Why I Joined Threatpost

Dennis Fisher on joining Threatpost:

When I first was presented with the opportunity to get in on the ground floor of Threatpost and help get the site up and running, I was excited for a number of different reasons. The most intriguing aspect of the project was the idea of standing up an independent editorial site inside the walls of a technology company. Just a couple of years earlier, the idea would have seemed absurd. But in today’s climate, where traditional publishing companies are struggling mightily and fighting for every ad dollar, I knew we had a very good shot to succeed. I’ve been a journalist for more than 15 years and never envisioned myself working for a vendor in any capacity, but I took a hard look around the publishing industry and saw that with the right editorial talent and support from within Kaspersky, Threatpost would work. The other main reason I wanted to leave the traditional publishing world and start this project was the chance to build something from the ground up and have complete editorial freedom. While other security sites may focus more on features and soft news, our focus at Threatpost from the beginning has been on breaking news, getting the best information to our readers as quickly as possible and helping them stay ahead of the threats to the networks. The executive team at Kaspersky has given us carte blanche to cover the stories we want, supported us without fail anytime a question has arisen internally or externally about our coverage and never asked us to stay away from a controversial story. That’s an incredibly rare thing today. I wouldn’t have joined the company without this, and it’s perhaps the biggest secret to our success. The site would have had no credibility and died on the vine without it, and that support has given us the freedom and confidence to write what we need to write. [Read More][Collapse]

Paul Roberts on joining Threatpost:

Before joining Threatpost in August, 2010, I spent more than a decade covering hacking and computer security as a reporter, editor and industry analyst. During that time, I watched the balance of power in the publishing industry shift, as technology and the Internet dismantled the status quo and empowered an army of knowledgeable users to become micro publishers and content creators. It became clear to me that the future of publishing lay not with traditional media companies, but with small, focused and ambitious publications like Kaspersky Lab and Threatpost that could balance resources and subject matter expertise with strong reporting and a sophisticated online operation.

In less than two years, Threatpost.com has attracted a large reading audience and led the way in its coverage of software security (and insecurity), malicious code outbreaks, hacking and cybercrime. We’re a hard hitting, editorially independent news Web site with a mission to raise the level of reporting and discussion about online threats for an audience of savvy readers. As an experienced security reporter and editor, I appreciate that the site’s independence allows me to both shape the discussion around security and to pursue security topics of interest and importance that can’t get space in the mainstream media. As the site matures, I am confident that Threatpost.com will continue to set a high bar on reporting about issues related to computer and software security. [Read More][Collapse]

Ryan Naraine on joining Threatpost:

After spending more than 10 years in the traditional IT media, covering everything from the dot-com boom and bust to Microsoft’s security transformation, it was clear that media was moving in a different direction. The explosion of blogs and micro-publishing and the emergence of social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter have changed the way we consume information. When Kaspersky Lab approached me to work on content creation and distribution, the idea of doing this in an “independent,” vendor-agnostic way was intriguing. I could discuss security threats, trends and assist with user education without the burden of being a “salesperson” attempting to sell a product. At the time, the IT media sector was struggling, weighed down by a decline in advertising spending and hurt by new competition from micro-publishers. It was a no-brainer. [Read More][Collapse]

Why Threatpost?

A Perspective from the Chief Marketing Officer

On the face of it, Threatpost seems fairly counter-intuitive. Why would a software company invest so much of its time and marketing resources into a social media news site? How would the CMO reconcile this effort with the CFO? Where’s the payback?

Well, there are several game-changing reasons.

Reason #1 – Fulfill the Corporate Mission

Kaspersky Lab’s corporate mission has been to invest wherever it can to keep its customers safe from cyber-attacks and online threats. The unprecedented rise of cybercriminal activities in the last few years (now at 30,000+ unique malicious attacks daily) had Kaspersky’s management team evaluating the company’s options on how best to respond. The first obvious answer has always been to continually enhance the IT security technologies we deliver to each device the company protects (smartphones, laptops, servers, gateways). But the question remained – to how to go even further.

One of the biggest challenges we recognized was raising the awareness levels, specifically for businesses, as to the nature of the threats they face. At Kaspersky, we pride ourselves on our rapid responsiveness to threats. Coming from this perspective, we searched for ways to make highly pertinent information about the current state of the cyber-threat landscape more immediately accessible. When the concept of aggregating and syndicating web content appeared on the scene, it was immediately recognized as the way.

