Don't rebrand for the sake of it. A successful rebrand should be a deliberate move to signal a fundamental shift in your business, such as an expansion, a new mission, or a deeper commitment to core values like sustainability. It's an external reflection of an internal change.

The two owners didn't make rebranding decisions in a vacuum. They formed a five-person leadership team whose role included challenging their ideas. This collaborative friction and pushback led to better final decisions than the owners would have made alone.

Establishing a strong brand involves more than customer research. It's critical that the internal team and key partners are aligned on the brand's vision and messaging. This internal clarity serves as the stable foundation for all external marketing efforts.

Don't pitch big ideas by going straight to the CEO for a mandate; this alienates the teams who must execute. Instead, introduce ideas casually to find a small group of collaborative "yes, and" thinkers. Build momentum with this core coalition before presenting the developed concept more broadly.

The marketing leader should own the initial strategy and vendor selection for a rebrand. Once the visual and verbal identity is locked, a dedicated, detail-oriented project manager should take over execution. This person becomes the central point of contact for all departments, managing tactical details like deck updates and office signage.

During Ford's two-year rebrand, moments where stakeholder alignment was lost were not failures. The CMO found these "regroups" were critical for strengthening the strategy, revealing where initial agreements were superficial or impractical and making the final plan more durable.

Changing an entrenched culture is daunting. The best approach is to start small. Identify a group of ambassadors, run a focused pilot project aligned with the desired new culture, learn quickly, and use its success to spread change organically rather than forcing a large-scale overhaul.

To get a CEO fully invested, position the rebrand not as a marketing initiative but as foundational infrastructure that touches every part of the business, from HR and recruiting to sales and customer operations. This reframing elevates its importance and ensures cross-departmental adoption.

Rowell's success stemmed from leaders who committed fully rather than taking a piecemeal approach. Their advice is to avoid doing a rebrand "halfway." Going all-in, despite the fear, prevents a diluted outcome and ensures maximum impact and internal alignment.