A few months back, when Marriott International was given government approval to acquire Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, there was no question that this was the biggest deal in the history of the modern hotel business.
Parents and children have special relationships, be they people or brands. From a brand architecture perspective parent brands are usually known as the “corporate brand” or even technically speaking the “holding company.” It is the originator and owner of what usually becomes the “family of brands,” with each family member dedicated to reaching and fulfilling a specific opportunity or need in the marketplace.
Today a brief brand architecture story to share. Back in the early 90s, not long after Nestlé had acquired the Carnation company it decided to start using the Nestlé brand as an endorsement on most of its products.
Scion, offshoot of Toyota and heir to the fortune, is dead. Sometimes criticized for its ugly appearance: “A car which can easily be mistaken for an abandoned fridge when parked,” it tried hard to be one of the cool kids. But, in the end, it didn’t make enough young friends, it cost its parents too much money, so they killed it.
Despite its continuing popularity, mergers and acquisition (M&A) has a terrible track record. Reviews find that the chance of an acquisition increasing shareholder value is no better than a flip of the coin.
