Company Merger? A Work Culture Video Will Help.
Several years ago, I was asked to do a workshop for Inc. Magazine on mergers and acquisitions. In a prior life, I was responsible for all mergers-and-acquisition integration activities for a major financial institution. Here’s one of the most important slides I presented:
12 REASONS MERGERS, ALLIANCES & ACQUISITIONS FAIL
1. Culture
2. Culture
3. Culture
4. Mismatch in Priority
5. Mismatch in Management Style & Organization/Maturity/Size
6. Failure to Define Measurements and Plans
7. Greed
8. Failure to Consider Regulatory Impacts
9. Failure of One Partner to Restructure/Resource Appropriately
10. Outside Market Forces
11. Valuation
12. Process
The participants got the message. I packed the presentation with countless stories of every mistake I had made, including the audience favorite: I described how I had orchestrated a conference call with the two CEOs, with every employee listening as they announced the deal and presented a vision to over 10,000 listeners. When that call was over, I shared that I dropped my head into my hands in front of my CEO and confessed, “That was just awful!” After that I only used video for CEO communications to employees.
The workshop audience also laughed when I talked about the time I had to learn the hard way, as the merger-integration guy, that all of a sudden, I was in charge of culture! So teaching the message of communication and negotiating with executive management, investment bankers, HR departments, shareholder relations departments, marketing departments, ad agencies, PR agencies and other consultants I never heard of was a trial by fire and nearly a mortal-wound experience. In the end, and after many errors, I developed my own model.
1. Have executive management communicate a vision of desired behaviors.
2. Be sure to promote and demonstrate executive and senior management practicing the behaviors as examples/models.
3. Promote and demonstrate the same as practiced by employees from all levels of the organization.
The only way I could think to do this was through work culture videos. I have enjoyed partnering with some of the best B2B video production companies in the business, who have been invaluable in assisting me by:
– Consolidating the messaging to the satisfaction of all the corporate stakeholders.
– Introducing creative corporate video concepts that enhanced the messaging.
– Providing masterful coaching and directing of management and personnel to make everyone look good and enjoy the process.
Tribe Pictures has long experience in telling clients’ stories during times of change. Some examples of the business video productions that helped communicate the required messages and helped forge successful cultures include:
When Stanley Works and Black & Decker became Stanley Black & Decker, Tribe produced this annual review video to celebrate the company merger announcement.
When Coty Inc. was preparing for its IPO, it needed to present the company in a way that aligned with its new ethos. Tribe crafted nine leadership portraits of Coty’s senior management (to be showcased on its newly revamped website) that reflected the corporate culture of “Faster. Further. Freer.”
Here are three of the nine the portraits:
Michele Scannavini
Ralph Macchio
Catia Cesari
As Watson became Actavis, then Allergan and now Pfizer, Tribe produced several company culture videos for the new company.
Tribe produced this video for the day-one launch of the merged Watson Pharmaceutical + Actavis global enterprise. The video humanizes the transition and shows that because the companies merged, they’re twice as strong.
Following the merger with Actavis, Allergan challenged us to produce a culture video to excite its workforce. We created a company culture video idea that played on the new logo and asked employees to share what being bold means to them.
THE TAKEAWAY
Culture may be the top priority for success in mergers and acquisitions. Video greatly enhances the forging of a blended culture. Pick a great partner with experience.