Discover how to lead a rebrand that’s not just a design refresh, but a strategic move for growth.

This session from CMO Series Live 2025 is packed with exclusive insights and key lessons learned from Axinn, Veltrop & Harkrider's Chief Marketing & Business Development Officer, Julie Chodos, and Chief Operating Officer, Annie Westover. You’ll get tips on how to prepare for a rebrand, what to expect, and most importantly, how to bring your people and clients on the journey with you.

Key takeaways: 

How to get started, and key steps in the rebranding process
In Axinn's case, the firm was able to start the rebrand journey effectively because they had already identified the problem they needed to solve - people didn't know them for who they were. 

They began with a thorough discovery process. As Julie stated, “you start with discovery, you start with a client perspective, and you start with your people perspective”. This helped them articulate their values in a way that felt authentic. 

Another key step was to start with substantive content. Implementing Passle's thought leadership software early on provided partners with a tool which bought them time to focus on the rebrand, and allowed them to "do things in real time," addressing a "pent-up demand" for such a tool. This approach also provided good content for the new website, and built a foundation for continuous engagement. 

Why rebranding is essential for your firm’s growth and image
The rebrand was strategically undertaken to support the firm's growth. A key takeaway from the session was “aligning your firm strategy with that rebrand wins”.

The rebrand also served as a foundation to help partners think about the harder part of business development. It helps “connect those top of the funnel awareness things to better navigate building stronger relationships and growing new business”. 

Navigating decisions and overcoming challenges during a rebrand
Of the challenges Axinn overcame throughout the process, Annie reflected on the way that no matter how much you plan, something's going to go wrong, but crucially, if you are prepared for it, you will get past it. 

As well as critical planning, leveraging strong internal partnerships was vital. This allowed them to “pressure test how things might go and how people might react”, and their constant communication meant they were "speaking with one voice", which helped move the process along even more. 

How to bring the firm along with you, securing the all-important partner buy-in and gaining internal support
To ensure buy-in, it was crucial to “communicate a variety of things and then repeat the communication to validate with a certain group, and then take that to a broader group and come back and circle back”. 

Beyond broader communications, one-on-one conversations with people to validate what they thought about it privately were essential. This also helped with getting client feedback. 

Lastly, they developed a scalable approach to developing internal ambassadors for the project, which helped get the message out, and they involved stakeholders at all levels to ensure they felt like they had been heard and brought along the journey.