Terrasmart
Following four transformative acquisitions, the CEO of a leading manufacturer in the residential, agtech, and infrastructure markets aimed to create an industry leader focused solely on renewable energy.
Though multiple acquisitions, Gibraltar Industries had moved into a new category: providing industrial components to the renewable energy transmission industry. The company’s solutions include solar racking technologies, electrical balance-of-system products, installation services, and project optimization software. Now, Gibraltar’s CEO faced a key decision: whether to maintain these acquired companies as separate brands or combine them into a single brand.
Based on our customer, prospect, and employee research, we determined that simply communicating a “one-stop-shop” message, emphasizing the breadth of the company’s renewables portfolio, would not be sufficient to stake out a sustainable, differentiated position in the marketplace. Rather, the company had to build a new brand around commonalities that ran through all of the companies – the DNA or connective tissue that could form the basis of a single, cohesive brand. A critical obstacle to overcome was the strong loyalty of employees to the four legacy brands; their enthusiastic support for the new brand would be critical to the success of the entire renewables business.
Research also showed that customers were looking for more than products; they wanted a savvy, long-term partner who could help them navigate a rapidly changing renewables landscape. The brand strategy reflects this. It is built around a singular idea: “Powerful Connections.” This emphasizes that the company’s products are closely “connected” to form a single, powerful offering – and that its people are deeply “connected” to the industry and its future. “Maximizing value. Pushing the limits. Helping to create powerful businesses. Together, we power progress for our industry and our world.”
We recommended that Gibraltar adopt a master brand framework to align the company’s diverse array of products with how the industry is organized, and to provide an easy way for customers and prospects to understand – and engage with – the company’s offerings. We further recommended that the new subsidiary adopt the name of one of the acquired companies, Terrasmart. This name resonated better than any of the names we tested as well as the other names in the company’s portfolio.
The new Terrasmart master brand was launched to widespread enthusiasm among employees and customers. The marketplace now perceives Terrasmart as more than a one-stop-shop: it views the company as a powerful and committed partner capable of delivering strong outcomes for their projects and portfolios.
There was a lot of loyalty to the legacy brands, so it’s been very gratifying to see how colleagues across all businesses have rallied around the new brand. It’s true to who we are today yet aspirational enough to take us where we want to go.
