HALO
A visionary CEO unites six companies to create a single branded merchandise platform with the scope and scale to serve as a true strategic partner to the world’s largest companies.
The global branded merchandise market is valued northwards of $27 billion annually. Yet it remained a highly fragmented sector, with thousands of players competing for share in local and regional markets. HALO’s CEO saw this as an opportunity to consolidate six regional players to develop the first truly national platform. His vision depended on not only integrating six independent companies but also unifying and inspiring a staff of nearly 2,000 employees.
In-depth customer interviews, along with a quantitative survey of HALO customers, revealed that while each of the six acquired companies targeted different market segments, often with different offerings, their customers shared certain fundamental attitudes. Most significantly, they were hungry for more than promotional products; they were looking for a partner to help their brands stand out in a media-saturated environment. Research further indicated that the real power in branded merchandise isn’t the product itself; it’s the experience that receiving something of value triggers in a customer or prospect. What’s more, transforming products into true experiences requires more than a catalog backed by a team of order takers—it takes creativity, a strategic mindset and flawless, technology-powered execution.
These customer insights led to HALO’s new master brand, which is based on the idea that HALO gives its client base the power to break through the clutter to stand out. “We transform products into unforgettable, one-of-a-kind experiences that deliver the ‘wow.’ The unmatched pride of being recognized. The thrill of discovering something new. The delight of being a valued customer. It’s about more than getting noticed. It’s about the power to break through.”
The brand and new website created an immediate bond with the disparate customer bases of HALO’s acquired companies by focusing on what they have in common: the need to transform their brand into powerful, one-of-a-kind experiences. Brand messaging focuses on the benefits of scale, centralized distribution and the greater buying power the larger company is able to offer.
By involving employees early in the branding process, through workshops and surveys, finding the commonalities across market segments, and emphasizing the benefits of the six acquisitions to clients, we were able to create and launch a new brand that received strong support both internally and externally. Since then, HALO has acquired three new regional players, all of which have enthusiastically adopted the “break through” master brand.
We had a pretty aggressive timeline, yet DeSantis Breindel developed strong insights from thorough research and got the job done well.
