For B2B companies, translating sophisticated offerings into easy-to-grasp value propositions can be a major challenge.
It’s even more complex when the business undergoes merger and acquisition activity and needs to integrate many entities into a single, coherent brand—while concisely communicating the unique qualities of each individual solution.
Brand cohesion is the bridge between integration and market confidence. When audiences are looking for stability and leadership, cohesion shows that multiple companies can operate as one, driven by clear purpose and momentum.
What is Brand Cohesion?
Brand cohesion is the alignment of purpose, narrative and design across all audiences—investors, prospects, customers and employees. It instills a strong sense of direction, signaling leadership confidence and defining a clear growth path.
Brand cohesion is often confused with visual consistency, but its scope and impact are far greater.
While yes, the company should have a cohesive visual system, brand cohesion defines the business’s identity far beyond visual cues. It communicates the company’s value across core audiences, helping people understand the benefits of doing business with the new entity.
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Why Brand Cohesion Matters After Multiple Mergers
M&A activity comes with extraordinary opportunity for value creation, but also risks. Fragmentation can create confusion in the minds of those who matter most:
- Investors may question how quickly synergies will translate into returns
- Customers and prospects may worry about service continuity or hesitate to partner without clear understanding of the business’s evolving priorities
- Employees may feel uncertain about their role or future within the new entity
At these pivotal moments, brand cohesion builds trust by providing clarity and consistency. It gives leaders a framework for signaling strength, assuring their many audiences that integration is more than operational—it’s purposeful.
When audiences experience this unified story, their confidence builds:
- Investors see strategic clarity, making it easier for them to believe in long-term value creation
- Customers and prospects see stability and vision, sustaining relationships and confidence through the transition
- Employees feel a sense of belonging as teams from different cultures align behind a new, shared purpose
The Four Elements of Brand Cohesion in M&A
Successful brand cohesion rests on four key elements:
1. Unified Purpose & Narrative
Integration must be more than operational. Audiences want to know why the merger matters. So, true cohesion begins with leadership articulating a compelling purpose, communicating how the combined company advances new possibilities
2. Clear Brand Architecture & Naming
Multiple mergers often leave behind a confusing mix of sub-brands and product names. Cohesion requires a rational, audience-friendly B2B brand architecture that helps people navigate offerings with confidence.
3. Cohesive Design System
As noted, visual identity is often the most visible marker of cohesion. A flexible yet unified system—logos, colors, typography, imagery—signals unity without erasing the combining businesses’ legacy strengths.
4. Consistent Brand Experience
Activation of the new brand cannot stop at launch. It requires ongoing reinforcement across every moment that matters—from investor days and media to employee town halls and client onboarding—so that every audience can experience the brand consistently.
Brand Cohesion in Action: The e2open Story
DeSantis Breindel client e2open, a world leader in supply chain management software, had acquired several smaller software providers when they came to us looking to rebrand.
The aftermath of the global pandemic, which brought an unusual level of attention to global supply chains, added a sense of urgency. It was a hyper-visible time to debut a new post-M&A brand in their space.
Leading with purpose
Rather than focusing on the technology itself, e2open’s new brand established cohesion by focusing on the company’s purpose. It positioned supply chains as the lifeblood of commerce; without them, we couldn’t make, move, sell or purchase goods and services all over the world.
The new brand underscores the interconnectedness of all supply chain participants and highlights e2open’s role in harmonizing their interactions. With this harmonization, customers are empowered to anticipate any disruptions and find opportunities to:
- Improve efficiency
- Drive profitability
- Reduce waste
- Operate more sustainably
The brand crystalizes in a powerful, unifying statement: Moving as One.
Finding the visual white space
When translating a complex technology solution into a clear brand promise, it’s not only important to get the language right. It’s also vital to create a design language that does not oversimplify the underlying solution.
We began our exploration by conducting a thorough visual brand audit of the company’s many existing communications materials. This audit reinforced the need for a more cohesive, consistent brand.
We also took a comprehensive look at competitors, analyzing each brand in terms of messaging, color palette, photographic style and overall tone. This analysis uncovered competitive “white space” where a new e2open brand could clearly stand out.
Avoiding guesswork
To emphasize simplicity and clarity—two fundamental components of the company’s value proposition—we replaced the company’s existing logo.
Seeking insights and validation, we tested a range of logo options with a group of external:
- Supply chain operators
- Strategists
- C-suite executives
- Others across manufacturing, logistics/distribution and retail/channel businesses
Feedback from these influential audiences led us to the solution: a streamlined wordmark.
Creating a standout design language
e2open’s new color palette is dynamic and multifaced, like the company itself.
The new photographic style uses bright, even slightly over-exposed images to underscore the idea of transparency. Avoiding typical supply chain images of container ships and railcars, e2open’s photographs focus on specific moments in the dynamic movement of products around the globe, emphasizing the human element to provide a sense of warmth and authenticity.
Even e2open’s bespoke system of icons was designed to highlight openness. None have closed outlines but instead feature openings that suggest visibility and insight.
Defining a modern, connected approach
e2open’s new brand was unveiled externally at the Gartner Supply Chain Symposium/Xpo™. It was also rolled out in new campaigns launched across:
- The company’s website
- Social channels
- Print and digital mediums
According to e2open’s CMO Kari Janavitz, “The brand refresh is an acknowledgment of the world we live in and signals the need for a modern, connected approach to supply chain.”
Marketplace responses and feedback affirm the new brand is achieving its goal: bringing clarity and cohesion to the company’s unified work after multiple acquisitions.
Turn M&A Complexity into Confidence
After multiple mergers, brand cohesion is not a “nice to have”—it is the difference between a fragmented organization and one that commands confidence with every interaction.
By aligning purpose, architecture, design and experience, B2B leaders create brands that build trust and unlock value. And by treating cohesion as an ongoing discipline—not a milestone—they can sustain that trust long after the merger headlines fade.
Mergers may deliver scale, but brand cohesion brings each critical audience clarity. In the end, it turns integration into a strategy for lasting value creation.
Preparing for post-M&A integration—and want to ensure brand cohesion? Let’s talk.
Originally published January 11, 2024.
