Two major entertainment brands merged at a regional level (LATAM). In this case, strategic and assertive communication is the key for the integration of teams in this new company/brand to be a real success.
Mergers: challenges and opportunities
Any merger of companies always represents a great challenge in terms of communication.
In this case, our client presented us with the difficulties they were having in the area of internal communication as a result of a merger between two major global brands in the entertainment world.
From opposing aesthetics, one more oriented towards animation and the other towards documentaries, to totally different organizational cultures and dissimilar management styles.
"In the merger agreement, both companies signed that each would maintain its own identity. However, this decision brought several drawbacks as the teams began to have difficulties on a day-to-day basis, having different communication styles and tones of voice, different communication and marketing products. The challenge was great since it was necessary to unify the teams so that everything would flow naturally",
One of the first actions was the unification of the brands in a common logo. This was very positive for the company and gave a new impulse to internal communication.
Analysis, research, diagnosis and actions
The merger brought with it a series of sensitive decisions for people, teams and work processes.
At the beginning of the consultancy, there was, on the one hand, a very low engagement with respect to internal communications and, on the other hand, a need to review processes to minimize the impact of the “culture shock” resulting from the change management process.
The Corporate Communications area at the regional level recognized the need to redesign the Internal Communications Plan to accompany the creation of an integrated culture.
From Oxean, we proposed to the client the need to analyze and investigate the channels and messages that both teams were using and disseminating.
Insights for action
We conducted a survey and analysis that allowed us to know the processes, their needs, pain points and opportunities.
With the information gathered, we developed a work plan with concrete action proposals that would allow us to solve priority needs and achieve strategic objectives.
In addition, we implemented a process to measure performance and detect strategic insights for decision making. The regional newsletter and the pieces sent via Workplace each month were analyzed in detail, with concrete proposals for changes to improve the performance of both. Surveys and A/B testing were also carried out to test theories of better performance, and the proposed changes were followed up with the design team.
A plan in action
"One of the findings of this research was to understand that it was necessary to have a single newsletter that could transmit the actions of both brands, which have now become one",
The digital identity was unified in the same aesthetics, integrating the news and news to be communicated in the internal news.
Currently, we are working on a second stage with the global client, evaluating the possibility of scaling the communication actions.
