Sylvania: keeping a brand, a team and a market together through an acquisition
Client: Sylvania, a global manufacturer of professional and architectural lighting
My role: Acting Marketing Director, then Senior Marketing Manager
The result: New brand live across all offices, factories and partners within two months; central marketing team grown from one to eight
What I launched: The "Light your world" brand, and a central marketing team built from one person to eight
Sound familiar?
A deal has closed and customers are asking what it means for them.
Head office and the local markets are telling different stories.
The brand everyone knew no longer describes the business you are becoming.
The starting point
Sylvania was acquired by an international industrial group. Customers, partners and staff across Europe needed a clear account of what had changed and what had not, and the business needed a brand that matched its new direction.
How we worked
Listening first
We brought the owners, senior management, local markets and key partners (suppliers and high-profile customers) into the process early, so the new brand reflected how customers actually experienced Sylvania, not just how head office saw it.
Deciding together
With creative and PR agencies we built the "Light your world" proposition: a new look, feel and tone of voice with people at its heart, set out in a two-year plan and measured against profit, ROI, revenue, market share, satisfaction and awareness. Then 87 pages of brand guidelines, and pan-European training so local teams could train their own staff and partners.
Going further
With eight weeks' notice after the deal, I stepped up to lead the strategy for the next major industry fair and used it to introduce the new group. I also grew the central marketing team from one person to eight to run it all.
What changed
New brand deployed across every office, factory and partner within two months
Closer working between head office and local markets
Central marketing team of eight, up from one
What it means for your business
After a deal, silence gets filled with rumour. Say what has changed and what has not, early and in one voice, then give local teams the tools to say it themselves.
Going through change? Take the free two-minute Growth Check and see where you score.