When Addison Group came to Hinge, they were a leading staffing firm that had acquired four professional services businesses covering a range of industries and geography, from Seattle to Texas to Washington, DC. The companies included an IT consulting firm, a management consulting firm, and two staffing and executive search firms. Later they added 4 more companies. While they sought out acquisitions with compatible cultures, Addison was figuring out how to integrate a relatively transactional business (staffing) with a high-touch, They also planned more acquisitions in the future, so they needed a clear strategy to guide them as they grew.

Positioning a group of disparate companies can be a challenge. But with enough common threads you can weave a compelling, differentiated story. In the case of the Addison Group, we came to realize that each of these companies addresses an organization’s most critical driver of growth: exceptional people—albeit from different angles. Each component company also has deep regional relationships, so we could tell that story, as well. And Addison’s ability to find and develop a culture fit in everything they do is a key to their success. We developed a positioning statement that articulates these points, frames their brand and propels their messaging.

At last, they had a story to tell.

To integrate their brands, we pitched a multisite web architecture, allowing the firm to quickly spin up new websites as they acquired new companies—and manage everything from a convenient central dashboard. Taking advantage of the flexibility in the brand integration roadmap, Addison Group adopted a provisional “house of brands” structure to preserve the brand equity and autonomy of their acquired companies. If and when they decide to more tightly integrate their business units, the multisite functionality is ready to go.

We designed the core Addison website to be not only a high-credibility destination for employers and job candidates alike, but to be exceptionally easy to use and navigate. For instance, we built Bullhorn integration right into the main stage of the homepage, so that job seekers and hiring managers can quickly and efficiently take action. We also built a robust, custom sub-brand filtering system into the Insights section to make it simple to find relevant content.

In parallel, we developed websites for four of their subsidiaries, bringing new credibility and clarity to their brands.