🤯 Black Hat 2024 was wild. We’re a Series A startup that generated a ton of buzz and blew out our MQL goal despite being a small booth tucked in the corner. I’ve had several people reach out to ask how we did it, so here are 3 unconventional tactics that really worked for us.
1️⃣ Ditch the product messaging entirely.
This was the most controversial. We had no booth messaging at all, passing by all you saw was an old school record store and a phrase “beyond patching”. In a sea of similar messaging (find risk, prioritize risk, fix risk), we opted to go for the provocative hook with a demo at the ready.
This may not work for every conference, but it felt right for Black Hat in Vegas.
2️⃣ Optimize for the emotional connection.
Marketers have scan goals, every badge that walks by is a potential lead that could funnel into an MQL, SQO, POV, and $$$. But there’s a real human attached to that badge, and catching attention in a 3 second drive-by is really hard.
We decided to go all-in on nostalgia and music. Remind people of their first Tower Records experience, the box of vinyl, the retro t-shirts. A guitar amped up and ready to shred (we ❤️our neighbors). Wiz are the masters of creating a fun booth, but it can be done on a startup budget too!
3️⃣ Find partners in unexpected places.
Ideas are cheap, execution is everything. We partnered with an up and coming agency called THE/ CREATIVE DISTRICT who are new to B2B and cyber. That led to creative out-of-the-box tactics like sending a photographer around the floor to take pictures in exchange for scans and a short pitch (don’t tell Black Hat). They are pure creative energy and are going places. I should be gatekeeping them…
Not everything was smooth. If I could do it again, I’d be more realistic about what we can do with a small space. We had a 10x10 and tried to cram in too much and had to pivot mid show. But having an agile, scrappy team is key when things inevitably don't work.
❓Would love to hear what other hacks have worked for you, or pitfalls to avoid. In my first VP Marketing role I’m still learning about where to push the boundaries!
🎸 What a rockin' show! At Black Hat 2024, we brought Zafran Records to life and shared our vision of a world BEYOND PATCHING. This is what we heard:
🔧 Every SecOps team is struggling with patch management; the volume and fragmentation of findings is compounded by way too much manual work.
🎯 Our approach is fundamentally different, using the risk context from your compensating controls to focus on the REAL exploitables across on-prem and cloud environments. Our demo calendar is packed!
🎤 A small startup tucked in the corner of the show floor can still create NOISE by ditching the marketing buzzwords and dialing up the energy.
Should we keep Zafran Records going?? 🚀
#ZafranRecords #BeyondPatching #BlackHat2024 #OntoTheNextOne
Executive Search - Civil Engineering & Transportation Headhunter
2moNatural in front of the camera Matt Thomas