michael ashford & emilie bierschenk- granicus- rebranding acquired companies
TRANSCRIPT
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Rebranding Acquired CompaniesMichael Ashford and Emilie BierschenkFebruary 4, 2016
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Agenda
• Background on Granicus’ recent acquisitions
• Determining a long-term brand transitionvs. quick rebrand
• Long-term brand transition vs. quickrebrand steps
• Lessons learned from rebranding
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Granicus Recent AcquisitionsAMCAD• Based in Herndon,
Va.• Parallel offering to
traditional Granicus offerings
• Acquired out of bankruptcy
• Bad press surrounding company’s “demise”
Civica• Based in San Diego,
Calif.• Strategic offering• Acquired from
company changing focus
• Strong market brand
• Acquired in late 2014
• Acquired in mid 2015
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A Tale of Two Rebrand Attempts
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Considerations• Market perception• Client attitude• Competitive pressure• Opportunities
Brand Transition
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• Market perceptionBankruptcy put a lot of bad press out in the market. Lawsuits were being threatened
• Client attitudeClients on the Records Management System were happy. It was the Case Management clients that were furious
• Competitive pressureUp-and-coming competitors latching on to Case Management’s failure and offering free Records Management replacement
• OpportunitiesClient base, messaging and processes seemed parallel to current Granicus customer base. Hoped to excite existing customers with new offering
Brand Transition – AMCAD Considerations
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• Market perceptionCivica a known entity. Not a “big boy,” but had some good wins
• Client attitudeClients overwhelmingly happy with system and support; many shared clients with Granicus
• Competitive pressureClients of the two giants in the space (CivicPlus and Vision Internet) suffering from some fatigue from bad support and broken promises
• Opportunities- Hoped to excite existing customers with new offering- Civica was largely California based; Granicus acquisition presents chance to go national
Brand Transition – Civica Considerations
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• Immediate transition of website domain to point to landing page on Granicus website
• Within 1 month:• Transition marketing collateral to
Granicus• Shut down AMCAD social media sites
• Within 3 months:• Roll out rebranded name: Granicus
Records Management• Update Granicus website
Quick Rebrand Steps
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Long-Term Brand Transition Steps• Transition graphics on Civica website to
Granicus• Within 1 month:
• Update client sites with Granicus text/graphics
• Transition marketing collateral to Granicus
• Update Civica website forms and contact information
• Within 3 months:• Update Granicus website with
rebranded vertical: Website Management
• Horizon:• Product name rebrand• Civica website shut down and
redirect
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Outcomes - AMCAD• Market perception
o Granicus seen as the “new kid on the block”
o Marketing approach has had to be almost like new product launch
• Customerso Clients still happy; excited about the
product investments Granicus has made – great reference-ability
• Competitive Responseo New business fighting to gain tractiono Largely fended off competitors’
poaching
• Impact to Employeeso Retained AMCAD base in Herndon,
feeling some disconnection
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Outcomes - Civica• Market perception
o Lots of interest in Granicus getting into this space
o Response from conversations has been one of “it’s about time.”
• Customerso Clients excited to see product =
integrations
• Competitive Responseo We know our competitors are
concerned
• Impact to Employeeso Employees excited to work for a
company better aligned to the software’s market
o Moved operations to Denver HQ
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AMCAD:• Know and understand what buyer you are
acquiring• Stronger product knowledge• Going onsite to clients meant EVERYTHING• Build a story to bridge the gap between old vs.
new
Civica:• Leverage acquired company’s existing
marketing talent to help with transition• Third-party research into client satisfaction
incredibly insightful• Happy, shared clients are GOLD• Don’t make it too complicated
Lessons Learned