From Night Terrors to AI Literacy - the Process of Rebranding our Podcast
Ever had major fears about making a big change?
I have 😅
Imagine standing at the crossroads of letting go of a name that had become synonymous with creativity and entertainment among our audience - “The 4am Report” - and stepping boldly into something new that aligns more closely with our mission: “AI Literacy for Entrepreneurs”.
Why Rebrand?
For five years, The 4am Report was our baby - a beloved podcast where we explored what keeps marketers and entrepreneurs up at night. It was creative, fun, and filled with insightful conversations. Asking that question led to many chats over the last year about AI and that has meant we shifted gears to focus deeply on AI literacy for small business owners. With that shift came the realization that the name of our podcast needed to reflect this new direction.
Cue the night terrors we (famously) harken to in our own podcast 😱
Letting go of a well-known brand is tough.
But change is inevitable, and when you’re as obsessed with helping people understand and use the power of AI as we are, you’ve got to make those emotion-inducing calls.
So, I hugged ‘The 4am Report’ goodbye and stepped into our new identity.
The Emotional and Strategic Journey
There’s a lot of nostalgia wrapped up in the old name, but also a lot of learning. And the question remained: how do we pivot without losing the essence of what made us unique? In the process of soliciting advice from our networks, while the name we chose won by 70 to 30, there 30% of dissenters were not QUIET. And I love that. As a lifelong custodian of brands - most recently in the avatar of podcast brands - I see it as a huge achievement that people are vocal about what they’d like to see us do creatively.
That definitely got in my head though!!!!
Winning is not always by numbers.
So, I had to think about it several more times.
I reoriented to what we set out to do with the rebrand.
And brought in AI to analyze and help me make better decisions.
The first place we used AI was to analyze past episodes, and guess what? All the themes aligned around entrepreneurship and AI showed up at the top. That gave us the confidence to make the leap.
📝 The 3 Key Criteria for the New AI Podcast Name
AI in the Name: To align with our mission and reflect the core of what we’re doing.
Findable but Distinct: A unique name that is easy to find but avoids trademark headaches.
Built to Last: A name that stands the test of time, not just a passing trend.
Armed with that list, and using AI tools like ChatGPT and even a few custom GPTs, we brainstormed names that would reflect our niche while retaining our core values. Names like “AI for Entrepreneurs” and “AI for Founder-Led Brands” made the shortlist.
AI didn’t just help us brainstorm name options; it helped us build and document a strategy. From polling our network on LinkedIn and Instagram to running market research through tools like Perplexity, we were able to make data-driven decisions that balanced our gut feelings with hard facts.
It’s important to note that these levels of precise data-driven decision making are often not accessible to small businesses because of budget constraints.
It’s now democratized with AI.
And I 👏
Am 👏
Here 👏
For 👏
It 👏👏👏
The Final Decision: A Blend of Emotion and Strategy
Ultimately, “AI Literacy for Entrepreneurs” stood out. Remember, it wasn’t just about finding a name that spoke to our mission - helping entrepreneurs, like you, become confident, competent users of AI to drive growth and innovation, it was also about finding a name that was free from trademark conflicts!
We checked, double-checked, and triple-checked. We used trademark registries and AI tools to search for existing trademarks, manually dug through niche platforms, and even scanned sponsored content to make sure we were not infringing on existing intellectual property. It was a blend of AI insights, community input, and a sprinkle of good old intuition.
Join us in our AI-Powered Podcasting Journey
So here we are, shedding the night terrors and stepping boldly into a new chapter. We’re excited to continue this journey with you under our new name, "AI Literacy for Entrepreneurs". This is more than a podcast rebrand; it's a deeper commitment to bring you the tools, insights, and inspiration you need to leverage AI for your business success.
Want to know more about our process?
Listen to our latest episode, "How I Rebranded My AI Podcast Using AI" where I spill all the behind-the-scenes tea and share the exact framework we used to get here.
Thank you for continuing to be part of our podcast community. We keep making this podcast fuelled by your support, feedback, and engagement.
