Building A Brand Within A Brand

In my years of marketing, I’ve had a unique vantage point from which to watch many company evolutions. But the change I’ve had the opportunity to watch and be a part of as the marketing leader at NTT Global Data Centers has to be among the most fascinating.

Almost six years ago, I joined RagingWire to lead marketing and product strategy, focusing solely on the US market. Back then, RagingWire was a strong regional player in the data center industry. We were making a name for ourselves with innovative facilities and client-centric operations, but our scope was firmly domestic. My role was clear: Build our brand, strengthen our product offering, and grow our US presence.

But life in marketing rarely stays predictable. Not long after I joined, our now parent company, NTT, began an ambitious effort to consolidate 31 businesses into a single, unified brand. This included four data center companies and the legacy NTT Communications data center business in Asia. Together, these were merged into what became NTT Global Data Centers, one of the largest data center companies in the world. Suddenly, my role transformed from managing a single regional brand to helping build a global identity for a top-tier data center provider.

The shift was monumental. Each of the four companies had its own leadership, independent teams, and regional goals. Integration wasn’t a traditional merger; it was more like assembling a federation. We worked to collaborate and align, but the companies largely maintained their autonomy. In hindsight, this was a necessary first step, allowing each team to preserve its strengths and continue driving regional success while we worked on the bigger picture.