Rebranding Acquired CompaniesMichael Ashford and Emilie BierschenkFebruary 4, 2016

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Agenda

• Background on Granicus’ recent acquisitions

• Determining a long-term brand transitionvs. quick rebrand

• Long-term brand transition vs. quickrebrand steps

• Lessons learned from rebranding

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Granicus Recent AcquisitionsAMCAD• Based in Herndon,

Va.• Parallel offering to

traditional Granicus offerings

• Acquired out of bankruptcy

• Bad press surrounding company’s “demise”

Civica• Based in San Diego,

Calif.• Strategic offering• Acquired from

company changing focus

• Strong market brand

• Acquired in late 2014

• Acquired in mid 2015

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A Tale of Two Rebrand Attempts

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Considerations• Market perception• Client attitude• Competitive pressure• Opportunities

Brand Transition

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• Market perceptionBankruptcy put a lot of bad press out in the market. Lawsuits were being threatened

• Client attitudeClients on the Records Management System were happy. It was the Case Management clients that were furious

• Competitive pressureUp-and-coming competitors latching on to Case Management’s failure and offering free Records Management replacement

• OpportunitiesClient base, messaging and processes seemed parallel to current Granicus customer base. Hoped to excite existing customers with new offering

Brand Transition – AMCAD Considerations

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• Market perceptionCivica a known entity. Not a “big boy,” but had some good wins

• Client attitudeClients overwhelmingly happy with system and support; many shared clients with Granicus

• Competitive pressureClients of the two giants in the space (CivicPlus and Vision Internet) suffering from some fatigue from bad support and broken promises

• Opportunities- Hoped to excite existing customers with new offering- Civica was largely California based; Granicus acquisition presents chance to go national

Brand Transition – Civica Considerations

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• Immediate transition of website domain to point to landing page on Granicus website

• Within 1 month:• Transition marketing collateral to

Granicus• Shut down AMCAD social media sites

• Within 3 months:• Roll out rebranded name: Granicus

Records Management• Update Granicus website

Quick Rebrand Steps

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Long-Term Brand Transition Steps• Transition graphics on Civica website to

Granicus• Within 1 month:

• Update client sites with Granicus text/graphics

• Transition marketing collateral to Granicus

• Update Civica website forms and contact information

• Within 3 months:• Update Granicus website with

rebranded vertical: Website Management

• Horizon:• Product name rebrand• Civica website shut down and

redirect

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Outcomes - AMCAD• Market perception

o Granicus seen as the “new kid on the block”

o Marketing approach has had to be almost like new product launch

• Customerso Clients still happy; excited about the

product investments Granicus has made – great reference-ability

• Competitive Responseo New business fighting to gain tractiono Largely fended off competitors’

poaching

• Impact to Employeeso Retained AMCAD base in Herndon,

feeling some disconnection

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Outcomes - Civica• Market perception

o Lots of interest in Granicus getting into this space

o Response from conversations has been one of “it’s about time.”

• Customerso Clients excited to see product =

integrations

• Competitive Responseo We know our competitors are

concerned

• Impact to Employeeso Employees excited to work for a

company better aligned to the software’s market

o Moved operations to Denver HQ

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AMCAD:• Know and understand what buyer you are

acquiring• Stronger product knowledge• Going onsite to clients meant EVERYTHING• Build a story to bridge the gap between old vs.

new

Civica:• Leverage acquired company’s existing

marketing talent to help with transition• Third-party research into client satisfaction

incredibly insightful• Happy, shared clients are GOLD• Don’t make it too complicated

Lessons Learned