How to Maintain Brand Through M&A: A Guide to Brand Management in Times of Change 

Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are high-stakes business moves—and brand is one of the most overlooked variables in their success. Studies show that over 60% of M&As destroy shareholder value, and weak brand alignment is often to blame. When organizations merge, they must integrate systems, cultures, and—perhaps most critically— maintain brand identities. 

Done well, M&A brand management can elevate trust, boost market share, and fast-track growth. Done poorly, it can confuse customers, alienate employees, and weaken long-term equity. In this guide, we’ll show you how to maintain your brand during M&A—from strategy to execution—so your brand not only survives the transition but comes out stronger. 

What Is Brand Management During Mergers and Acquisitions? 

Brand management during M&A refers to the strategic integration—or differentiation—of brand elements when two or more companies combine. It involves decisions about: 

• Brand architecture: Will one brand dominate, or will they merge? 

• Messaging and identity: How will you communicate the transition? 

• Audience perception: What will customers, partners, and employees think? 

• Digital presence and assets: How are logos, websites, and portals aligned? 

A 2021 study by PwC revealed that poor brand integration is a top-5 reason M&As underperform post-deal. 

The 3-Phase Brand Integration Framework 

The Brand Integration Framework is a structured approach to maintaining and evolving your brand during a merger or acquisition. It ensures that brand identity, messaging, and perception are handled strategically and consistently—avoiding confusion, misalignment, and lost equity.

Here’s a breakdown of the three-phase framework often used in successful M&A brand transitions:

Phase 1: Pre-Merger — Strategic Planning

This phase takes place before the merger or acquisition is finalized and sets the foundation for success.

Key Activities:

• Brand Equity Audit: Assess the strength, awareness, and trust of each brand involved. Surveys, NPS scores, and digital sentiment analysis can help.
• Decide on Brand Architecture:
  • Will you keep one brand? Merge both? Create something new?
  • Consider recognition, emotional equity, and customer trust.
• Scenario Planning:
  • Explore how different brand integration approaches will affect stakeholders.
  • Model potential risks and benefits (e.g., will sunsetting a brand upset loyal customers?).
• Asset Inventory:
  • Identify what needs to be updated: logos, templates, websites, signage, internal tools, etc.

Goal: Make a data-driven decision on how the brands will live together—or apart—and align leadership on a unified path forward.

Phase 2: During Integration — Execution & Communication

This phase happens as the deal is announced and during early integration.

Key Activities:

• Develop Unified Brand Messaging:
  • Align mission, vision, and values across the new entity.
  • Create key messages for internal teams, customers, investors, and media.
• Activate Brand Governance:
  • Launch brand guidelines that define use of logos, tone, colors, etc.
  • Enforce usage across teams and regions.
• Digital & Visual Transition:
  • Update digital assets, websites, social media, email signatures, and customer portals.
  • Use templating tools to accelerate rollout.
• Internal Engagement:
  • Train teams on the new brand.
  • Communicate frequently and provide self-service resources (e.g., brand hubs, DAM systems).

Goal: Ensure consistency, clarity, and confidence as the brand begins to take shape in the public eye—without overwhelming internal teams or external audiences.

Phase 3: Post-Merger — Monitoring & Optimization

After the initial launch, this phase focuses on long-term brand health and refinement.

Key Activities:

• Track Key Performance Indicators:
  • Brand sentiment, customer trust, internal adoption, and brand asset usage.
• Gather Feedback:
  • Run employee and customer surveys to identify gaps or confusion.
• Refine the Brand Over Time:
  • Adjust messaging, assets, or campaigns based on performance.
  • Continue educating new hires and partners as the brand evolves.
• Celebrate and Reinforce:
  • Showcase brand success stories and testimonials to build internal alignment.

Goal: Protect and grow the value of the new brand, ensuring it delivers on its promises to employees, customers, and shareholders.

Managing Visual Identity and Digital Assets 

Maintaining a consistent visual identity is crucial to avoid confusion. During M&A, key brand elements should be reviewed: 

• Logos and color schemes 

• Typography and iconography 

• Website branding, domain redirects, and microsites 

• Digital asset libraries and version control 

A Digital Asset Management (DAM) system plays a central role here—ensuring teams across both organizations can access approved, up-to-date brand materials instantly. 

What is a DAM System?

A Digital Asset Management (DAM) system is a centralized platform that stores, organizes, and distributes all of your brand’s digital content—logos, images, videos, presentations, templates, and more.

DAM is a crucial tool during mergers and acquisitions, especially for maintaining brand consistency across both legacy and newly acquired teams. It ensures everyone—no matter their department or geography—has access to the latest, approved assets. Instead of chasing down files or risking off-brand materials slipping through the cracks, organizations can use a DAM to streamline content updates, control usage rights, and roll out brand changes efficiently and at scale.

Check out the MediaValet DAM in action here:

Paired with templating, DAM becomes even more powerful—empowering teams to adapt branded materials quickly while staying firmly within brand guidelines. It’s the foundation and the fast lane for aligning your brand in high-change environments like M&A.

Maintain Brand with Templating and DAM

In the chaos of a merger or acquisition, one of the biggest operational challenges is ensuring every team has fast, accurate access to updated brand materials—from sales decks to social graphics. That’s where templating comes in.

Brand templating tools allow organizations to lock in brand-approved elements like logos, fonts, and layouts—while empowering distributed teams to personalize content without compromising brand integrity.

Templating is a must for rapidly aligning brand assets during high-change periods like M&As.

Here’s how templating helps simplify and scale brand consistency:

• ✅ Accelerates content rollout across business units, regions, and departments.
• ✅ Reduces creative bottlenecks by enabling non-designers to self-serve branded materials.
• ✅ Ensures brand compliance by eliminating off-brand variations and rogue assets.
• ✅ Supports localization and regionalization while staying aligned with global branding.

Whether you’re updating business cards, product sheets, or internal announcements, template-driven content creation keeps everyone on message—and on brand.

Tools like MediaValet Templating, powered by Marq, give your teams the freedom to create while ensuring every piece of content reflects your updated brand identity.

Measuring Brand Success Post-Merger 

Brand integration doesn’t stop at launch. Build a performance dashboard that tracks: 

• Brand sentiment analysis 

• Net Promoter Score (NPS) 

• Customer retention and acquisition rates 

• Internal brand adoption (downloads, usage in templates, portal logins) 

Use feedback to fine-tune your brand strategy and maximize long-term equity. 

Mergers and acquisitions are defining moments—not just for your business model but your brand. With the right strategy and tools, you can strengthen brand trust, accelerate growth, and unite your teams under a single purpose.