Hello and welcome to Brand Building: a course about Developing an Authentic Cybersecurity Brand in partnership with the Cybersecurity Marketing Society.
Please reference our syllabus here. You can find the brand audit template here.
I’m Elliot Volkman, a journalist turned brand builder with about two decades of related experience, nearly 10 of those being in cybersecurity.
This series is designed to offer you an introductory look and branding and takes a philosophical perspective-as opposed to a tactical or overly strategic one-to instill a foundation that will apply to your current and future work. The reason is that branding is as much an art form as it can offer a structured process, but being overly prescriptive is the fastest way to finding yourself with a lukewarm approach.
That is because it is absolutely crucial that you adopt a mindset that encourages diverse opinions, which opens the door for more creative and connected outcomes. And more than anything else, the branding process never ends. It’s up to us to constantly evaluate, audit, test, and measure the effectiveness of what we are building. That means constant conversations with all segments that a brand touches, which in practicality are your customers, partners, employees, and prospects.
As for the format of this course, you can expect each module’s corresponding video to last around 20 minutes. That way, you can either binge through them all, digest them at whatever pace you prefer, or just skip to a section that is most relevant to you. I also hope to invite some other experts along for the ride so you, of course, gain diverse perspectives beyond my own.
At the completion of this course, you will have conducted a brand audit, identified ways to lean into a customer-centric tone while shifting away from feature-based positioning, and have the necessary tools to measure your impact. This will not guide you toward how you can fully rebrand your organization or build your visual identity; however, these elements will be discussed. If you follow along each module, you’ll be better prepared to identify gaps in your branding strategy, create a more holistic approach across your entire company, and, most importantly, build a unique and authentic voice that connects with your community.
Our Learning Mascot, Chaos
But, before we get into it, let me introduce you to my assistant: Chaos the Capybara. Chaos is the perfect example of what can go wrong in branding and will share scenarios that you will or may already have faced. As brand builders, storytellers, or marketing leaders, it’s up to us to embrace chaos rather than allow it to slow us down. To do that, we must be agile, over-communicate, and use data like a laser-guided missile to accomplish our goals.
Alright, enough of my soapbox and on to the actual lesson. Let’s start with some context:
What the hell is branding, and what does it have to do with cybersecurity and SaaS companies?
