Using Survey Data to Drive IT and Security Coverage
Voxus generates strong coverage for an early-stage security compliance start-up ahead of major product launch
Framing challenges before a product launch
Shujinko, an early-stage startup, was preparing to announce its first product – a security compliance automation solution – and needed a way to raise awareness, both for its brand and the relevant challenges prospective customers were facing (and that its upcoming product helped solve). While the company’s solution was innovative and compelling, compliance audits as a whole were a niche topic rarely covered in IT and security press.
Audits are awful
To bring the issue to the forefront, Shujinko commissioned a survey of North American CISOs designed to identify the impact of compliance audits on organizations, pain points with the audit process, and improvements CISOs needed most. Voxus was tasked with crafting the story and generating media coverage of the results.
Pitching the right people
The findings from Shujinko’s survey were extremely insightful – they were relevant for the security and compliance industries, they found, among other things, that audits had an outsized impact on security and development teams, and showed a clear desire among CISOs for automation to help address the burden. As importantly, they demonstrated that this was a vital security topic that wasn’t getting the media attention it deserved.
Given these findings, the team made a conscious decision to focus outreach less on the niche compliance audience and more on broad security reporters. Voxus conducted extensive pre-pitching, using tailored outreach that echoed prior coverage by individual journalists, driving toward a simultaneous announcement and posting of survey results.
Strong coverage in tech and security outlets
The results exceeded Shujinko expectations, with coverage in 16 security and IT/tech news outlets, including TechRepublic, Security Boulevard, Help Net Security, CIO Review and Security Magazine. The crown jewel was an article in SC Magazine titled “Security teams strain to complete compliance audits under COVID.” Not only was Shujinko quoted extensively, the article focused on the challenges and difficulties of compliance audits – exactly the messaging Shujinko wanted leading into its launch.
