A Playbook for Red Teaming & Offensive Security Marketing

A successful marketing strategy for red teaming and offensive security services requires a full-funnel, practitioner-focused approach. The core of this strategy is creating distinct content streams for specific roles, such as red team and blue team professionals, to ensure relevance and engagement. High-value assets like technical webinars, in-depth ebooks, and hands-on labs serve as the primary drivers for lead generation and nurturing. This approach prioritizes building authority with a hands-on audience by delivering practical, real-world content. It also involves continuously testing brand aesthetics—from aggressive, 'hacker-style' visuals to more traditional corporate imagery—to determine what best resonates with this technical demographic and drives conversions.

What is the search intent behind keywords like 'red teaming training' and 'offensive security'?

The search intent for terms like 'red teaming training' and 'offensive security' is primarily informational and educational, driven by practitioners and their direct managers. These users are looking to understand complex concepts and acquire specific, hands-on skills. The marketing strategy should therefore focus on capturing this intent with top-of-funnel (ToFu) and middle-of-funnel (MoFu) content, such as targeted webinars, technical guides, and in-depth ebooks. This approach prioritizes lead generation and audience nurturing over pushing for an immediate sale, aligning with the user's educational journey.

Who is the target audience for red teaming exercises?

The primary target audience for red teaming content and exercises consists of hands-on practitioners, security managers, and directors. High-level executives like VPs and CISOs are not the primary target for this type of tactical content, as it often fails to resonate with their strategic focus. Marketing efforts, such as webinars and technical guides, see the highest engagement from professionals who are actively involved in the organization's day-to-day security operations.

How do we market a 'cyber crisis simulator' as a product?

Marketing a cyber crisis simulator effectively requires a multi-stage user journey strategy. This approach includes: 1) Building awareness with explainer videos and informational pillar pages that clearly define what a crisis simulator is and its value. 2) Driving consideration by promoting specific, scheduled simulation events to a warmed-up and retargeted audience. 3) Fostering a purchase decision by focusing on upselling and cross-selling to existing customers, demonstrating how the simulator fits into a broader platform of capabilities and guiding them toward a full-platform solution.

What's the difference between red teaming, blue teaming, and purple teaming in our content?

The content strategy necessitates creating distinct and separate content streams for red team and blue team topics, treating each as a unique content pillar. This is demonstrated by developing separate webinars for each discipline, such as a 'Red Teamer webinar' and a 'Blue Teamer webinar,' which allows for precise targeting of different practitioner audiences. While purple teaming is not explicitly detailed, the strategic approach indicates that each 'team' should be addressed with its own dedicated assets to cater to the specific skills, challenges, and interests of that audience segment.

How do we create content around 'confessions of a red teamer' to build engagement?

Content themed around 'confessions,' such as 'Confessions of a Red Teamer,' serves as a powerful tool for engagement and lead generation. The strategy involves extracting the most compelling quotes, statistics, and insights from a cornerstone asset, like an ebook. These impactful snippets are then repurposed into highly engaging, shareable formats, such as social media carousel posts. This teaser content acts as an effective hook to capture interest and drive downloads of the full, gated asset.

What are the key benefits of hands-on labs for offensive security training?

The primary benefit of hands-on labs is the provision of practical, real-world skills that prepare offensive security professionals for actual threats they will face. The marketing message must emphasize the value of moving beyond theoretical knowledge to build demonstrable cyber resilience and judgment. Content should clearly articulate how these labs provide the essential skills and experience needed to respond to incidents effectively, positioning them as superior to traditional training methods that only confirm course completion.

Should we use more aggressive, 'hacker-style' branding for our offensive security marketing?

The use of aggressive, 'hacker-style' branding is a tactical test rather than a confirmed strategy. An initial campaign using a novel, 'propaganda-style' aesthetic for an ebook underperformed, suggesting the target audience may prefer a more traditional, corporate visual identity. The go-forward strategy is to A/B test different visual approaches—comparing the stylized, aggressive branding against more classic, corporate-style imagery—to determine empirically what resonates best with the practitioner audience and drives the highest engagement.

How do we market to ethical hackers and security researchers?

Marketing to ethical hackers and security researchers demands a content-led strategy that acknowledges and respects their high level of technical expertise. The approach centers on creating deep, valuable content such as technical webinars, in-depth ebooks, and expert guides on specialized topics like 'ethical hacking' and 'red team training'. This content is best promoted through channels like LinkedIn, where precise targeting by job title and function is possible. The ultimate goal is to build credibility and generate qualified leads by offering authentic, peer-level insights and skills-based training, avoiding high-level, generic marketing messaging.