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ten weeks.
five countries.
one result.

A leading European IT group renames multiple subsidiaries simultaneously. No prepared materials. No team. The deadline is fixed. So is the result.

First day on the job. September 12th. Ten weeks away.

July 1, 2022. Starting as head of marketing at a Berlin-based IT company. At the same time: a group-wide rebranding date set for September 12 — multiple subsidiaries across Scandinavia, Germany and other markets launching under a new name simultaneously. Preparations: none. Budget: undefined. Partners in other countries: on vacation.

Full responsibility for the rebranding in Germany and Austria falls on one desk from day one. No one else’s.

Three decisions. One consistent result.

After four weeks: the realization that capacity and task don’t match. A conversation with the CEO. Additional resources are approved — an external PR agency, support from office management. From this point: strategic leadership instead of operational overload.

In parallel: development of two distinct narratives. Internal — group membership as access to European resources and projects, not as loss of identity. External — the group’s backing as risk reduction for enterprise clients who want local expertise with global scalability.

The rebranding day on September 12 is designed differently in Berlin than anywhere else in the group. Not a mandatory event. An event that brings employees along — because the framing is right. The response from group headquarters: unambiguous.

From zero to market presence.

• July 2022 · weeks 1–4

  Assess the situation. Secure resources.

  Stocktaking. Capacity gap identified. CEO conversation. PR agency and internal resources approved.
• July – August 2022 · weeks 5–8

  Strategy. Narratives. Coordination.

  Internal and external communication strategy developed. DACH PR strategy built. Agency and internal resources managed. Website, merchandise, office branding, company registry — parallel, on time.
• September 12, 2022

  Rebranding Day.

  Simultaneous launch across multiple countries. Berlin: the only location explicitly recognized by group headquarters. Website, client communication and PR live.
• October – December 2022

  Market establishment.

  PR activities continued. Messaging refined. Brand identity deepened internally.

What counts.

What remains.

Rebranding is change management. Those who don’t understand this deliver new logos and old problems. Employees adopt a new identity when they understand what’s in it for them — not because it was decided for them.

A group framework defines what’s non-negotiable. Everything else is a leadership task. Narrative, event, PR strategy, timing — these are decisions, not defaults. Those who don’t make them leave them to chance.