From the Yellow Chair
From the Yellow Chair
How Duck hunting has a new meaning for Rowell
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What does it take for a 70-year HVAC company to break free from a look that blends into the crowd? We sit down with Rowell, a third-generation business, to explore the bold leap from familiar red-and-blue to a disruptive identity built around deep green, hi-vis orange, camo, and a proudly local mascot named Gage the duck. Keeping the family name preserved decades of trust, while everything else changed to stand out on roads, in feeds, and across new markets.
We open up about the real questions owners wrestle with: Will customers still recognize us? Will the team buy in? Is the timeline and cost worth it? Rowell shares the turning points—meeting a rebrand partner who pushed beyond a “logo refresh,” choosing a look their technicians actually love to wear, and sequencing the rollout so operations didn’t stall. The result wasn’t just a sharper presence; it was a culture shift. Techs wear the brand with pride, the community takes notice, and word-of-mouth rides on trucks that can’t be missed.
You’ll hear practical, field-tested advice on when to rebrand versus refresh, how to prioritize high-visibility assets like fleet wraps and uniforms, and why going all in creates a clean before-and-after story the market understands. We also talk strategy for growth beyond a small hometown service area—how a distinct brand lowers the cost of attention in new ZIP codes and fuels faster adoption. If you’ve been stuck in safe visuals or debating a change, this conversation maps the mindset, steps, and payoffs that move a legacy business into its next chapter.
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From the Yellow Chair is powered by Lemon Seed, a marketing strategy and branding company for the trades. Lemon Seed specializes in rebrands, creating unique, comprehensive, organized marketing plans, social media, and graphic design. Learn more at www.LemonSeedMarketing.com
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Welcome And Brandapalooza Setup
SPEAKER_00What's up, Loman Heads? Welcome back to another episode of From the Yellow Chair. I'm Emily. It is Brand of Palooza Month. And so we are so excited to talk all things branding this month. And we have one of our favorite, one of our newest rebrands that we are so excited to talk to and get all the ins and outs, get the story behind it, and figure out why they made the move and why they're super excited about it. So thanks for joining. Can't wait for you guys to listen. Without further ado, let's get some lemonade. Doing great. How are you? Good, good. Well, we are so excited to get to talk to you today about your rebrand and um get to know you guys a little bit more. What made you guys decide to do this crazy thing? And then talk about the actual brand because it's a really fun brand. Um, a little bit different than one that we've done before, but one that we're really proud of. And I think it's been very well received with you guys. And so we're so excited to dive into that today. So tell me a little bit, tell me a little bit about your company and your story. Like, how did Rowell come to be in business? How um, you know, what is your team like? Tell me a little bit about the backstory of you guys.
SPEAKER_01Okay, so Dustin, our owner, um, he is a third-generation owner. His grandfather, Billy Rowell, started the business back in 1955 doing both electrical and heating and air work. Um, and then Dustin's father then took over the heating and air side, and it was then passed down to Dustin. Um, and in 2016, he ended up splitting from the bigger company with electrical and went out on his own. So this is our tenth year in business with Dustin running it as his own company. And yeah, it's it's great. I mean, it's family-owned. Um, everyone who works here feels like they're part of the Raoul family, and you know, we're in a small town, so everybody kind of knows everybody, and it's just a really fun place to work.
Why Rebrand Versus Refresh
SPEAKER_00No, absolutely. And we can see that working with you guys on the lemon seed side, like seeing the culture that you guys have, you know. Um, you guys do have a very tight-knit team. Um, you guys are very willing to like try new ideas. Um, and so that's something that's like we can always see is like gonna help and make you successful in your marketing and overall in your operations. But um, I know you guys have a tight team and like talk numbers and you talk operations, and like you're always looking of like how can we be more efficient? And I think that makes a good and strong, healthy company. Sure. Definitely. So I I know probably like doing so. Let's back up. Why did you guys even want to do a rebrand? Like, what made you say, like, maybe we should change this a little bit?
