B2B Insights Podcast #69: How Brand Research Drives Smarter B2B Acquisitions

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In this episode of the B2B Insights Podcast, Senior Client Partnerships Director Simi Dhawan speaks with Trevor Glue, Marketing Director at Ricardo, about the challenges B2B organizations face during acquisitions – particularly around brand perception, integration, and ensuring teams are aligned.

Recently, Ricardo acquired E3 Modelling, and B2B International supported the organization through a program of brand equity research to understand market perceptions and guide strategic decisions.

After acquiring E3 Modelling, B2B International supported Ricardo, a global consultancy operating across transport, energy and climate sectors, through a program of brand equity research to understand market perceptions and guide strategic decisions.

Hear Simi and Trevor discuss the business challenges prompting the research, the most valuable insights gained, and how the findings helped guide strategic decisions at Ricardo.

Key discussion points:

• Why unbiased external research is essential during acquisitions
• Understanding and validating the brand equity of an acquired company
• How research helps reduce post acquisition brand confusion
• Bringing internal teams and acquired employees on the journey
• Turning insight into strategic, operational and marketing decisions
• Why objective research prevents costly long term mistakes
• Lessons learned for organizations planning similar brand equity projects

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Simi (B2B International): Hi everyone, and welcome to the B2B Insights Podcast. I’m Simi Dhawan, Senior Client Partnerships Director at B2B International. Today I’m joined by Trevor Glue, Marketing Director at Ricardo, to discuss a challenge many B2B businesses face: navigating brand integration during acquisitions.

Ricardo, for those who don’t know, is a global consultancy working across transport, energy and climate. They recently expanded by acquiring E3 Modelling, and Trevor approached us to understand how the E3M brand was perceived in the marketplace. We worked together on a brand equity project, and today we’re diving into what prompted that work and how the findings shaped Ricardo’s strategic decisions.

Trevor, welcome – please introduce yourself and your role.

Trevor (Ricardo): Thanks for having me, Simi. I’m Trevor Glue, Director of Marketing at Ricardo. I’ve been with the business around 15 years, working across brand development, lead generation and supporting our go to market strategy globally. My role is essentially about connecting our capabilities with our clients’ challenges.

Simi: So let’s start with E3 Modelling. Could you explain who they are in relation to Ricardo?

Trevor: Absolutely. E3 Modelling is a company we had partnered with for many years before acquiring them. They specialize in large scale macro modelling across Europe – working at the intersection of environmental, energy and economic policy.

We’d collaborated extensively on policy development projects for organizations like the European Commission, where E3M provided modelling that fed directly into policy insights.

So strategically, culturally and technically, the fit with Ricardo was very strong.

Simi: Thinking back to the start of the research, what was the core challenge you were trying to solve?

Trevor: There were two main challenges.

First, although we knew E3M well from working with them, the acquisition created a different dynamic. We were conscious of avoiding bias – we didn’t want our own assumptions about the brand to influence major decisions around integration, naming or market positioning.

Second, we needed to bring people with us – especially E3M employees. They’d built a brand they were proud of. For a smooth integration, we needed clear, objective, external insight that everyone could trust.

Simi: And what did you find most valuable from the research?

Trevor: Validation was hugely important. Some feedback aligned with what we already believed, which reassured us. But the real value came from the detail – particularly around how customers perceived the balance between E3M’s commercial capability and their academic credibility.

That wasn’t something we had considered strongly before, and it has had a major influence on how we communicate their role today.
Beyond marketing, the insights affected operational thinking and even the kinds of projects we pursue. The findings have genuinely shaped decision making across the business.

Simi: Research is often about confirming what you know – but also uncovering the blind spots. It sounds like that played out here?

Trevor: Definitely. You don’t want research to be one big surprise – that would indicate you didn’t understand your market. But the value lies in the nuances: the specific messages that resonate, how customers want to be communicated with, and what truly differentiates the brand.

Your team also captured those “unconscious comments” that people drop in conversation – small insights that add up to something meaningful when you hear them consistently.

Simi: Earlier you mentioned post acquisition brand confusion. How did this research help build clarity?

Trevor: E3M had strong brand equity, but also strong product level branding. Sometimes customers knew the product names but not the company; sometimes the other way around.

The research helped us untangle that.

It showed how well the E3M name was known, what associations existed around their products, and how Ricardo fit into that picture. That insight gave us confidence to transition E3M into the Ricardo brand – and importantly, the E3M team supported the move because the research was unbiased and data driven.

Some of the key insights have become “pillars” we refer to repeatedly – they genuinely guide our ongoing marketing and operational decisions.

Simi: And in terms of business impact, how has the research influenced your strategy?

Trevor: It allowed us to move faster and with confidence. Without objective research, you tend to make decisions based on subjective feedback – perhaps a comment from a sales team member or an anecdote from one client.

Those decisions can cost you years down the line.

Investing in external research might seem expensive at first, but the cost of making the wrong decision is far higher. The insight helped us avoid risk, build alignment internally, and sharpen our market approach.

Simi: If someone listening were about to begin a similar project, what advice would you offer?

Trevor: Bring your internal stakeholders into the process early. The research becomes far more actionable when the people responsible for implementing change have contributed to the questions and understand the findings.

On our side, gathering customer contact information earlier would also have helped – niche audiences can be hard to reach.

But from B2B International’s side, I honestly wouldn’t change anything.

Simi: And finally – what’s next for Ricardo?

Trevor: It’s an exciting time. Ricardo has recently been acquired by WSP, which opens up a lot of opportunities. There’s strong alignment between the two organizations, especially around environmental impact, transport and infrastructure. Our teams are energized about the new projects and enhanced capabilities this will bring.

Simi: Fantastic – exciting times ahead. Trevor, thank you so much for sharing your experience. And to everyone listening: thank you for joining us. If you’d like to learn more or have questions, please reach out or subscribe to our B2B Insights newsletter via the B2B International Insights Hub.