Demystifying Brand Convergence

About the Guest

Mark Owen Burson is a veteran marketer with two decades of progressive marketing and leadership experience and the Chief Marketing Officer of Nice North America, the regional entity of Nice, a global leader in home management solutions, building automation, security, and perimeter protection. In this role, he is responsible for the marketing of all North American brands, associated divisions, and product offerings.

Mark has a B.A. in Marketing from Portland State University and an M.B.A. in International Business Management from Washington State University, and before joining Nice, his career includes driving high-performance marketing initiatives at large companies and high-growth technology start-ups alike. Mark also operates a consultancy for local small businesses and is a founding board member at TMRW group, a Washington state NPO and 501(c)(3) organization designed to accelerate and amplify the impact of charitable giving to organizations and individuals in need.

Connect with Mark Owen Burson

Key Takeaways

• Brand convergence is about bringing brands together with a consolidated strategy to be more nimble and accurately address the market’s needs. 
• There are a lot of considerations to take into account when converging brands, including cost, ROI, and impact on sales.
• The focus must always be on the customer and keeping them central in the company’s plans.
• A global company must ensure that everyone feels the culture. A way to do this is to create a set of universal guiding principles.

Quote

“The people who buy from us, they’re our customers. But I like to think of this as the customer of my customer is also my customer. And that’s really where we’re heading, looking at the current customers as partners so that we can go to market together through them to reach the end user customer successfully.” – Mark Owen Burson

Highlights from the Episode

Can you give our audience an insight into Nice as a brand?

Nice is a global manufacturer and leader of home management solutions, including smart home control, power, audio/video, security, and protection. The company’s mission is to simplify everyday movements. Nice enables customers to come and go with peace of mind and ease.

How do you define brand convergence?

Brand convergence is about bringing brands together with a consolidated strategy to be more nimble and accurately address the market’s needs. 

What are some of the top things one must consider from an Executive standpoint when they’re thinking about converging 15 brands down to a more manageable number?

Take a closer look and analyze the brands and offers in the space. Consider if those brands serve a niche market area if they are OEM manufacturers if there are existing strategic partnerships, etc. Realize the overall impact of the convergence on the market for the partners and end users. Ensure that there is no confusion among stakeholders and allow opportunities for feedback. Other factors such as cost and ROI, ensuring that the money is spent on leveraging the offerings and brands and delivering results. The key is to remain customer-centric.

What are some of the adaptions that you’ve had to make as the company expands?

Think globally, act locally. This takes market testing and communication with the installers to reduce confusion in introducing new products. We currently operate globally in terms of manufacturing and go-to-market by looking at the portfolio to see how we enter or expand into a space the way it works in the local market.

What are some of the other areas causing increased efficiencies across Nice?

There needs to be a global and collaborative approach across all areas of the company. The programs for ESG, sustainability, and social responsibility must be amplified from the higher corporate level down to the localized and regional levels. Scale the initiatives as the company grows. In addition, convergence allows us to tell our brand’s story more efficiently and to curate more efficient operation systems involving purchasing, manufacturing, supply chain management, and streamlining finance and accounting systems

What were some of the biggest pieces that you were considering internally, as you’re thinking about the consolidation aggregation to other systems?

The key is easy communication with the internal team members by using a variety of channels. Through this, teams run more interoperability and this saves time and money for the organization. The goal is to operate in a ‘one company, one team’ mindset and align the brand values on a global level.

How are you and your organization adapting to the current economic downturn?

Despite the uncertainties, the security space is thriving. The impact faced was on the supply chain because of inflation. Although some projects may be put on hold or extended, on a larger scale, there is no slowdown as the bookings are still soaring.

Is there a book, blog, newsletter, website, or video that you would recommend to our listeners?

• Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done by Larry Bossidy, Ram Charan, and Charles Burck

• Yakuza Moon: Memoirs of a Gangster’s Daughter by Shoko Tendo
• https://www.cepro.com/ 

Shout-Outs

Paul Williams – Chief Product Officer at Nice North America