How Cybersecurity Brands Can Stand Out in a Sea of Sameness

Key Takeaways

• Cybersecurity Brands Struggle with Sameness: Discover why generic jargon and interchangeable messaging lead to uninspired, underperforming cybersecurity companies.

• Unlock Demand with Strategic Brand-Building: Learn to differentiate your company with a singular, impactful message that connects with buyers both rationally and emotionally.

• Avoid Common Branding Traps: Stop selling the category, ditch "new and improved" clichés, embrace the "Art of Sacrifice" for clarity, and move beyond vague "We're Great" statements.

• Implement Four Core Principles: Build a powerful brand platform that is Meaningful, Bold, Premium, and Helpful to guide customers to your unique value.

• Transform Perception, Drive Growth: See how companies like Recorded Future and Verimatrix broke through the noise to build belief, ensure memorability, and win new business.

Having 25 years experience in the Bay Area, we've worked with a mountain of B2B tech companies. We often hear from their marketers, "My CEO doesn't believe in branding."

And honestly, it’s understandable. Most of what gets passed off as branding does look like fluff. It doesn't drive business outcomes. But there’s a difference between “branding” and brand-building. One gives you a foundation. The other drives demand.

To build brands — and by build I mean grow — you need a singular message that connects on both a rational and emotional level. When branding doesn't work, it's usually because the marketing has fallen into one of these four traps.

Why most cybersecurity branding falls flat.

1. Selling the category instead of your company.

When buyers can’t tell what makes you different, they default to the cheapest vendor—or the one with the loudest sales team. People trust us—are you selling used cars? You stop threats—there were 650 companies with booths at RSAC, every one could say the same thing. If you don't tell people what makes you unique, they simply won't know.

2. Being new is not a reason for a customer to buy.

"New and improved" is not a value proposition. The future of security! Next level security! Reimagined security! People are tired of these tropes. All of the companies have PR agencies and all of those PR agencies are telling them that they need to launch something new at RSAC to get noticed. They say that because there are journalists in the room, not because you're the only one introducing something new.

3. In the mind of the customer, you only get to be one thing.

This is basic Brand Positioning 101 class material. Yet so many brands define themselves with the dreaded three words. If you say you're three things to a customer, you might as well tell them you're nothing because that's all they're going to remember. Branding is the Art of Sacrifice. You need to choose.

4. Caught in the "We're Great, You're Great" trap.

Emotion without clarity doesn’t convert. Simply chest beating about being the leader of the category doesn't work. Simply telling them they're a leader doesn't work. 70%+ of the B2B buying journey happens before anyone contacts sales. Any brand can call themselves a leader. Any brand can tell you you're great. Work harder.

Four principles every cybersecurity brand platform needs.

At Traction, we believe a great identity system isn’t just about aesthetics—it’s a narrative that aligns your message, your brand, your website, and your business strategy.

Here’s a framework we use as a litmus test for every system:

Meaningful

Reinforce what you stand for and the value you deliver to customers.

Bold

Be confident, differentiated, and instantly recognizable.

Premium

Look like the most sophisticated player in your category.

Helpful

Use storytelling and design to guide buyers to the value you deliver.

How the Recorded Future brand broke through the noise.

When we got hired by Recorded Future to help them elevate their brand, I have a conversation with their SVP of marketing about the Sea of Sameness. She challenged us to break through the clutter in the cybersecurity category.

Recorded Future, recently acquired by Mastercard, is the premier player in the threat intelligence space. Their product is better. Their thought leadership is unparalleled. Their people are amazing. Yet, this image shows their website amid the sites of many of their peers. Can you see the category selling? Can you see how none of these brands are really making a unique impression? We set out to change that.

We talked to customers (and stalked them on message boards). We talked to stakeholders throughout the organization. We looked at the threat intelligence competitive landscape and saw the patterns that everyone was saying—and that Recorded Future could.

In nutshell: there are a zillion threats out there today. Recorded Future sifts through them all to tell you which ones matter so you can deal with them.

Their one thing? "Know what matters."

We didn't stop at a message that stands out. We designed a visual identity that is driven by the same framework to be meaningful, introducing a "deconstructed logo" to tie the visual identity system to the core element of the brand;

to be bold, using a vibrant electric blue as a primary color with red accents;

to be premium making simplicity and clean design critical elements of the design system to elevate brand perception;

and to be helpful by using a careful balance of color in graphic elements and iconography to draw attention to the messages and information that their audience needs.

Verimatrix: From threat prevention to innovation enablement.

Another great example of how a cybersecurity brand can break through with a narrative that stands out, conveys value and drives demand is Verimatrix.

