Why marketing is one of the most powerful and overlooked value creation levers in private equity

Author: Kim Baker, Founder and Managing Director, Kasari Consulting

Revenue growth synergies are an essential lever for value creation in M&A transactions, yet the deal teams that model growth rarely invest in the engine that drives it—marketing. 

In 2025, U.S. private equity deal value reached $1.2 trillion¹. With estimated revenue synergies for private companies reported to average 19% of the purchase price², this represents up to $228 billion of deal value and a tremendous area of opportunity hiding within plain sight. This is particularly relevant for PE rollups and bolt-on acquisitions, where an essential part of the strategy is unifying fragmented entities to create one larger more efficient platform.

According to Gartner, 54% of companies do not meet or exceed their revenue synergy targets², which is often attributed to underestimating the complexity of execution and not having the right resources in place to implement effectively. 

• Marketing has become increasingly integral to an organization’s success, and the ecosystem is evolving rapidly. Businesses must contend with power balance shifts between producers and purchasers, technology shifts that impact how they connect with customers, and how relevance continues to supersede promotion. Having a knowledgeable, trusted marketing partner to help navigate the current day environment is ever more important.

• While it’s commonplace for deal teams to bring legal, HR, operations, IT, and finance into deal processes, marketing’s role has typically been limited to post-close tactics, without a well-developed integration plan. The brand and market-related consulting studies done during diligence are critical to understanding deal value, but they don’t provide a roadmap or the expertise for addressing those needs post-close.

By leveraging marketing as a strategic tool for deal integration, smart investors can bridge this gap. In fact, in a study by McKinsey³, integrating key concepts of marketing and branding into M&A processes can increase revenue synergies by 1.5-2x.

Kasari is focused specifically on marketing strategy and implementation, translating insights, research, and analyses into customized solutions for deal integration. With decades of experience in M&A and leading brand activation and marketing programs for companies around the country, we have deep specialized understanding of what’s required for success. 

Developing a marketing integration strategy enables companies to:

• Develop a compelling value proposition and brand strategy for the combined entities
• Create an experience that maintains customer loyalty
• Support talent retention and cultural alignment
• Accelerate cross-sell opportunities
• Generate new demand

By thoughtfully incorporating marketing integration planning into the deal process, buyers can be Day 1–ready to capture growth and manage risks. Furthermore, in the current era of fast-faced digital transformation, Kasari can help investors stay ahead of new unexplored possibilities as marketing strategies are redefined by technology. 

For more information, contact Kasari Consulting.

Kim Baker is Founder and Managing Director at Kasari Consulting, which provides marketing strategy and implementation services to companies experiencing pivotal milestones, rapid growth, or M&A. Kim has been a corporate leader with nearly 30 years of marketing experience, including brand strategy, digital strategy, internal and external communications, and marketing operations. Prior to founding Kasari, Kim led the marketing department at Harris Williams for nearly 15 years, during which time the company grew 4x its size and underwent an acquisition by a large corporate buyer. Kim also built a cooking platform with a snack food sold at Whole Foods, cooked live on the Today Show, and launched a podcast reaching listeners around the globe.

Kim earned an M.B.A. and B.S. from University of Richmond, has a culinary arts degree from the Institute of Culinary Education (ICE) in NYC, and is green belt trained in lean six sigma.

Sources:

¹ US PE Breakdown, Pitchbook, 2026

² Revenue Synergy Benchmarks in M&A, Gartner, 2024

³ Integrating Marketing and Brand in M&A: The Way to Superior Growth, McKinsey & Company, 2020

⁴ Seven Ways to Crack the Code on Revenue Synergies in M&A, McKinsey & Company, 2018

⁵ 2025 M&A Outlook: 4 Trends Driving an Anticipated Rebound, Morgan Stanley, 2025

⁶ 2026 Global M&A Outlook, Goldman Sachs, 2026

⁷ Looking Back at M&A in 2025: Behind the Great Rebound, Bain & Company, 2025