Dianne Canham

Ask any marketing leader what their top five objectives are, and you can guarantee establishing their company as a thought leader will be high on the list. But while it’s a universal marketing goal, it’s often not clear exactly what value thought leadership delivers to the business. Marketing and PR often suffer from the fact it’s hard to put a definitive monetary value on activity and results, and this is doubly so for thought leadership.

After more than 20 years in cyber security PR and marketing, we know full well what kind of results a successful thought leadership campaign can deliver. We’ve helped establish security vendors as respected experts in their fields and seen them rapidly expand their market share as a result.

To back up our experience with something more tangible, we commissioned a survey into the impact of thought leadership on CISOs and other cyber security decision makers. We had some very powerful results from our first round of research, but this time we decided to go global, surveying more than 800 decision makers from around the world.

One of the most striking findings was the fact that three quarters (74 percent) of CISOs told us they would be willing to pay a premium to work with a cybersecurity vendor they consider to be a thought leader in its market sector.

Further, we also found that thought leadership has a strong influence throughout the entire buying process, all the way from researching industry challenges and shortlisting suppliers, to making final choices on vendor contracts. Nearly half of respondents said they had used thought leadership content when weighing up their final decision to appoint a vendor, and over a third have increased business with existing suppliers because of strong thought leadership.

In short, our research made it clear that good thought leadership absolutely contributes value to the business, providing a powerful boost to a cybersecurity vendor’s ability to attract, win and retain business.

If you’d like more insight, you can download a free copy of our free report. Highlights include:

• How thought leadership influences cyber security purchasing decisions.
• A look into the mind of a CISO – how they spend their time and what they want from content.
• The topics and mediums that make the most successful and influential content.
• The impact of COVID on the future of thought leadership.
• Practical steps on becoming an industry guru.
• Individual viewpoints from CISO and marketing specialists

Click here to download your copy now

We recently led a webinar with Insight Partners where we delved into just how influential thought leadership is on the cyber security buying process, fuelled by our new research report Inside the Mind of the CISO 2021.

You can watch the webinar in full below for insight into how CISOs consume thought leadership content, how it influences their purchasing decisions, and what kind of topics and mediums are most likely to make an impact.

Alongside the research, Code Red founder Dianne Canham is on hand to share the wisdom of more than 20 years in cyber security PR and marketing, and you’ll also find a case study on how privilege access management specialist Thycotic built up its position as an industry leader.

You can watch the webinar in full via the embedded video bellow:

Or head over to Insight Partners here if you’d like to download a copy.

Finally, to read the results of our research in full, click here to download your free copy of the Inside the Mind of the CISO 2021 report.

New UK survey reveals thought leadership helps cyber security vendors influence and build relationships with CISOs 

More than eight out of 10 (84 percent) IT security decision makers are more likely to work with an organisation that publishes thought leadership content over those that don’t, according to new research. More than 200 senior security decision-makers were surveyed on how thought leadership influences their behaviour by Code Red, an international cyber security specialist PR network. The findings reveal that good thought leadership impacts CISO’s decisions and can put them ahead of their competitors.

The research shows security decision-makers spend more than three hours every week consuming thought leadership content. The amount of time spent consuming thought leadership impacts attitudes towards the organisation that publishes it, with three in five senior security decision-makers stating that it increases respect, trust and perception of an organisation’s capabilities. 74 percent say they are willing to pay a premium price to a cyber security vendor who is a thought leader in their market.

The findings revealed that thought leadership has an impact on the jobs of those who consume it. On average, almost 40 percent of respondents said they believe thought leadership content helps them do their job better with 61 percent claiming it has helped influence a different way of working. The format has a huge influence on its success as Code Red discovered 47 percent prefer factual content through a case study format, followed by the accessibility of podcasts (40 percent), and news articles and webinars (both 39 percent).

Commenting on the findings, Code Red managing director, Dianne Canham said: “This research highlights exactly why cyber security vendors need to invest in creating compelling thought leadership content. A common misconception is that thought leadership only drives initial brand awareness. The findings highlight the role played by different types of thought leadership content throughout the sales buying process from awareness to purchase and beyond. Every marketer working for a cyber security vendor can use this data to justify allocating extra budget to building a thought leadership position for their business.

“To create content that will reach and influence CISOs and other key audiences, organisations must balance fresh, relevant insights and advice with a format that is convenient and accessible. Thought leadership is one of the most powerful tools in a marketer’s arsenal – if you can strike the right balance.”

You can view the full results of the survey here, in our free e-book.