When Philips Lighting became Signify and later acquired US-based Cooper Lighting Solutions, the company faced a defining question: how do you align hundreds of digital touchpoints across 47 countries while transitioning from a single-brand to a multi-brand strategy?
Global rebrand across 200+ content pages and 72 websites in six months
Scalable Adobe Experience Manager e-commerce platform for 47 countries
Post-acquisition content migration for Cooper Lighting Solutions
Multidisciplinary, blended team bridging business and IT
Capability building and onboarding for 47 local teams
From strategy to day-to-day global digital marketing operations
The challenge
How do you manage a global rebrand across hundreds of digital touchpoints while simultaneously transitioning to a multi-brand strategy and integrating a major acquisition?
The solution
A structured, phased approach led by a multidisciplinary iO team. Impact analysis, stakeholder alignment, platform migration, and capability building. All on one scalable AEM platform.
Signify x iO: building the digital future of light, together
Signify (formerly Philips Lighting) is the global leader in lighting and high-performance, energy-efficient products, systems and services. Their portfolio includes Philips Hue, the world's leading smart home lighting brand, alongside professional and consumer lighting solutions that make life safer and more sustainable.
iO has been Signify's trusted digital partner for years. Our collaboration goes beyond individual projects: we think strategically, challenge assumptions, and help Signify stay ahead in a fast-evolving market. This case highlights one chapter of that ongoing journey.
Why Signify moved from single-brand to multi-brand strategy
When Philips Lighting split from Royal Philips, Signify inherited a digital landscape built for one brand. Managing 72 websites and 200+ content pages across 30 markets with fragmented systems and inconsistent messaging created friction at every level.
Local teams struggled with outdated components. Central teams lacked the control needed for coherent global campaigns. The transition from Philips Lighting to Signify, and the subsequent acquisition of Cooper Lighting Solutions, made one thing clear: the organisation needed a digital platform capable of serving multiple brands, markets and business units from a single, scalable foundation.
How Signify rebranded 200+ pages across 30 markets in six months
Changing from a single to a multi-brand strategy is complex. Within six months, we transformed the complete look and feel, created new content, and rolled out a new brand identity on a global scale.
Managing feedback from 30 different markets, each accustomed to making decisions independently, required careful stakeholder alignment. We set up a project organisation with clear roles and responsibilities, created content packages that made the scope manageable for everyone, and maintained flexibility without compromising the deadline.
The result: a consistent Signify brand presence on every digital touchpoint, with a framework ready for future brand extensions or acquisitions.
Migrating Cooper Lighting Solutions to Signify's AEM environment
When Signify acquired Cooper Lighting Solutions, we faced an additional challenge. CLS managed hundreds of domains, microservices and tools, all requiring migration to Signify's AEM environment. And that was not just a technical exercise.
Time zone differences and cultural considerations shaped every decision. CLS employees had worked there for years and suddenly had to do things differently. We focused on the positives: more ease of use, efficiency, and access to Signify's global infrastructure. Building bridges between US and European teams, with patience, empathy and even a little cheekiness, proved essential.
Most critically, the Philips Hue webshop had to remain open and continue generating sales throughout the migration. Campaigns and content pages were being created worldwide while we revamped the platform underneath. We were, quite literally, building the plane while flying.
Building Signify's platform for 47 countries on Adobe Experience Manager
The outdated Classic UI platform needed serious attention. Components had not been maintained for some time, causing problems for users and local teams alike. We recommended a complete transition to a modern Touch UI environment on Adobe Experience Manager.
During the analysis phase, we mapped every component and analysed them one by one. This formed the basis for a successful migration. The renewal of all local versions, the rollout of new countries, and the handover to existing organisations was carried out in agile sprints.
We bridged the gap between business units and IT, swapping seats almost daily. In conversations with business units, we spoke as developers. In development meetings, we represented the business. That is how we brought two worlds together.
Onboarding 47 local teams to Signify's new digital ecosystem
Technical migration is only half the challenge. Adoption determines success.
Onboarding employees into the new ecosystem became an indispensable part of our work. Local teams from Central America to central IT had to understand the new techniques and practices. Today, brand requirements, legal compliance and UX guidelines are almost completely embedded in the platform.
The result: local teams that are trained and confident, giving Signify the ability to roll out a global campaign for Philips Hue at the touch of a button. A scalable solution with a dramatically shorter time-to-market.
A foundation for future brand extensions and migrations
Thanks to a structured approach, we now have agreed parameters and a proven methodology for future brand extensions, rebrandings or migration projects. Other Signify brands can benefit from the same digital foundation.
This project, together with our work for Cooper Lighting Solutions, marks the start of a series of content migrations at Signify. All aimed at realising concrete, tangible value.
Together with Signify, we built a strong digital foundation that other Signify brands can also benefit from in the future.
The numbers
1
Countries rolled out on one scalable AEM platform
1+
Content pages migrated and rebranded
1
Websites transformed within six months
1
Markets aligned during the global rebrand
1
Months from kickoff to global brand rollout
From single-brand legacy to multi-brand digital powerhouse
The new architecture does not just solve today's challenges: it paves the way for Signify's continued global growth. By consolidating multiple brands onto one AEM platform, Signify has drastically reduced maintenance overhead and accelerated the rollout of new features across all markets.
For customers and partners, the impact is immediate: consistent brand experiences, frictionless d2c shopping for Philips Hue, and a digital presence that matches Signify's position as global leader in lighting.
For internal teams, it means less firefighting and more strategic focus.
This is what a long-term digital partnership delivers: not just a project completed, but a foundation for future ambition.
