4 Questions with Founder and Managing Partner Joanne Verkuilen
Q. What is the MiddleM story?
A. MiddleM Creative was born out of the intersection of my experiences as both an investment banker, and later, a marketing director within the M&A sector. During my time in these positions, I watched the market shift. The proliferation of both investment banking and private equity firms meant a simple press release announcing a deal was not enough to catch and hold the attention of a possible client or portfolio company.
The middle-market M&A community essentially became so crowded that I noticed a need for differentiated branding and marketing services—a company built with people who understand the niche needs of investment banks and PE firms.
We’ve worked hard to create a dedicated team serving our clients through that nuanced understanding of the M&A landscape. Our team lives and breathes our clients’ strategies, and I’m incredibly proud of our highly talented professionals. We offer a full suite of marketing, branding and public relations services designed to guide clients on a deeper strategic level and drive deal flow.
Q. What are MiddleM’s service offerings?
A. Since our senior team has direct experience in investment banking and private equity, we understand the market and the nuances. We are incredibly sector-focused as a company, which gives us the ability to go deeper into each service that we offer.
We often begin with branding strategy and positioning with our clients—answering the question: “How is your firm different from the competition?” To accomplish this, we design and execute proprietary research which leads to data-driven brand strategy:
Brand 360° research, messaging development and graphic design
Website layout, graphic design, writing, creation and management
Brand collateral creation and distribution (PPTs, One-Pagers, etc.)
Our eventual goal is to become an extension of the firms’ existing team and elevate their marketing and PR efforts through confident and insightful brand engagement. We create engagement through strategic:
Thought leadership content development and distribution
Social media content and management (LinkedIn and Twitter)
Video content creation and distribution
Business development campaign support
Public relations, press release writing and distribution and media relations
As the market becomes more and more crowded, it is critical to build momentum and stand out from the rest with authentic and consistent messaging. Our sector-focus allows us to provide a deeper understanding and place our partners’ messaging in front of the right people to drive deal flow.
Q. How can PE firms and investment banks use deal closings to build momentum?
A. The middle-market M&A landscape grows increasingly competitive each year. Closing a deal should be a launchpad of continued momentum for the firm—especially to help drive add-on acquisition opportunities for private equity.
Going a step further can mean consistent LinkedIn strategies, one-to-one media outreach, or even developing a thought leadership piece concerning an industry trend that ties back to the deal and pitching that to relevant media publications as a bylined article. We like to think outside of the box and find new ways to build on the momentum of a deal in order to help our clients stay top-of-mind for potential clients and companies long after the closing.
“An ideal marketing partner deeply understands your business. Having been an investment banker for many years doing M&A transactions, as well as working in the world of private equity, I truly understand what it is like to be in our clients’ shoes, and our whole team is completely focused on this sector. ”
Q. How does MiddleM’s partnership approach benefit clients?
A. Our goal is to be in a lockstep partnership with our clients—anticipating their needs and planning ahead to benefit their strategic goals. We take a partnership approach and work to become an extension of their team. That often comes down to being as transparent with our communication as possible, especially when timelines are tight and the stakes are high—which they usually are in the world of M&A.
An ideal marketing partner deeply understands your business. Having been an investment banker for many years doing M&A transactions, as well as working in the world of private equity, I truly understand what it is like to be in our clients’ shoes, and our whole team is completely focused on this sector.
We leverage that understanding to help our clients uncover, understand and articulate the truly unique elements of their firm in every aspect of their communications. Ultimately that saves our clients a ton of time and money, and it enables us to do a much better job on their behalf.