Group integration:

Worldwide integration through communication
– and sailing

How to achieve three to four years’ integration work in just nine months
The acquisition of Yale in 2000 made ASSA ABLOY clearly the World’s Leading Lock Group. But it also brought 30 new companies and 12,000 employees into the Group. There was an urgent need to integrate these quickly and successfully – to build a common corporate culture that would help all the Group’s managers, employees, customers and distibutors to understand the ASSA ABLOY corporate strategy and values.

The task was primarily one of communication, internally and externally. A series of projects was initiated to accomplish it:

  • A common branding strategy for the Group’s 80+ brands was developed and is being implemented.
  • The Volvo Ocean Race was used to build team spirit and communicate core values.
  • An internal attitude survey confirmed the initial need and monitored progress.
Common branding strategy
The Group branding strategy is based on the belief that each brand is unique. The ASSA ABLOY brand is then used as an endorsement brand, supporting the individual brand with a sense of the Group’s global strength and resources.

A Brand Platform for the ASSA ABLOY brand was developed in 2001, describing the brand’s vision, mission and values and creating a Corporate Tagline ‘The World’s Leading Lock Group’. This was further developed into a market communication concept with the slogan ‘Unlock Your Life’, based on the idea that locking solutions from ASSA ABLOY can not only make the world more secure and safe, but also create greater freedom in people’s lives.

With close to a hundred brands within the Group, the need to organize the brand portfolio is obvious. The second Brand Platform was for Yale, a major international brand marketed by many Group companies. Subsequently, in a Group-wide project, 85 companies have developed their own Brand Platforms according to the common model. This means that virtually all the Group’s brands now have their personality and their market positioning defined in clear documents that will guide all market communication.

A powerful integration vehicle
The Volvo Ocean Race proved to be a very powerful vehicle for the integration process. It has helped not only to develop a common corporate culture but to strengthen customer relations and implement the new brand strategy. The Race had an almost perfect geographic match with the ASSA ABLOY organization, with stopovers in all major markets. These were used to educate the market, for events with employees, customers and retailers, and for Regional management meetings.

But, even more, the Race itself was used to enhance internal communication and build pride in the Group. It helped to give all employees information about the worldwide ASSA ABLOY Group, a sense of its size and scope, and answers that they could pass on to customers and members of the public.

Initially developed for the Race, the internal Corporate Communication function is now in full operation. Cornerstones are the new intranet called keyPoint, the internal magazine ASSA ABLOY news (now to appear more frequently and in regional editions), the redesigned website www.assaabloy.com, and a corporate network of Communication Managers representing all regions and business areas.

Success at many levels
From a sporting perspective, the Race was very successful. The team had a tough start, but through continuous improvements, good team spirit and hard work ASSA ABLOY finished a very honorable second after 32,250 nautical miles. Its success has set a good example to all 30,000 employees to work hard, never give up, be good team players, and continually strive to do better.

From a business perspective, the outcome was possibly even better. The Race gave ASSA ABLOY cost-effective media coverage valued in a neutral survey to over usd 60 m. This included 15,200 press-clippings and 996 hours of television airtime, not to mention 3 million Internet visitors. But, more importantly, the project achieved its ambitions of building internal awareness and pride. An internal survey covering 63 companies, 4,000 employees, 17 languages and 1,000 managers showed this very clearly.

Results from the employee survey:

  • 97 percent of the Group’s employees followed the progress of the Race.
  • 88 percent believe that the project has strengthened affinity within the Group.
  • More than 14,000 employees increased their knowledge of ASSA ABLOY’S values and ways of working. v More than 18,000 employees now feel more proud of belonging to the ASSA ABLOY Group.


Anna Bernsten, Vice President, of ASSA ABLOY, was responsible for the Volvo Ocean Race project. For her way of shaping, leading and driving the project, The Swedish Project Academy named her as its 2002 Project Leader of the Year. She estimates that the project has successfully accomplished the mammoth task of achieving three to four years’ integration work in only nine months. “It is fascinating to see the energy and inspiration that can be created across international and cultural boundaries by a project like this,” she says.