Most security companies talk about what they stop. Everybody knows cybersecurity stops bad things from happening. Verimatrix needed to talk about what they start.

Their tech wasn’t just protecting content—it was enabling secure innovation in entertainment, fintech, telecom, and beyond. When we talked to their customers, they described the amazing new experiences they were able to deliver to their customers because of Verimatrix.

We helped them reposition as the enabler behind the next generation of secure digital experiences.

Verimatrix. Deliver awesome.
When your security is rock-solid, your creativity can be limitless.
Verimatrix protects the moments that move people—streaming your favorite show, checking your bank balance, sharing data across the globe.
Because the best security doesn’t just defend. It unleashes.

Visually, we brought that idea to life with vibrant energy, motion, and color—humanizing a brand that once felt hidden behind its own protocols.

The result? A cybersecurity company that feels less like a compliance checkbox. The rebrand elevated Verimatrix from “defensive tool” to “digital enabler,” helping them shift perception, win new kinds of deals, and inspire their own team with a more compelling story.

You can watch the video above to hear from their CMO, Jon Samsel, in his own words the impact of the work and the "incredible multiplying lift" it delivered (He also talks about how amazing the team at Traction is, but hey, it's my blog!).

A final word: how brands get remembered.

You can’t lead a category by sounding like everyone else.
You can’t build demand without building belief.
And you can’t win if buyers can’t remember who you are.

Don’t just fix your messaging. Fix your brand.

Frequently Asked Questions about Cybersecurity Branding

Q1: What is the core problem facing cybersecurity brands today?

A1: According to the post, cybersecurity brands have a significant messaging problem. When walking through industry events like RSAC, many booths shout the same jargon, making companies seem indistinguishable and creating a "sea of sameness." This leads to brands being uninspired and underperforming, despite each claiming to be unique.

Q2: Why do many cybersecurity branding efforts fail to drive business outcomes?

A2: Many branding efforts fall flat because they often make four common mistakes:

1. Selling the category instead of the company: When buyers can't identify what makes a company unique, they default to the cheapest vendor or the one with the loudest sales team.

2. Being new is not a reason to buy: Phrases like "new and improved" or "next level security" are tired tropes and do not constitute a strong value proposition.

3. Trying to be too many things: Customers remember "one thing." If a brand tries to define itself with three different offerings, it effectively tells customers nothing, as "branding is the Art of Sacrifice".

4. Caught in the "We're Great, You're Great" trap: Simply asserting leadership or telling customers they are great lacks clarity and doesn't convert, especially since over 70% of the B2B buying journey occurs before sales contact.

Q3: What is the difference between "branding" and "brand-building"?

A3: The author notes that "branding" is often perceived as "fluff" that doesn't drive business outcomes. However, "brand-building" provides a foundational message that does drive demand. Effective brand-building requires a singular message that connects with customers on both a rational and emotional level to achieve growth.

Q4: What are the four essential principles for a successful cybersecurity brand platform?

A4: Traction, the agency mentioned in the post, uses a framework based on four principles for a great identity system that aligns messaging, brand, website, and business strategy:

• Meaningful: Reinforce the brand's core values and the value it delivers to customers.

• Bold: Be confident, clearly differentiated, and instantly recognizable.

• Premium: Present as the most sophisticated player within its category.

• Helpful: Utilize storytelling and design to guide buyers toward the value the brand provides.

Q5: How did Recorded Future successfully differentiate its brand in the market?

A5: When Traction worked with Recorded Future, they helped the company break through the "sea of sameness" by identifying its "one thing": "Know what matters." This singular message highlighted their ability to sift through countless threats to identify the ones that truly matter. This message was visually supported by a meaningful deconstructed logo, bold electric blue with red accents, a premium clean design, and helpful use of color and iconography to guide the audience.

Q6: How did Verimatrix shift its brand narrative to stand out and drive demand?

A6: Verimatrix successfully repositioned itself by shifting the narrative from what security companies typically talk about – what they stop – to what Verimatrix starts. They moved from "threat prevention" to "innovation enablement," highlighting how their technology empowers secure innovation in entertainment, fintech, and telecom. Their new brand message, "Verimatrix. Deliver awesome," emphasized that strong security unleashes creativity. This was visually brought to life with vibrant energy, motion, and color, humanizing the brand and helping it move from a "defensive tool" to a "digital enabler".

Q7: Who is the author of this post?

A7: The author of the post is Adam Kleinberg, who is the CEO and a founding partner of Traction.

Q8: What kind of services does Traction provide?

A8: Traction is described as a new breed of marketing agency and consultancy, functioning as a "marketing accelerator" for brands and their in-house teams. They offer services that help brands like Recorded Future and Verimatrix fix their messaging and elevate their brand identity.