Mergers are making headlines today with talk of US retailers and airlines coming together. News that OfficeMax and Office Depot are discussing a stock-for-stock deal between the two brands has shares up are up 25% and 16% respectively. Moody’s Investors Service says the merger between American Airlines and US Airways announced last week threatens the credit quality of US airports. The stakes are high for brands entering into mergers and can impact entire sectors. Digital Brand Management can help manage the merger process and manage its impact on a company’s most valuable asset – its brand.

Brands contemplating or currently in the process of any merger, consolidation or other business combination are undoubtedly analyzing the impact of many elements including financial evaluations, tax considerations, operational processes, material contracts, real estate, technology, risk, organizational structure and change management. Most organizations do consider the effect a merger or similar transaction will have on its brand. It is vital that they also take a proactive approach to governing this change, communicating it internally and externally, and ensuring that the merging organizations capitalize on already developed assets.

Whether following the transaction the brand will be a newly developed combination of the merging organizations or one organization will adopt the other’s identity, it is vital that this is communicated both within the organizations and externally in a thoughtful, efficient way. As the organizations team up to develop business together they will begin sharing marketing collateral and leveraging each other’s skills and expertise. However, this integration can be very difficult, costly and potentially detrimental to the brand if it is unclear what the identity is and where employees can go to learn about and execute the brand strategy.

Providing a web based platform for marketers from both organizations that clearly articulates the new brand guidelines, strategy, identity, assets and templates that support it, prepares communications teams for the change. It enables brands to manage the process and reinforce the change both internally and in the external marketplace.

The brand platform will become a one stop shopping experience for all things brand related. This will control and reduce costs, saving time spent recreating assets, clearly stating brand guidelines and expectations for implementing the new brand, training employees on the new brand strategy, policing the brand in the market and ensuring only brand approved collateral is utilized.

Perhaps most importantly, a systemized portal will also demonstrate a commitment to the brand. Utilizing Digital Brand Management in managing merges will inspire the organization and partners to be participants in the development and governance of the new brand during the reorganization following the transaction when change must be managed carefully and effectively.

Kristen Selinger is a Business Development Manager for BrandWizard.

Zipsters, the passionate and loyal customers of Cambridge-based Zipcar, may have collectively groaned as it was announced that a traditional car rental company will acquire the beloved car-share pioneer. Despite fears that their go-to for “wheels when they want them” could become lost in the rental car industry it set out to disrupt when Avis Budget Group acquires Zipcar for $500 million, the deal creates interesting possibilities for these two brands to leverage the best of what each can offer.

The Zipcar counter-culture consumer base is loyal to its brand, but these fans are also passionate about the financial and environmental benefits Zipcar brings to society. This acquisition can be the means to bring the benefits of car-sharing to more people than ever before.

Tech-savvy and open-minded Zipsters are just the community of consumers a company like Avis can tap into to elevate their brand in a changing market. The Zipcar community is open to sharing and consuming only what’s needed. The brand evokes perceptions of fun, ease and excitement.

With Zipcar in their portfolio, Avis will have an opportunity to target new consumers with a product that works for their lifestyle. Zipcar can help shift Avis from a commodity category, with consumers focused on getting the lowest price or banking the most loyalty points, expanding the car-sharing market for everyone.

The benefit of the deal for Zipcar, a progressive company with cool ideas, a loyal user following and a proven infrastructure, is the acquisition represents a way for them to expand their brand and the entire category of car-sharing into new markets. Since the car-sharing market is still relatively new and inexperienced, Zipcar appears to have reached a plateau of sorts in regards to getting new users.

This is where the Avis brand can help grow the car-sharing category. It can help capture the “more traditional” audience, introducing them to car-sharing with its recognizable brand name, scale of fleet and locations.

Both brands have some homework to do. As with most acquisitions, it’s not just a question of how to integrate the operations and the P&L, it’s about understanding how to remain authentic to your current consumers while evolving and becoming more relevant to new ones.