SPEAKER_01So I'll be honest, I really didn't know what a full rebrand was. Um, Dustin and I talked about two years ago at this point. Uh, when he reached his 10th year in 2026, he knew he wanted to do something, whether it was at that point, I just thought it would be changing the logo and just kind of refreshing it. But that's really all the thought we put into it. And then a year later, I met Crystal at a Service Titan conference, and she really dove into this concept of rebranding and what your brand means, and it was all new to me. I really didn't think much about it and ended up partnering with Lemon Seed, and she just kept pressing about hey, let's just look into a rebrand. I mentioned it to Dustin, and he was kind of the same way. He knew he wanted to do something, we just didn't really know what we were doing. So it just worked out perfectly timing-wise. But all credit to Lemon Seed. We went in totally blind, we didn't know what we were doing. Um, and y'all have just helped shape this new brand over the last year and brought it to life. And yeah, that's really how it all happened. I thank Crystal. Um, because she she has walked us through it, you two. Um but yeah, we just trusted her to walk, we knew we wanted to change the look, but we really didn't know what we were getting ourselves into.
Standing Out Beyond Red And Blue
SPEAKER_00Well, and one reason why, and this is a conversation we have to have with so many contractors, is you know, you guys do have something special there, you know, been around since 1955, third generation, family-owned, family operated, but it felt a little bit like your old brand felt a little bit like everyone else. You know, it was the traditional red and blues, the traditional little house with like some little airwaves and things like that. And like it's very common, you know, nothing is really standing out or making you disruptive, or even like really to get noticed. And so that was one thing that we were really trying to talk to you guys about. It's like, how can we be disruptive, do something different so that you do stand out to your competitors so that people can notice you more and experience you more before they ever actually have your time of need service? Um, so was that a challenging part? You know, you guys have been so established, been around for so long. You know, it's the family name is in the company name and stuff. Was that scary to go through this change? And like, did you guys have any fear of what is our team gonna think or what is our customers gonna think? Tell me about that part.
Fears About Recognition And Change
SPEAKER_01So I was definitely skeptical. Again, I really didn't know what it would entail, and I just thought we would keep the same color scheme. It makes sense, red, white, and blue. And um, I was more skeptical on that end, whereas Dustin is more of a risk taker. He was like, no, if we're gonna do it, let's do something that really stands out. So that took me a little while to kind of come to terms with type. I was afraid that people wouldn't recognize us anymore. Um, but one good thing that I think we did was kept that Rowell name. And I've learned now that we are still in the middle of launching the rebrand, it's only been a positive thing as far as brand name recognition. No one has said, oh, I don't know who this company is. I mean, it's only been a positive thing. But yeah, there was definitely a lot of fear of really just getting lost. I didn't want to, I didn't want it to look like a new company was entering the market. I wanted people to still know that it was us. And I think that Limit Seed has done a great job helping us plan out how to launch it in a way that it shows, hey, we're still here, we're still doing what we've always done. We're just doing it with a different look now. And I'll get more into that, but not just a new look, but a new culture, I guess, so to speak.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Well, and you you mentioned that it's been very positively received, like nobody has really said anything bad. And that's what a rebrand will do. It's like it'll re-invigorate and reignite spark and excitement for your company. And so, um, you know, we've never had a rebrand that's been perceived negatively. It's always been like, why didn't we do this sooner? You know, and in general, people are excited for you guys and like they're happy, like, oh my gosh, I saw your new trucks, they look great, and like, oh, I love the new look. Like, congratulations to you guys. Like, people are more willing to celebrate than they are to like, oh my gosh, I'm not gonna use you guys anymore. And sometimes I think contracts can get in their own way for that fear, but I I want to say, like, hey, that fear almost shouldn't exist because you guys have seen it firsthand, right? Like, people have been very positive about it.
SPEAKER_01Definitely. Yeah, I've been shocked at the positive feedback. I mean, I knew people would be excited, but I didn't realize how much buzz it really would create.
The New Look: Green, Orange, Camo, Duck
SPEAKER_00So let's talk a little bit about the new brand. So um we we changed up those colors. So, like Riley said, the old was was royal blue and red, and like very common red, white, and blue, and we didn't go that way at all. Um, so we went with this very cool dark green, this bright orange, and we made the orange into a camo pattern and we added a mascot. We have a duck named Gage. Um, and so Gage is super cool, super fun. And so it definitely has this almost like kind of like hunting vibe, a little bit, but in a very friendly, approachable aspect, something that I think is very appropriate and applicable to the area that you guys live in in Georgia. And like, tell me about how your team received that because the team liked this new look as well, too. It felt authentic to them.
