes. Focus on how your brand helps people solve a problem, save time, or make smarter decisions. Lean into Purpose—but Make It Practical: Consumers still care about sustainability, inclusivity, and social impact—but they’re also watching their wallets. Connect your brand purpose to tangible, everyday outcomes. Elevate Financial Fluency: In categories like financial services, consumer goods, and health & wellness, brands that help consumers make confident financial choices will gain favor. Educational content, budget calculators, or simplified comparison tools can differentiate your offering. A Note on Travel and Experience Spending Interestingly, while travel budgets are being adjusted, 41% of Americans still plan to take a vacation this summer. Domestic destinations are thriving, and international travel is slowly rebounding. For hospitality, entertainment, and CPG brands, this signals an opportunity to tap into the consumer’s desire for escapism—just with a tighter grip on spending. Brands in these sectors should emphasize ease, affordability, and memory-making. Offer flexible packages, small indulgences, or community-focused experiences. Even small upgrades—like “staycation bundles” or “budget-friendly luxury”—can go a long way. As We Always Say: Top Into The Functional & The Emotional In uncertain times, consumers are not seeking perfection. They are seeking dependability. Brands that offer security—emotional, functional, or financial—will win. Now is the time to audit every consumer touchpoint and ask: Are we building trust? Are we helping our customers feel in control? Are we making life easier or harder? Because if we’ve learned anything from the latest Consumer Economic Pulse, it’s this: people are ready to believe again. But they need brands to meet them halfway—with clarity, compassion, and value they can count on.