2012 had its fair share of pairings – including Disney/LucasFilms, Delta/Virgin Atlantic and Starbucks/La Boulange – that surprised communities of brand loyalists. Yet each suggests areas of growth opportunities for all involved. As 2013 begins with the pairing of Avis Budget Group and Zipcar, the road ahead for both brands looks promising. Sometimes unlikely pairings can yield rich results, and we, like many others, will be eagerly watching their next move.

Kurt Munger is Creative Director and Caren Williams is an Associate Director Brand Strategy at Interbrand San Francisco.

It’s easy to scoff at Microsoft’s acquisition of Skype as a woeful attempt to buy loyalty. A medieval marriage, if you will, intended to make the duke beloved through alliance with a pious wife. And it is true that, generally speaking, Skype users *love* Skype where as Microsoft users merely tolerate the brand, or, best case, adopt a love-to-hate-it attitude.

It’s superficial assessment and misses the point.

The point is, ownership of Skype gives Microsoft the opportunity to deeply alter its DNA and to fundamentally change the very nature of the Microsoft brand through an open, can-do, user-focused attitude. Imagine:

• Seamless integration of Skype throughout Office. Easy accessibility to anyone and their data from virtually anywhere. We could launch a videoconference on the fly from within Word, or get instant feedback in the midst of making a PowerPoint deck.
• In-your-face xBox sparring. Live video interaction leads to a fundamental reconsideration of what massive multiplayer online gaming really is. Graphics merged with live footage morphed into a game. More realistic avatars. Trashtalk taken to a new level. Sweet!
• Widespread corporate adoption of Skype as telecommunications infrastructure. IT is already intimate with Microsoft. If Microsoft does it right, transitioning to Skype will be a no-brainer for many CIOs. Systems will be easier to manage and users will have an improved overall experience.

Maybe Microsoft will be able to start living up to its 2006 tagline, “Your potential. Our passion.” Heads will turn. Opinions will change. Grudging Microsoft users may become enthusiasts. It’s not too much to expect, if you lengthen the timeline a bit – if Microsoft adopts the user-centric Skype approach and if Skype influences Microsoft more than Microsoft influences Skype. What started as another way to beat the system could help Microsoft, the system itself, truly blossom.

Perhaps this is why Microsoft will succeed where eBay didn’t. Both companies bought Skype for its user base, functionality, and to play keep-away from Google. But while eBay saw Skype come and go with nary a scratch, Microsoft really needs this to work.

On May 2, 2011, Volcom agreed to join the French luxury group PPR, owner of world-famous, iconic brands such as Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent, Balenciaga, Alexander McQueen, Bottega Veneta, and the lifestyle brand PUMA.

The appearance of the “Youth Against Establishment,” boards sports and apparel brand in a portfolio of brands targeted at more mature customers may seem surprising. However, it already promises a huge potential of synergies betwee PPR, PUMA, and Volcom, from footwear to fashion. And in many ways it bears similarities to Nike’s acquisition of Hurley in 2002.

But the most interesting piece of the acquisition is surely the youth content and what it should deliver in terms of influence and presence. Though Volcom's 2010 revenue was less than a tenth of PUMA's revenue, it outpaces PUMA's presence in other ways – for example, with approximately 1.3 million fans on Facebook, it has the lead on PUMA (with 4.7 million fans) by 27 percent.

Why? Because Volcom speaks to skateboarders, snowboarders, and surfers in a unique tone and voice. The brand mixes rock, trash, and punk content with extreme sports and board sports. For years, the brand has been admired for its consistency and its ability to embrace skate, surf, and snowboard under one brand – a very specific lifestyle that speaks directly to younger audiences.

While today, the Volcom brand doesn’t achieve the same level of business as PUMA, it seems clear that the owners are aiming to preserve its authenticity, protect and enhance its brand relevance, and also improve its operational efficiency. PPR’s acquisition definitely represents a turning point for the board sports industry – and for Volcom.