For this post I wanted to talk a bit about something that has been in my head for a while. When two companies merge or one takes over the other what happens to their brand? I would think this would be a big issue, as to whose brand do you stick with if it is a true equal merger. Now I suspect that it might never be truly equal and the bigger company brand stays intact while the little one withers away but how do you make that transition over.
What sparked this idea is this image where the Wells Fargo, in my town, sign just replaces the Wachovia one with all the blue window panes around it. This just stood out to me at how much the colors seemed to clash with each other and not in a good way. This being said I know that it is very expensive to replace glass, especially coloured ones but shouldn’t there be a way to make a transition with out something like this happening.
I think there should be a way although I admit I’m not 100% sure what that would be. I like how on the Wells Fargo – Wachovia FAQ site they use a lighter blue that works well with the red and yellow. I wonder if it would be practical to do something on real signs to tone the colors down a bit so they don’t fight each other as much. I’m sure there are set rules for the branding practices but it could be something that is changed out. The also might try something in black and white and see how that might work out for a bit.
I have no idea about the real practical applications of this or if you might have company representatives saying it’s bad for their company brand. It’s just a thought I had for a while that I thought I would share.