Ep. 239: Protecting Your Brand in 2025 – SMS Compliance, Copycat Stores & Strategic Defense

Episode Description

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

• How to register for compliance and avoid fines

• What to do when someone copies your website, product, or brand

• The legal and technical steps Antler Rings used to shut down a scammer

• Why branded keyword bidding is non-negotiable in 2025

• How to use alerts and paid search to monitor your brand

Links & Resources Mentioned:

• Omnisend SMS & Email Tool – Get 50% Off

• Smart Marketer

• Mentor Table Mastermind

• Antler Rings

• Molly Pittman – mollypittman.com

• Instagram – @smartmarketer

• Instagram – @mollypittmandigital

Timestamps:

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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