June has been a busy month for the cybersecurity industry. It was refreshing to see a host of both familiar and brand new faces at two events this month: RSA in San Francisco and Infosecurity Europe in London. Across my three days at RSA and one day at Infosec (thanks to an unfortunately-timed train strike), and my countless conversations with professionals in the cyber industry, I noticed a few common themes that reinforced just how important it is to establish a compelling and unique brand narrative.
A crowded market
Cybersecurity is still a very crowded market, and there are a lot of overlaps in vendor offerings. This is exacerbated by the fact that every year a major overarching theme emerges, homogenizing the messaging that brands go out with. In 2018 the introduction of the GDPR and the impact of AI and automation dominated conversations. In 2019 concern surrounded the growing impact of ransomware. But this year, one of the stand-out themes is indisputably Zero Trust.
One of the biggest buzzwords in cybersecurity, Zero Trust has become a key consideration and is top-of-mind for many CISOs. But with so many vendors and big industry names building their campaigns, messaging, and USPs around the concept of Zero Trust, how can CISOs and key decision makers differentiate?
Building a brand story
To stand for something more than just the latest buzzword, tech companies need to find their unique position in the market. By refining Go to Market strategy and market positioning through collaborative workshops, vendors are able to articulate their unique selling point, market fit, and brand story, distilling this information down into their overarching brand essence. With this clear picture of who they are and their product’s true value, they can effectively appeal to their customers’ human emotions. When applying concepts like Zero Trust, tech players also need to remain honest and pragmatic, providing clarity on what aspects they support and how, without over-promising or getting carried away with technical jargon. There are also opportunities to play on the popularity of these well-known terms to create attention-grabbing marketing, like Appgate’s stand at Infosec, for example.
Terms like Zero Trust are still important in quickly grabbing customers’ attention, but without a unique story and brand personality to back them up, tech vendors end up looking confusingly similar. That’s why at FMXA, we help tech players avoid homogenous campaigns, whether they’re a seed-funded startup or an established market leader. By building purposeful brands strengthened by concise, localized content, we ensure that you hit the language and trends that your customers want to hear, while crafting a unique brand story that gives you credibility.
Guerrilla marketing
I couldn’t talk about RSA and Infosec without mentioning the creative and eye-catching campaigns that stood out to me. Some of the vendors who didn’t have dedicated stands were still engaging with customers in unique and innovative ways, both in and out of the conference halls.
At RSA, I was thrilled to see SecureAuth’s guerrilla campaign promoting their brand new product offering, which was featured on digivans and placards around the Moscone Center (pictured below). Their new product name, Arculix, was a product of several workshops and brainstorms held earlier this year by the team at FMXA. By looking at language translations and connotations, and drawing upon the GTM strategy and brand messaging we previously established, we came up with Arculix, a fusion of Arculus, the Roman God of lockboxes, and helix, which ties back to their digital DNA concept.
Walking around both RSA and Infosec Europe, it struck me how open, friendly, and welcoming everyone was. And with many vendors leaning toward more relatable and emotive messaging, it’s clear that humanizing technology, FMXA’s key mission, is more important than ever. By putting the target audience at the center of a clear and consistent story, tech companies can remain memorable beyond the booths of the convention center.
I can’t wait to do it all over again at Black Hat in August!
Please drop me a message if you’d like to chat at an upcoming event, or if you’d like to find out more about FMXA and our experience humanizing tech.
