Creating M&A Brand Cohesion for BB&T and SunTrust

Challenge

On the eve of their high-profile merger, we were approached by BB&T and SunTrust, then the 12th- and 18th-largest U.S. banks. The resulting conglomerate would instantly make them one of the largest banks in the country, and in a compressed timeline, the two firms needed to communicate the merger to employees, investors, and the public with clarity, confidence, and control. This wasn’t just a transaction; it was a high-stakes launch of a major new brand in the financial sector.

Our challenge was to develop a unified communications campaign that made the merger feel inevitable, seamless, and exciting. With just over a week until the official announcement, we needed to deliver an integrated brand narrative and launch toolkit.

Approach

Working alongside their bankers, communications advisors, and internal teams, Hasytack designed a comprehensive campaign that paid homage to both institutions' existing visual identities. We blended color palettes, typography, and imagery to signal alignment, establishing a shared look and feel before revealing the new name.

We began with the investor deck—refining key data points, visualizing synergies, and making the case for the merger in a format designed to inform and persuade. From there, we expanded into a multi-channel toolkit that included a public-facing microsite, a Google and Bing ad campaign, and a CEO video to communicate the deal's cultural rationale and strategic vision.

Finally, we synced the launch of all their campaign assets with the press release announcing their merger, creating a high-impact rollout that felt orchestrated and credible rather than rushed or reactive.

Results

In just 10 days, we delivered a fully integrated merger campaign that gave BB&T and SunTrust a united front. The assets we created gave stakeholders a clear visual identity, a central source of truth, and a compelling rationale for the deal, setting the tone for what would become Truist.

The deck we created served as the foundation for every other asset, streamlining content development across channels and ensuring message consistency. By combining brand strategy, digital precision, and investor storytelling, the campaign helped establish early confidence in one of the largest bank mergers in U.S. history.