Headcrab. Kinsing. Operation CuckooBees. The cybersecurity marketing space is buzzing with research attempting to reveal something new about the latest cyber threats. Sometimes it’s a race to break news, and other times, it’s a slow burn that requires careful planning and creativity.
PR and marketing pros must translate technical findings for the masses, and authentically communicate them to deliver value for the community, drive interest with media, and ultimately, raise the company’s profile. And as more vendors create teams to explore the latest threats, cutting through industry noise is more difficult than ever.
There’s a fine line between research that will set the industry on fire and findings that, well, just fizzle with a puff of smoke. Enter an upcoming session with our resident Look Left threat research smartypants, Jennifer Tanner! She’ll lead a roster of distinguished cybersecurity marketing experts at CyberMarketingCon in Philadelphia on a panel called “Hacking Threat Research Marketing: Proven Strategies for Success.”
The cybersecurity PR experts
Jennifer Tanner, senior vice president, Look Left Marketing: Jennifer has worked in B2B marketing and PR for more than 15 years, representing Aqua Security, Black Kite and many others. Leading the PR team representing Aqua, Jennifer published research that garnered 175 media hits and drove dozens of qualified marketing leads. She’s been in the trenches with communications leaders and marketers for years, and her understanding of their pain points and challenges will ensure that she leads an engaging, beneficial discussion.
Bill Keeler, senior director, PR communications, Semperis: Bill was formerly the senior director of global public relations at Cybereason, where he worked directly with the research team to publish findings and secure coverage in the tier-one business press, including CNN, AP and many others. He worked with subject matter experts to launch Operation Soft Cell, the biggest cybersecurity breach discovery of 2019 which led to more than 2500 pieces of global media coverage.
Nicole Canulla, senior director, corporate marketing, Aqua Security: Nicole has worked with globally based research teams at several companies, including Kaspersky, ESET and Cybereason. Her unique experience working with teams from Israel, Russia, Slovakia, etc., gives her significant insight into building relationships across different cultures.
Jessica Lavery, former VP of marketing, Black Kite: Jessica was instrumental in creating, publishing and promoting Veracode’s highly successful “State of Software Security” report, which she turned into a storytelling tool. At Black Kite, she worked hand in hand with the BRITE research team, which closely monitors ransomware actors on the dark web, to publish findings and deeply insightful reports about the state of ransomware.
Cybersecurity marketing tips from the pros
The panel will discuss real cybersecurity PR experiences related to marketing threat research and will offer lessons learned and tips for getting coverage. The session will explore the following areas:
Building relationships
To get good coverage for threat research, PR and marketing teams must collaborate with research teams. The panel will provide tips for liaising between the teams, including working across time zones and cultures and managing realistic deadlines. They’ll discuss their approaches to making the research and spokespeople media-ready to get the most from conversations with reporters.
Finding the story
In all pitches, there’s an art to crafting a narrative that supports the organization’s value proposition. This is especially true when pitching threat research, which must be framed for the media and buyers to drive maximum results. This can require marketers to slice and dice findings for different verticals and to find creative angles that grab the attention of reporters and their readers.
Learning from experience
The experts will share real-life examples of challenges related to marketing threat research, including when to announce, what to do if competitors publish similar research and how to handle news that involves partners.
If you’re on a PR or marketing team that promotes any type of research, you don’t want to miss this panel. The discussion will be live at CyberMarketingCon in Philly on Tuesday, Dec. 10, at 2:30 pm EST. Get tickets, and we hope to see you there!
