You now have your brand guidelines and understand why straightforward information within it helps empower others to align with your strategy, so let’s talk analyst relations. In cybersecurity, the larger the customer organizations you go after, the more important analysts become. That is not to say that if you specifically target startups that there is no value there, but much of the relationship starts off as pay-to-play, shifts into lobbying and influence, and eventually becomes mutually beneficial as you find your equilibrium.
Please reference our syllabus here. You can find the brand audit template here.
For a quick soapbox moment, I’ll keep this brief:
Your brand is not your category.
Your brand will be influenced by your category.
Your brand CAN be a category you create, but with the caveat that it comes with heavy risks.
Here is a quick example. One of which I shared prior.
Was Oreo the first in its category of cookies? No. Hydrox, which is a horrible name, was the original sandwich cookie. Regardless, when you see Hydrox cookies, you see Oreos. Because that is branding.
Here is a more clear example:
When you need to blow your nose, do you ask someone for a facial tissue or tissue paper? Nope. You probably ask for Kleenex. How about when you ask someone for a vaccum cleaner in the UK? They may call it a Hoover. The magic of branding.
Their brand names are so powerful that they colloquially have been adopted as the category vs the brand. That is both fantastic and a bit problematic, but usually only later on for legal and compliance reasons.
Now, back to cybersecurity.
We are not going to see brands fully owning and taking over categories like that. Instead, cybersecurity tech brands build in categories like AI or Zero Trust. When you do this, it dilutes the value of your brand. You lose authenticity and uniqueness. BUT, is there value in doing this? For Zero Trust, absolutely not because it’s not a product. For AI? Perhaps because it is currently seen as a technological concept and holds specific meaning behind it.
I personally wouldn’t want to slap AI on me today, but maybe 5 to 10 years ago as a pioneer it would make more sense. And that is the power of category creation and early adoption.
Ok, soap box moment over.
In the context of analyst relations, it is important to remember that your category does not solely define your brand. Analysts play a significant role in shaping perceptions and providing insights. As part of branding efforts, it is essential to engage with analysts, communicate your brand's unique value proposition, and build strong relationships based on trust and credibility.
Your company’s vision and product roadmap should absolutely be aligned with your current and future categories, though. For that, it’s time to bring in an expert who can better articulate the importance of analyst relations and where the brand falls into place.
Branding as it Relates to Analyst Relations