Team Buy-In And Culture Lift
SPEAKER_01Yes, it does. Uh so when we were finalizing uh our options that y'all presented to us, um, my number one thing that I had in mind was of course I wanted to stand out, I wanted it to really draw attention, especially driving down the road. I wanted, I wanted it to be loud, but the biggest thing I was worried about was our team buying in. Um, I think in the trade, just in general, it's a bunch of blue-collar workers who, for the most part, generally speaking, they just show up to do their job and go home. But we've got a really good team already in place, and they all have very similar interests, which is hunting animals, outdoors, camouflage. Um, so I really wanted it to be something that they are interested in because and it's shown um, they've blown me away with how they've bought into it because they're excited about it because it's something they like to do outside of work. So now that their work ties into their hobbies and their interests, it makes it easier for them to then go sell it to our customers because they truly enjoy it and they like the way it looks. They're excited about it. Um, it's something even just the clothes, it's clothes that they would wear outside of work. Um it's stuff that when they're not here, that's what they're doing. So that was the strategy, and I'm glad that we went with their interest above my personal interest or whatever it may be. Um, so that's the biggest thing was getting them to buy in. And the duck theme, out of all the themes that we had, definitely fits their interest, and it's only helped our culture, even in just a short period. Um, they're just they're excited about it, and sometimes it can be hard to get them excited about things like marketing.
Cost, Timeline, And Rollout Reality
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Well, it they wear the new apparel with pride, you know, they're proud of it. Like you said, like it just looks cool to wear, like they want to wear it outside of work and stuff, but it gives them another sense of pride, another level of buy-in, um, again, excitement and like it helps them feel solid about, you know, the place that they're choosing to work. And so when other people are like, oh my gosh, y'all look so good. I love your new look, I love your wraps, things like that. Like it only reinforces it to them. So um, it's been another just spark and excitement for your own team, which I think a lot of people truly undervalue and don't realize that peace that comes in doing a rebrand or just even like refreshing your look, making it look new and relevant, um, that excitement that can happen inside of your own team.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. It's been really exciting for us as management team, seeing them excited about what we're doing.
SPEAKER_00For sure. So, um, what would you say was the most challenging part in all this? Was it literally just the idea of change, or was it um the the cost and having to redo any of this stuff? What was the most scary piece of it?
SPEAKER_01The cost was very daunting. Um, but I I knew and I trusted that the cost would come back to us tenfold, and I really believe it's I really believe that it will. Um so besides cost, the scariest thing for me, and I'm still kind of in the trenches with this, is how long it takes. Um I didn't realize it's not just when Dustin and I talked about it two years ago and we had no clue what we were doing. I just thought we would change the logo and go on about our day and it would be fine. But it's it's been very overwhelming for me rolling out this brand because I didn't know until we were ready to launch what all really goes into it. It's not just changing your forms and your logos on a truck. I mean, so I would say the time commitment has been the biggest challenge for me and just what all really has gone into it.
Go All In: Lessons And Advice
SPEAKER_00And I would say, like, you guys, because we kind of went all in, you know, there there are different ways of how you can phase in a new logo. Like if it was a little bit more of like a true refresh, like there was a lot of similarities. You might can like ease in some of that change a little bit more. But because we did go so different with you guys, it was like, okay, we need to give it a little bit more giddy up to changing out all these things, just since like the colors weren't the same and um you know, totally different looks and vibes. But, you know, that is where you can really make that big impact and that splash that I think your customers have seen. And then, like how you said, um, we we at Liz Lemon Sea, we try very much to like put together like an actual plan because there is a lot that goes into it. Um, you know, it is it can be very daunting, but um, you know, we do try to help relieve some of that pain and put a plan of, okay, like maybe not everything's gonna change tomorrow, but here's what we need to prioritize this over this. Let's work on getting these changed out, then we'll go into this piece and this piece um to try to make it as seamless as a process. But it is a little bit, it is a challenge to do it, get it all rolled out, and you you don't even think of all the things that have your logo on it um until you got to change it all. But I think you would find that it's it's been worth it, right?
SPEAKER_01Oh, absolutely. And I will say without lemon seed telling us what to do and when to do it, it would have been a total failure on our end. So all credit to you and your team.
