IT & cyber security

Allot Communications

Browse

The Campaign

Establishing Allot as a security authority in unfamiliar U.S. territory

Allot Communications (Allot) is a provider of innovative network intelligence and security solutions for service providers worldwide. Its solutions are deployed globally for a range of uses, including network and application analytics, traffic control and shaping, network-based security services, and more.

Headquartered in Israel, the key challenge facing Allot was that it had very little brand awareness in the U.S. As an established B2B vendor, the company was also struggling to stand out against a growing number of competitors in an already crowded security market that was also facing mounting consumer concern.

The Results

Share of voice

Allot’s share of voice compared to its key competitors grew from 6% in early 2017 to 33% by the end of 2018, demonstrating an increase in brand awareness and highlighting the brand’s improved status within the industry.

Media engagement

Over the course of 2018, we secured 71 pieces of coverage in the U.S. and U.K. across our key targets verticals of tech, telco and security press, an increase of 12% compared to 2017.

Keyword targeting

Analysis of the most important keywords related to Allot’s business – such as ‘IoT’ and ‘security’ – was used to create content and generate pitch ideas, fostering a stronger association between the company and the trends impacting its customers. Every piece of coverage secured included at least one agreed-upon keyword message.

Expert positioning

To build the authority of Allot spokespeople, we secured 22 briefings and rapid response coverage over the course of 2018 – an increase of 34% compared to 2017 – positioning them as experts in telco security.

Although Allot had established partnerships with many of the top service providers in Europe and Israel, it had struggled to get the same kind of traction in the U.S. Therefore, growing brand awareness in the States was a primary campaign objective.

Additional goals included:

Early on in the campaign we latched onto Allot’s core message that service providers are best positioned to deliver comprehensive security at the network level, which was especially relevant at a time when IoT-based DDoS attacks were becoming increasingly prevalent and gaining more media attention.

Without any customers in the U.S. to validate this message, we zeroed in on the company’s quarterly reports, which highlighted trends in mobile and IoT security and formed the basis of our media relations and thought leadership strategies. However, initial feedback from media revealed that the reports were too security-oriented for telco trades and too telco-oriented for security trades. We therefore helped Allot orient the research for specific audiences, creating two pillars of content based on a combination of technical and broader industry topics. Some example headlines are listed below.

Service providers:

Enterprise:

At the same time, we continued to build the profiles of company executives as industry experts through a combination of media briefings and rapid response opportunities on topics such as DDoS, data breaches, malware and NFV.

Our efforts helped to significantly improve Allot’s share of voice during 2018, supplemented by an increase in the amount of media coverage generated. This demonstrated the company’s security expertise, taking it to the next level in terms of its brand awareness and position within its key target industries and markets.

Related Work