Company: CounterCraft
Company Type: International Startup
Industry: Cybersecurity
Solution: Cyber Deception Solution
Location: Donostia-San Sebastián, Spain, with offices in New York, USA, and London, UK
CounterCraft, an innovative cybersecurity startup, wanted to strengthen its international presence in the European, US, and Middle Eastern markets. The B2B company operates in sectors such as government and public administration, defense, financial institutions, telecommunications, and critical infrastructure, among others.
Their primary goal was to generate demand and new leads, and to convert qualified leads into customers. To accomplish this, Zinkup, their marketing and communications agency for the past six years, implemented a B2B marketing strategy with demand generation and lead nurturing activities. All activities within the strategy were carried out in English to effectively reach the target markets.
To accomplish CounterCraft’s objectives, Zinkup designed and implemented a comprehensive B2B marketing strategy that encompassed a variety of tactics and channels to maximize reach and effectiveness. This strategy combined elements of online advertising campaigns, social media posts, webinars, in-person events and advanced lead nurturing techniques, among others.
To expand reach and generate leads from a targeted audience, online advertising campaigns were implemented on platforms such as LinkedIn and Google Ads.
The campaigns promoted e-books and interesting materials that could be downloaded from the website, specifically designed for CounterCraft’s target audience. At Zinkup, we assisted CounterCraft in selecting campaign topics, creating campaigns on LinkedIn Ads, segmentation and optimization, as well as creating attractive copy and graphics for cybersecurity target profiles.
The campaigns targeted a variety of profiles within the cybersecurity sector, from threat intelligence analysts who influence decision making to CISOs and other high-level executives who are considered decision makers. In addition, the ads were segmented geographically, with some campaigns targeting all industries and others focusing on specific sectors, adapting to the specifics and needs of each market.
We launched Google Ads campaigns focused on relevant keywords to drive qualified traffic to CounterCraft’s website and increase the conversion rate of visitors into leads. The goal of these campaigns was to secure top positions for key searches, while also working on SEO positioning to strengthen long-term organic visibility.
As part of the demand generation and lead nurturing campaign, we also worked on LinkedIn posts. With the goal of building community and organically generating leads, we increased the posting frequency and focused on creating compelling copy and graphics for cybersecurity professionals for each post. These posts include high-impact content in the form of blog posts, educational carousel posts, corporate videos, participation in events, and much more.
From our offices in Donostia-San Sebastián and Madrid, we organized and coordinated CounterCraft’s participation in a series of strategic face-to-face trade shows and events in the United States, Europe, and the Middle East.
In the United States, participation in government events was essential. Zinkup facilitated CounterCraft’s presence at events and conferences hosted by AFCEA, a key organization serving the military, government, industry, and academia as a forum. In addition, through events organized by its investors, CounterCraft participated at the RSA Conference in San Francisco, one of the world’s most important cybersecurity events.
In Europe, Zinkup coordinated participation in major events such as Deloitte Cyber iCON, FEINDEF, Jornadas CCN CERT in Spain, it-sa Expo & Congress in Germany, Cloud Expo in the Netherlands, and InfoSecurity Europe in the UK, among many others. These events not only increased brand visibility, but also attracted a significant number of qualified leads interested in CounterCraft’s solutions.
In the Middle East, working with local partners was essential. Zinkup ensured CounterCraft’s participation in key events in the UAE and Saudi Arabia such as Gartner Dubai, GISEC, MENA ISC and Black Hat MEA. In addition, other emerging markets such as Oman were explored with participation in the 4th Information Security Technology Convention.
Zinkup helped CounterCraft select the most appropriate events, evaluate sponsorship levels and manage the contracting process. Close coordination with sales representatives in various territories was essential to meet CounterCraft’s expectations and goals, maximizing both investment and effort.
Logistics was one of the biggest challenges due to the geographical diversity of the events. Zinkup managed the contracting of stands, furniture, electrical material, collaterals and giveaways in each territory. This involved developing a network of local suppliers not only in the continents mentioned, but also in the main cities of each country. This approach ensured that the expectations of the sales team were met and that production was kept within budget and on schedule.
In addition to planning and logistics, Zinkup developed specific communication campaigns targeted at leads in each region. These campaigns encouraged visits to the CounterCraft booth and scheduling meetings to maximize the impact of the events. Communications were tailored to the singularities of each market, from the federal sector in the United States to the manufacturing sector in Germany.
To convert generated leads into prospects, Zinkup implemented a multi-channel lead nurturing approach that combined multiple digital marketing tactics.
Zinkup developed email marketing campaigns that targeted leads generated from events and paid media campaigns. These campaigns consisted of a series of 6-8 emails specifically designed for different decision making levels and industries. Each email series contained relevant and valuable content tailored to the specific needs and interests of the recipients, helping to maintain interest and move leads through the sales funnel.
In addition to serving as a lead generation tool, webinars were fundamental to lead nurturing. Zinkup organized webinars on topics relevant to CounterCraft’s leads, providing valuable information, case studies, and hands-on demonstrations of the company’s solutions. These webinars not only educated leads about CounterCraft’s offerings, but also established the company as a reference in the cybersecurity space.
Zinkup implemented automated processes for outreach on LinkedIn from personal profiles, identifying and connecting with potential leads. Personalized messages and automated sequences provided additional information and facilitated the transfer of qualified leads to CounterCraft’s sales team.
After the events, Zinkup handled the follow-up of the generated leads. This included sending personalized follow-up emails and including leads in other lead nurturing campaigns. This follow-up ensured that leads stayed engaged and moved toward conversion.
This comprehensive lead nurturing approach, combining email marketing, webinars, LinkedIn automation, post-event follow-up and valuable content, allowed CounterCraft to keep leads interested and convert them into highly qualified prospects.
The comprehensive demand generation and lead nurturing strategy carried out by Zinkup, in collaboration with CounterCraft’s marketing team, achieved remarkable results in 12 months:
These results solidified Zinkup as a strategic marketing and communications partner for CounterCraft, driving its growth and success in the competitive cybersecurity market.
MADRID | DONOSTIA-SAN SEBASTIÁN
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