How to Navigate a Rebrand with Clare Schmitt
The Dave Gerhardt Show (from Exit Five)
Starting with a naming agency
Clare recounts hiring a naming agency, the process, costs, and why they nearly returned to the original name.
#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
- (02:58) - Clare's role at Piedmont Global and how the rebrand got started
- (05:13) - Should you hire a naming agency? What it costs and what they actually do
- (08:41) - Running an RFP and why they chose Focus Lab
- (09:27) - Why the CEO has to own the rebrand go-to-market
- (11:03) - Keeping the decision-making council small and who was in it
- (19:09) - How to get CEO buy-in: framing a rebrand as infrastructure, not a marketing initiative
- (21:46) - Timeline: how long a rebrand actually takes ($50M+ companies)
- (23:28) - The rollout: project management, execution, and building the website internally
- (25:25) - Measurement, post-launch QA, and tracking whether your narrative is sticking
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