Wendy's/Arby's Group

New:  Merged company, name and logo

Launched:  September 30, 2008, when "WEN" first traded

Story in brief:
On April 24, 2008 Triarc, a food and beverage company led by investor Nelson Peltz, acquired the Wendy's fast food chain. Triarc had been busy selling beverage businesses (like Snapple). By adding this acquisition to its Arby's property, it would come closer to being a pure play in restaurants — indeed a big one, with 10,000 units doing $12.5 billion in annual sales. That would make it number 3 worldwide (behind MacDonald's and Yum Brands).

As it happens Clive Chajet, the identity consultant who in 1983 bought Lippincott from Walter Margulies (then rebuilt it and sold it to its present owners) is a Triarc board member, and as such was at hand to advise Peltz and Roland Smith, Triarc President and CEO, along these lines: "Why not just use the power of these two brand names to express the new focus you're after?" Chajet also suggested engagement of the designers at KCSA, a PR and marketing services firm.

Credits:
C.E.O. - Roland Smith
Identity & naming counsel - Clive Chajet, as a Triarc director
Identity  design - KCSA Strategic Communications' Creative Group
(Joshua Altman, director; Margaret Wiatrowski, creative director)

First Impressions:
Strategy: Clearly positions the entity, as it is today, to investors (but could inhibit change); perpetuates two cultures, in this case constructively. Naming: The tactic makes sense but in practice, the punctuation issues could make it a nightmare. Apostrophes' are a URL problem; the slash is even worse. People may rebel.
Design: A really nice monogram/symbol, somewhat compromised by the decision (though understandable) to lock it to the three-word wordmark.
 

Corporate Brand Matrix (est.) ratings:  
40% structural,  60% strategic,  0% functional