Expansion Plans And Closing CTA
SPEAKER_00Y'all, y'all say that often, but like y'all don't give yourself enough credit, you know. And I think it went over so well because one, I think you guys did trust us, and that means a lot to us, but in the same way of how you want your customers to rely on you guys to be the experts in in heating and cooling and what you're recommending to them, you guys trusted us with that same thing. So, like, hey, this is what we're telling you is gonna work as a brand. And you guys leaned into that and trusted that. Um, but also you guys do have an operationally successful company to where you could prepare to make these changes financially, operationally, internally. Your team trusts you guys and buy into you guys to where like you guys didn't have to go and like ask them, like, can we do this? Can we not? You guys presented as like, hey, here's where we're going to. And because they know and love and trust you and you did have their best interest in mind, like they followed suit and like they fully bought into it. But like that wasn't necessarily the design itself. That was the leadership and the buy-in that you guys already had to your team. Um, and so I think thank you for giving Lemon C credit to that, but like I also think you guys aren't giving yourselves enough credit because I think you did it in the right way. You put the right trust, but also the right decision making um in place to where like, hey, I'm not gonna go ask a million people and get a million different opinions. We're gonna weigh and consider these factors that we're considering, but like at the end of the day, we're gonna make the decision. Um, and you guys were pretty quick to make a decision. You didn't overthink it, you didn't draw it out. Um, you know, I think you guys did a lot of things in the right order and in the right manner um to where I think it's more success and more kudos to you guys than to us. We just made some good. Thank you. So what advice might you give to someone who is possibly considering doing a refresh or doing a complete rebrand?
SPEAKER_01I would say number one, just do it. Um regrets, right? Yeah. Number two, I would when we first started really getting serious about wanting to do it, uh, we were skeptical, like, do we change the name? Do we just do a true refresh, not a rebrand and keep the same color scheme, just do it in a different way? And we were sort of holding ourselves back at first, and then we had to really sit down and say, okay, no, if we're going to do this, we're going to trust the people who know what they're doing and go all in with it. So that'll be my biggest advice is don't do it halfway. Um, if you're going to do it, just I mean, I think we waited for the perfect timing. I would have loved to have done it even six months before, but we weren't in a place um internally where we were ready to fully take that step. And I'm glad that we didn't go ahead and do it when we were just halfway in. Um, I think that's made all the difference is we decided, okay, if we're going to do it, then we're going to do it 100%. We're not going to cut any corners with it. We're going to do all of it at once. So I would just suggest that to anyone. Just even though there's a lot of fear and a lot of skeptical feelings involved, I would just go ahead and do it and just trust that the process does work because it it very much does.
SPEAKER_00That's awesome. Well, speaking about that process, what do you see for the future for Raoul?
SPEAKER_01See, hopefully more locations. Um, we're in a very small area for our direct service area, I would say. Our market um has a lot of potential, but our service area is unique in the sense that Waynesboro, our town, is very small, but it's within 30 to 40 miles of a few different bigger areas. Um I would say I I'm ready to expand into those markets, which that really was what pushed us to do the rebrand, is we're ready to make that big step, that big jump. Um, of course, we love our Waynesboro market. We're not going anywhere, but I would say just expanding out. That's that's the biggest goal.
SPEAKER_00Well, and it'll make that expansion so much easier when you have something that's so disruptive and that gets noticed. When you guys do go into those new markets, I know you will immediately already start to stand out from the other people that were already there. And so um, that's exciting to play a small part into your guys's future growth and success there. So um thank you for this conversation. Thank you for trusting us with it. Um, you know, we are so excited for what is next for Raoul. Um, I think immediate wins and successes right now, but I think you guys are also positioned and set up for long-term growth and long-term success. And you've been around, you know, for over 70 years, and I think you guys will easily be around for over 70 more. And um, you know, you guys have a very tight-knit run family company. Um, you guys are doing great things, and so thank you for letting us play a part in this.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, thank you. We couldn't do this without y'all. We're super thankful for this partnership and we just want to keep going with y'all and keep growing with y'all by our side. We're just really appreciative.
SPEAKER_00Well, we are too. Well, thank you for listening to another episode of From the Yellow Chair. If you want to see for yourself the Rowl rebrand, um, check out the Lemon Seed social medias. We're gonna be posting this along with some of the assets that Raoul got as part of this rebrand process so that you could actually see what it looks like versus just hearing us talk about it. So we know that you'll love it. Raoul, thank you for trusting us and um so glad that each of your team members are are proud to wear it. We're proud that they're proud. And so um, thank you for listening to another episode. Follow us on all our social media channels. You you um little bump there. Lemonseed from the yellow chair is powered by lemon seed. You can check out lemonseedmarketing.com to see how we might could help you, your brand, and your marketing grow to future success. Thanks for listening.