Brand Management

Strategic Brand Considerations and M&A: Ten Research Propositions

Article Details

Pub. Date	:	Mar, 2022
Product Name	:	The IUP Journal of Brand Management
Product Type	:	Article
Product Code	:	IJBRM040322
Author Name	:	Henrik Uggla*
Availability	:	YES
Subject/Domain	:	Marketing
Download Format	:	PDF Format
No. of Pages	:	4

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Abstract

The paper offers a response to the increased wave of Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) and brand acquisitions on a global scale, by offering ten strategic propositions, relevant to pre-, under and post-M&A brand strategy. By considering and modifying the propositions for individual firm use, businesses and brand managers may find a more common strategic language, and researchers might find inspiration to operationalize some of them for improved research in the nascent field of strategic brand management and M&A.

Introduction

Of all discourses in strategic brand management, Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) might be the strongest and most converging discourse perspective, as Sinclair and Keller (2017) noted in their seminal paper on M&A and accounting for goodwill and brand value.

"M&A have a number of business implications for marketing strategy, finance, human resources, and virtually all fields of business".

An important and interesting change with the growth of M&A on a global scale is the iteration from meaning to value-based brand strategy and brand equity discourse focus, while brand identity management in terms of brand as product, person, symbol and organization (Aaker, 1996) is still an important cornerstone. The meaning discourse has been largely replaced by a total value discourse where brand equity contribution is assessed in a more dynamic way. Instead of viewing brand equity in a traditional and static way, Deloitte (2021) recommended an assessment of relative branding equity where brands from both parties are judged relative to one another.