NEP’s Mike Werteen on Rebranding NEP’s American-Based Services, Facilities as One Brand

A changed internal culture is the primary goal of the move

NEP over the years has expanded greatly with acquisitions of companies like Bexel, Vista, Fletcher, and BSI, but not until now have those brands been folded under one brand: NEP. According to Mike Werteen, president, media services, NEP Americas/CCO, NEP Global, the rebranding process is about more than having all NEP divisions use the NEP logo. It’s designed to help change the internal culture and create a sense of a single entity vs. a mix of different entities.

“The people are going to be part of this one NEP team,” he explains, “because the expertise is what makes NEP what it is. I know that we’re still going to see stickers on boxes that say Fletcher or Bexel, but we’re bringing the groups together as one entity. We’ve heard from our employees that they want to have the ability to have new opportunities within the organization.”

For example, Werteen adds, an engineer who likes to travel a lot can feel more comfortable moving over to the mobile-unit business. Or someone who wants to travel internationally can shift to the flypack division or work with an NEP entity outside the U.S. Or someone who wants to be a studio engineer can head to NEP in Florida or New York.

“When you’ve got the skillset to be, for instance, an IP engineer,” he adds, “that talent will travel, and we want to make sure we give opportunities to the individuals that have expressed that.”

As much as the move makes sense for those working within NEP, it also makes sense for the clients.

“The client’s response to this has been everything from ‘makes sense’ to ‘why did it take so long?,” adds Werteen. “When we’re engaging with a client on what their needs are going to be, as long as it fits the need, they don’t care if it’s Bexel or a mobile unit. Whether they want robocams, RF, distribution capabilities, or a mobile unit, those can all be bundled together, and there should be one logo.”

More important for clients, the move will streamline some processes like quality control and equipment checks, which have historically differed from one entity to the next.

“Understanding what best looks like and making sure that what is best is evangelized across the whole business is one of the benefits of this as well,” says Werteen. “Of course, everybody is proud of what they currently do, but once they see some of the options that exist in other parts of the business, it will make sense that those things get adopted across the whole business.”

He notes that the company understands that, with clients, some brands —especially those tied to specific equipment or facilities like Fletcher, BSI, and Vista — will be used for a long time, especially because the brands have become shorthand for a type of technology or facility. But, internally, everything will be referred to as NEP.

“We recognize this isn’t just a light switch that you turn on,” he says, “but the one thing that’s important to all of us is recognizing the importance of the capabilities that existed in each one of those business lines and making sure that we don’t take away from the pride that exists for [their] capabilities.”