The Smart Marketer Podcast Episode 239: Protecting Your Brand in 2025 – SMS Compliance, Copycat Stores & Strategic Defense
What happens when a new law could cost you $10K… or worse, someone clones your website and starts stealing your customers?
In this exclusive Mentor Table session, John Grimshaw and Molly Pittman tackle two major challenges facing DTC brands in 2025: new SMS compliance laws in Texas and a real-world case study of how Antler Rings shut down a full-blown copycat website.
This episode gives you practical tools, mindset shifts, and proactive strategies to protect your brand—and your bottom line.
"We're going to have to play more defense in general. It's just easier for people to shortcut this stuff." – John Grimshaw
You Will Learn:-
What the Texas SMS law means for marketers
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How to register for compliance and avoid fines
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What to do when someone copies your website, product, or brand
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The legal and technical steps Antler Rings used to shut down a scammer
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Why branded keyword bidding is non-negotiable in 2025
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How to use alerts and paid search to monitor your brand
00:00 – Welcome: Mentor Table Exclusive + Omnisend SMS Promo 02:18 – Texas SMS Compliance: What's Changed & What To Do 04:39 – Bond Costs, Registration Forms, and Legal Risk 07:55 – Should You Exclude Texas Prospects? A Cost-Benefit Breakdown 10:17 – Case Study: Antler Rings Discovers a Fake Store 11:43 – Steps to Take: Domain Hosts, Payment Processors, Google & More 13:57 – Boom by Cindy Joseph Faced This Too—What They Learned 16:39 – Copycat Site Takedown Success: Fast Results 18:17 – Bid on Your Branded Keywords—Here's Why 20:31 – Set Up Alerts to Monitor Brand Mentions Automatically 21:22 – Playing Defense in 2025: AI, Fraud & Scam Prevention 21:52 – Final Thoughts & Wrap-Up
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