August 3, 2022

Marketers are Ethical Hackers Prove Me Wrong with Clark Barron

by Breaking Through in Cybersecurity Marketing

Listen Now

test
Marketers are Ethical Hackers Prove Me Wrong with Clark Barron

August 3, 2022 Breaking Through in Cybersecurity Marketing

00:00:00

Show Notes

Joining Maria and Gianna this week is Clark Barron, the Demand Generation Manager at Nisos. He has a background in cybersecurity marketing, photography, and independent film, and is an avid gamer. Clark shares his unconventional ways of lead generation through websites. Every marketing campaign might feel like it says the same thing, but Clark defies the user’s expectations to bring in user interest and stand out in the field.

 

Timecoded Guide: 

[05:48] Marketers are hackers of different colors

[09:14] Campaigns that changed the game

[15:08] How Clark tracks his unprecedented marketing campaigns

[22:31] Communicating with leadership to try your ideas

How can marketers apply this approach to messaging branding?

Marketers have more influence and power than they often realize. The similarity between hackers and marketers is that marketers are gathering data in an ethical manner. Both are building personas, exploiting pain points, researching, and reaching vulnerabilities. Clark believes that is the power of choice to be good ethical marketers. 

“Marketers, a lot of times, don't realize the kind of powers that they have, they have to make a choice to use them for good. That's the way I look at it.”

 

How have specific campaigns you’ve implemented changed the game?

Clark started his process by evaluating voice and brand identity. He sat back and watched what others were doing. Noticing that all the cybersecurity websites were saying the same thing over and over, Clark decided to take action in a wacky way. He developed a marketing strategy that changed the game.

“Subvert their expectations from the very beginning. They're expecting one thing, and they're getting something completely different. We know what they're expecting, but instead, what we're gonna do is, we're gonna say, ‘Enjoy a completely different cybersecurity landing page.’”

 

 How do you have conversations with leadership to go along with these ideas?

The first step is to have those conversations. If the CEO or higher-up doesn’t understand marketing processes, then you need to have those conversations with them. Long-term growth is what you should be working toward. Before you cast out the big campaigns, you have to have small wins so you’re better prepared for a marketing plan with bigger risks.

“A lot of bigger organizations are not going to be able to do this. I have that level of self-awareness that I know that, however, what you can do is change the way you look at conversations with leadership.”

______

Links: 

Find Clark Barron on his website or LinkedIn and check out his blog here!

Follow Gianna on LinkedIn.

Catch up with Maria on LinkedIn.

Grab your ticket to the Cyber Marketing Con 2022.

Join the Cybersecurity Marketing Society on our website, and keep up with us on Twitter.

Keep up with Hacker Valley on our website, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Twitter

Additional resources: Nisos, PhishFirewall, DEF CON, Cybersecurity Marketing Society, Celeste

Read more

Recent Episodes

March 30, 2023
by Breaking Through in Cybersecurity Marketing

This week, Hushly CMO James Kessinger joins hosts Gianna and Maria to talk about the "bowtie" funnel and marketing's new(er) role in creating upsell and cross-sell opportunities. They discuss ABM, the unique buyer in cybersecurity, and tying experien...

March 16, 2023
by Breaking Through in Cybersecurity Marketing

Welcome to Breaking Through in Cybersecurity Marketing, where we explore the hottest topics in cyber marketing, interview experts and help you become a better cybersecurity marketer! In this episode, Tom Kish, Director of Growth Marketing at Cardinal...

March 8, 2023
by Breaking Through in Cybersecurity Marketing

In this episode, Samara Williams, Senior Manager of Security Engineering at New Relic, joins Maria and Gianna to share her insights on building relationships and making strategic partnerships in the cybersecurity industry. She talks about the i...

March 1, 2023
by Breaking Through in Cybersecurity Marketing

In this episode, Gianna and Maria interview Michelle Radlowski, Sr. Director, AMS & EMEA Regional Marketing and ABM at DigiCert, Inc. (former Director of Regional Marketing at Zscaler). Michelle shares her experience of working in the IT tech space f...

February 22, 2023
by Breaking Through in Cybersecurity Marketing

This week, Kelsey LaBelle joins hosts Gianna and Maria to talk about marketing soft skills and returning to empathy in the workplace. Kelsey, who is the VP of Marketing at DomainTools, also shares how she works soft skills in her role at the company....

February 15, 2023
by Breaking Through in Cybersecurity Marketing

This week, Claire Mckenna and Michelle Rawlings join us from BARR Advisory to talk about their roles and how they work with numerous people in the field to bolster their company’s goals. Claire is the senior writer and researcher at BARR while Michel...

February 8, 2023
by Breaking Through in Cybersecurity Marketing

Joining us this week is Chris Spellman, Senior Demand Generation Manager at SCYTHE. Chris has been in cybersecurity marketing for over six years and has also worked in marketing operations and analytics. Gianna and Maria ask Chris about his marketing...

February 1, 2023
by Breaking Through in Cybersecurity Marketing

Along with your hosts Gianna and Maria, this week we have Joshua Gonzalez joining us from Beyond Identity to talk shop in creativity. Joshua comes from years of experience as an actor on broadway and on screens—you may have even seen him on the Trave...

January 25, 2023
by Breaking Through in Cybersecurity Marketing

This week, Wade Wells joins us to talk about being on the board of BSides San Diego, being a brand ambassador, and being on a podcast—all while also being a mentor and working his day job. Gianna and Maria ask Wade about his research workflow and why...

January 18, 2023
by Breaking Through in Cybersecurity Marketing

Shaun Walsh joins today, offering a cybersecurity marketer’s handbook worth of advice in navigating job transitions in the industry. Shaun, a veteran in the cyber industry, is the Vice President of Global Marketing at SimSpace. We’ve all been there—a...