RSAC is here again – and this year’s conference is promised to be bigger, better and busier than ever.
If you’re in marketing or PR at a cybersecurity company, RSAC is your Super Bowl. Love it or hate it, the conference is impossible to ignore and consistently garners significant media attention.
So, how can your brand stand out amid the noise during and coming out of the jam-packed event? The answer involves a strategic approach to communications and some big thinking that pushes the boundaries far beyond the Moscone Center.
Timing Matters
RSAC is a crowded and noisy event. Hundreds of vendors are on the show floor, all vying to attract people, including journalists and influencers, to their booths with creative designs, food and news. This is on top of the hundreds of other cybersecurity companies not at the show trying to get into the news cycle by putting out press releases on funding, product updates, partnerships and more.
The threshold for getting attention for an announcement to resonate on the show floor is high. If you have significant financial news or a new product launch that’s solving a pressing problem in the industry, it may warrant a news release at the event. However, remember that some of the biggest news items that take up reporter and attendee time come from the giants already on their radar. For example, Wiz announced its $1B funding round last year and dominated the news cycle, while Palo Alto announced its Precision AI solution. The Wiz news, especially, dominated headlines and conversations throughout the entire conference.
If you don’t want your news to get lost, or don’t feel it reaches the caliber described above, fret not – there are alternatives:
- Put news out before the event: Putting news out before the event can ensure it gets its moment in the sun and does not get lost in the flurry of announcements during the week of April 28. For brands attending RSAC, the news can then serve as a hook to set up reporter meetings on the show floor and announce your presence, booth location and speaking slot (if you have one). For companies not on the RSAC show floor, putting out a press release before the event can ensure your brand is top of mind as reporters go to write industry or news roundups the week of or after the event.
- Wait until after the event: Patience can pay off when it comes to a news announcement. Instead of vying for attention from reporters the week of RSAC, wait until the security news cycle has returned to equilibrium. This gives companies the opportunity to add any reflections, trends or findings discussed at the conference into the news to make the announcement extra timely. It also allows those on the show floor to “preview” the news to reporters, VIP customers and prospects, which can help forge better relationships with those entities and create excitement and demand. Additionally, waiting until after the event allows teams to leverage images taken at RSAC for social media, blog posts, and even with the press release.
No News? Survey Says No Problem
If you don’t have “hard” news to time with RSAC, don’t fret. You can always manufacture news to drive attention to your brand. One tried-and-true way to do this is by creating and announcing research at the event – which could include analyst reports, influencer research reports, releasing insights from proprietary data, or a survey report examining industry trends, challenges and opportunities. Any of these reports can help establish your company as a thought leader in the space and give journalists compelling data or insights to incorporate into trends and stories coming out of the conference – making sure your brand is included in relevant conversations.
Beyond RSAC, survey reports can be used across sales and marketing to engage key audiences continuously. V2 often crafts research reports with clients – based on either proprietary data or commissioned surveys – and works with our clients to use them in myriad ways, including:
- Being the topic of future webinars
- Diving into specific stats in a series of blog posts
- Using the data to create compelling social media fodder
- Incorporating the information into speaking applications as proof points of pertinent market trends and
- Of course, referencing the data in relevant pitches to engage media
Those looking to get extra eyeballs on the data can also consider amplifying reports via native ads to draw key audiences to the content.
Thinking Beyond the Show Floor
Engaging attendees outside the traditional conference environment through experiential or targeted marketing can create memorable interactions and strengthen relationships. Whether or not you have a booth on the show floor, cybersecurity brands can consider investing in tactics beyond traditional media relations to grab attention. Consider:
- Unique, Branded Experiences: Events outside the Moscone Center can provide opportunities for deeper engagement with potential clients and partners in a more relaxed (or fun!) setting. Dinners and happy hours are always a win, but don’t be afraid to think outside the box here. A themed night, scavenger hunt or exclusive panel with cybersecurity bigwigs and influencers can make your brand stand out on the list of after-hours events.
- Along-the-Journey Touchpoints: Just because you don’t have a massive booth in the middle of Moscone doesn’t mean you can’t still show up at RSAC. Consider taking advantage of on-the-way touchpoints with customers and prospects to put your brand in the spotlight – whether that’s billboard ads on the highway to or from the airport, banner advertisements in the airport itself, giving Uber or Lyft vouchers to a select group or setting up a branded coffee truck on the way to or from the Moscone Center.
These initiatives can – and should – be heavily promoted on corporate and employee social media handles to further the reach of these activations while driving traffic and engagement to your brand channels.
Just writing this post is getting us pumped for RSAC. If you’re going to be there, let us know! V2 will be there to mingle with current, past and future clients, deepen our knowledge of current and emerging trends by participating in the sessions, check out the booths (and see what merch and snacks rank supreme this year), and, of course, see all the impactful ideas marketers help bring to fruition. We hope to see you there!