The Creation of an Industry Leader
The Opportunity
During a merger or acquisition, integrated internal and external communications are extremely important. There are a vast number of stakeholders with a vested interest in the transaction. They want to know – what’s in it for me? When the companies Avanex and Bookham combined to form Oclaro, the new company became a leader in the optical and laser components markets. Tanis Communications was entrusted to design and execute an integrated communications plan to share the new company’s vision and values to employees, and to launch a major new player to the industry.
“Tanis Communications has the unique ability to craft a company’s most important messages and clearly articulate them in a compelling way. Tanis Communications remains a critical, valued partner to our executive and marketing teams.”
Kathy Zwickert, Former Executive Vice President
The Assignment
- Create and manage end-to-end internal and external communications for the merger of two companies into a new Tier One player in the optical components industry
- Plan and execute an internal communications strategy to successfully combine company cultures
- Create enthusiasm for the new company in a difficult economic environment
- Align internal and external messaging to ensure a positive perception of merger by all key stakeholders
The Deliverables
Internal and External Communications for New Company
Internal Communications: Combining company cultures and fostering employee enthusiasm
To help make the company merger as seamless as possible for all employees and to build employee enthusiasm for the new company, Tanis Communications worked closely with the executive team to create a communications strategy that unified the organization and guided day-to-day actions, milestones and activities. As part of the plan, Tanis worked with the CEO and other executives to clearly articulate the company’s vision, values and strategy in a variety of communications including graphic design, employee badges and posters, PowerPoint presentations, and intranet banners to reinforce the message.
External Communications: Launching a new Tier One player to the world
Tanis Communications also designed and executed overall communications to launch the new company to the outside world. Tanis Communications highlighted the company’s most critical messages and clearly articulated them, positioning Oclaro as one of the largest providers to the optical networking market. The program included sales, supplier and customer communications as well as public relations. The Tanis team coordinated, scheduled and released information and handled project management to ensure that all deliverables were completed in time per the launch schedule.
The activities included:
- Brand Strategy – Worked with CEO and executive team to articulate vision and values of company. Wrote and designed collateral, posters, fact sheets, web site updates and other materials to communicate the new vision and values to key stakeholders.
- Internal – Created executive communications materials; drafted management speaking points, created presentation and FAQs for employees at each entity.
- External – For media: Designed public relations plan, target outreach list, pitched news to top tiers and created briefing materials. Developed press release, prepared Q&A and contributed to shareholder script in conjunction with IR firm.
For customers and distributors: Helped create a letter to suppliers and customers. Prepared a transaction presentation overview; wrote master Q&A and individual customer FAQs for each entity as well as letter to all customers describing the merger benefits.
The Results
A successful Tier One player in the industry, driven by motivated employees
- Complete internal and external communications program, on time and on budget
- New company successfully positioned as a top player in the industry
- Tanis Communications remains a critical part of the Oclaro team
For More Information
Tanis Communications, Inc.
Silicon Valley Headquarters
800 W El Camino Real, Suite 180
Mountain View, CA 94040
Tel: +1 650-731-0554
www.taniscomm.com