Threatpost delivers on this challenge, monitoring several thousand sites and postings each day to find meaningful information to help support a more informed business IT community to the security risks in today’s evolving cyber-world. Threatpost does this in a way that brings more relevance and immediacy to this news by providing its own commentary and analysis around these stories. We complement these with our own unique blend of writing and editorial. We then apply a core philosophy of openness and transparency that, in essence, directs our readers away to the original content, with the understanding that if we serve our readers well, they will return again and again. Threatpost has become the first stop for security news for more than 100,000 readers each month. [Read More][Collapse]

Reason #2 –Establish Thought Leadership to Support the Brand [Read]

Reason #2 –Establish Thought Leadership to Support the Brand [Collapse]

Kaspersky Lab represents a fairly daunting marketing challenge. It entered the North American market at a time –
– when buyers viewed anti-virus/anti-malware software as highly commoditized;
– where pricing pressures were driving prices downward;
– and, most significantly, where it had zero brand recognition going up against two of the most recognizable technology brands in the market – Symantec and McAfee.

One approach that was clearly not possible – market Kaspersky to the business community by following in the footsteps of these well-established, extremely well-funded competitors. What was needed was a different yet impactful approach to address the issues of brand building.

From our company’s beginning, Kaspersky Lab was always seen as the “expert’s expert,” a sort of Cadillac in the anti-virus business. We have always been highly regarded in the IT security business, the proof of which today has Kaspersky inside more than 100 of the world’s leading IT, networking and security technology vendors as the anti-malware engine of choice for their own customers. The question the Marketing team had to resolve was how do we embrace this point of difference? Threatpost is clearly an example of the uniqueness of this position.

The editorial team chosen are among the finest journalists covering security issues for the IT media – Ryan Naraine, former senior security editor at eWeek and lead security blogger at ZDNet and is still the go-to security reporter in the industry for breaking news; Dennis Fisher, with over a decade of security reporting experience includes positions as senior editor at eWeek and news director at SearchSecurity and Information Security Magazine; and Paul Roberts, a decade of experience as both a senior editor at InfoWorld Media Group, senior writer at eWeek and lead enterprise security analyst at The 451 Group.

This has been a serious undertaking. We have made every effort to stay true to our editorial mission, with very strict rules of engagement. For instance, we have very firm policies separating “church from state.” Editorial never discusses products; it does not discuss corporate strategies – for Kaspersky Lab or any other company. There is zero marketing in the “editorial well”.

Reason #3 – Solve the Age Old B2B Marketing Dilemma [Read]

Reason #3 – Solve the Age Old B2B Marketing Dilemma [Collapse]

Hands down, the biggest challenge to B2B marketers is the issue of content. Without content, marketers can’t build meaningful programs. Without programs, life for a marketer is especially challenging.

At Kaspersky Lab, we traditionally had only a few things to help us market our products – free trial downloads of our software, price reductions and the rarely occasional white paper. Life on the marketing front was pretty uninspiring. From our very earliest days, the search was on to get compelling content.

Threatpost has become a B2B marketers dream come true. It represents content on steroids. Now all special analyses, all online programs (interviews, panel discussions, webcasts) can be promoted to drive traffic to the site, where our traditional web marketing assets reside (banners, sponsorships, etc…), and, more importantly, this content is being fully re-purposed as marketing program content for additional outreach by the company. This approach has yielded exceptional results, today driving the vast majority of all leads generated for Kaspersky Lab Corporate business.

A really nice added benefit is that now programs are generating even greater involvement and leads, because, in many ways, Kaspersky Lab’s marketing approach has become inverted. So, rather than a programs leading with Kaspersky and being seen as yet another marketing program from a vendor, our marketing outreach programs have evolved to become Threatpost programs, sponsored by Kaspersky Lab. Very nice.

Reason #4 – Get Close to Our Channels [Read]

Reason #4 – Get Close to Our Channels [Collapse]

From its very earliest OEM roots as a supplier of anti-virus protection to other technology vendors and providers, Kaspersky Lab has always sold its technologies and products through indirect channels. As such, the company depends on other companies, most of whom also sell our competitors’ software. Gaining mindshare is the name of the game with these reseller partner businesses.

Threatpost draws us much closer to these partners than any other vendor in our market space. We have chosen our partners as the core of our syndication model. As a partner at a certain Kaspersky Partner Program level, your company has the opportunity to syndicate this rich security news and analysis content on your own company’s web site. Not only are you able to use this ever-changing content to drive new traffic, but all Kaspersky promotional units content in and around the editorial are intended for your own lead generation activities. A banner or sponsorship link is clicked; someone registers for the offer; and that lead is automatically registered in the Kaspersky CRM database, with the lead instantly and exclusively distributed to your company.

Through this syndication, our business partners get rich, traffic building content they can call their own, and they get automated lead generation without lifting a finger. Something that no competitor can offer.

Reason #5 – Monetization [Read]

Reason #5 – Monetization [Collapse]

This happens to be the sweetest part of the equation. When taking into account – banner ad placements, newsletter sponsorships, content re-purposing, lead generation through various sources, white papers, webinars, events and more that are created as part of this unique corporate journalism site – Threatpost is delivering to Kaspersky Lab a more than 2-to-1 return on its investment… and growing. Conversations these days with the CFO are quite pleasant.