How to Navigate a Rebrand with Clare Schmitt

#333 | Dave is joined by Clare Schmitt, a seasoned marketing leader and a member of our CMO community, to walk through what it actually takes to lead a rebrand at a mid-market B2B company. Clare shares how she partnered with her CEO to drive a full rebrand, from hiring a naming agency and running an RFP, to managing a small decision-making council, rolling out the new brand across every department, and measuring success post-launch. If you're a marketing leader thinking about a rebrand, this episode is a practical, top to bottom playbook from someone who just did it.

Timestamps

• (00:00) - Why rebrands come up and what this episode covers
• (03:55) - Clare's role at Piedmont Global and how the rebrand got started
• (06:10) - Should you hire a naming agency? What it costs and what they actually do
• (09:38) - Running an RFP and why they chose Focus Lab
• (10:24) - Why the CEO has to own the rebrand go-to-market
• (12:00) - Keeping the decision-making council small and who was in it
• (18:45) - How to get CEO buy-in: framing a rebrand as infrastructure, not a marketing initiative
• (21:22) - Timeline: how long a rebrand actually takes ($50M+ companies)
• (23:04) - The rollout: project management, execution, and building the website internally
• (25:01) - Measurement, post-launch QA, and tracking whether your narrative is sticking

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