On this week’s episode of M&A Masters, we’re joined by special guest, Peter Lyall, Group Director of Strategy at Fifth Ring, a marketing communications, or marcomm, company with locations in the Americas, Europe, and Asia. They promote the ultra-simple message of helping B2B companies sell more stuff and build better brands. Peter’s goal during this episode is to shed some light on the role of marcomms during M&A transactions and to explain why this is often a blind spot during the acquisition process.

“There are quite a few skeptics about the role of marcomms within an M&A transaction, even to the point of saying that the brand isn't important,” says Peter. “So, I did a little experiment: In a room of 50-60 people, I asked everybody to put up their hands if they had chosen their wristwatch because of the brand. They all had. Then I asked them if they’d chosen their car because of the brand. They all had. These people were very brand savvy, but couldn't quite transition this thought, this appeal, this attraction of a brand, from the consumer environment to the B2B environment, which is where they're living on a day to day basis.”

We chat in detail about:

• Legacy issues and the challenge they pose to marcomms post-acquisition

• Implementing cultural values and brand messaging

• Utilizing employees as brand ambassadors in messaging

• Why cultural integration is a blind spot in M&A

• Structuring multi-brand portfolios

• The power of 3— Where 3 words can change everything

• The future of energy

• New tools to measure the intangible

• And more