Breaking Through in Cybersecurity Marketing

Episode Summary:

Community gets talked about a lot in cybersecurity; what’s less clear is what it’s supposed to actually look like. In this conversation, Avital Knoller, Head of Ecosystem, Community, and CXO Relationships at Orchid Security, walks through how she thinks about community when it’s tied directly to product and growth. 

She breaks down the difference between practitioner-led product communities and broader communities of interest, and why that distinction matters so much in security. Drawing on her experience building communities across nonprofit, startup, and cybersecurity environments, Avital shares how investing in community can create super-users, surface real product feedback, and support go-to-market efforts without feeling salesy or forced.

Tune in to hear about practical realities, platform choices, launch timing, engagement expectations, and how to think about ROI while keeping the focus on trust, peer learning, and long-term value.

About Avital:Avital (Avi) Knoller is the Head of Ecosystem, Community, and CXO Relationships at Orchid Security, where she leads practitioner community programs and ecosystem engagement for the company’s identity security platform.

Avital has experience building and running communities across nonprofit, startup, and cybersecurity environments, with a focus on practitioner engagement and product-focused communities inside security companies.

Links & Resources:

Avital (Avi) Knoller on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/avital-knoller/

Orchid Security - https://www.orchid.security/

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Gianna Whitver on LinkedIn


Maria Velasquez on LinkedIn

Thank you for tuning in to another episode of Breaking Through in Cybersecurity Marketing. You can join the Cybersecurity Marketing Society on our website, on our main LinkedIn page, our Instagram page, or our podcast LinkedIn page. 

See you in the next episode!

Episode Summary:

Dan Lowden has a pretty incredible track record—12 startups and eight exits to count—so when he talks about building a marketing engine from scratch, people listen. In this CMO Confidential segment, Dan joins Gianna and Charles to talk about his latest challenge at Blackbird.ai: defining the "Narrative Intelligence" category and helping companies fight disinformation.

They get into the real-world grit of going from leading a 70-person team back to being a solo marketer. Dan shares his "punch above your weight" playbook, including why he hired a former CBS news reporter to lead content and how he landed NATO as a marquee customer.

Listen to this episode if you are looking to make a small startup feel like an industry giant, build deep analyst credibility without a "pay-to-play" budget, or understand the next big CISO blind spot in narrative intelligence.

About Dan: 

Dan Lowden is the CMO at Blackbird.ai and a seasoned leader with over 30 years of experience building brands in the tech and cybersecurity spaces. A veteran of 12 startups and eight successful exits, Dan has led marketing for companies such as HUMAN (formerly White Ops), Digital Shadows, and Invincea.

He is known for his "hands-on" approach to leadership, often joining as the first marketing hire to transform complex technology into a clear, compelling story. When he isn't defining new security categories like Narrative Intelligence, Dan is an author; he wrote and published the romance novel The Met Kiss during the pandemic.

Follow Dan on LinkedIn.

Links & Resources:

Blackbird.ai: Learn more about narrative intelligence and disinformation security.

The Raven Blog: Where Dan’s team publishes primary research on narrative attacks.

The Met Kiss: Dan Lowden’s debut romance novel, written during the pandemic.

Subscribe & Review: 👉 Enjoyed this one? Drop us a quick ⭐ rating or review, it helps more cyber marketers find the show.

📩 Questions, feedback, or want to be a guest? Email: [email protected] 

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Gianna Whitver on LinkedIn


Charles Gold on LinkedIn

Thank you for tuning in to another episode of Breaking Through in Cybersecurity Marketing. You can join the Cybersecurity Marketing Society on our website, on our main LinkedIn page, our Instagram page, or our podcast LinkedIn page. 

See you in the next episode!

Episode Summary:

What happens when a "privacy freak" takes over customer advocacy? You get the DataGrail’s Data Privacy Awards Program, an industry staple that doubles as a masterclass in community building and product research.

In this episode, Ian Phippen, Head of Content and Community Marketing at DataGrail, joins Gianna and Maria to pull back the curtain on running a high-impact awards program. Ian shares how they transformed a standard advocacy play into a mission-driven brand engine that attracts hundreds of nominations, of which only 40% are customers.

Whether you're launching your first awards ceremony or looking for more human ways to connect with your technical audience, Ian’s insights offer a roadmap for marketing with integrity.

About Ian: 

Ian Phippen is the Head of Content and Community at DataGrail and the architect of the Data Privacy Hero Awards. 

A 2025 Marquee Award winner for Best New-to-Cyber Talent, they moved from a background in education and e-commerce marketing at companies like Recharge and Provi to become a dedicated "privacy freak" in the cybersecurity space. 

Ian specializes in building high-trust recognition programs that turn industry advocacy into deep market intelligence.

Follow Ian on LinkedIn. 

Links and Resources:

DataGrail: The data privacy platform leading the shift toward "human-centric" privacy.

2025 Data Privacy Heroes: The official announcement and profiles of the most recent award winners.

Sessionize: The event management tool mentioned for handling speaker and award calls.

Recharge & Provi: Previous companies where Ian built their marketing and community foundation.

Subscribe & Review: 👉 Enjoyed this one? Drop us a quick ⭐ rating or review, it helps more cyber marketers find the show.

📩 Questions, feedback, or want to be a guest? Email: [email protected] 

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Gianna Whitver on LinkedIn


Maria Velasquez on LinkedIn

Thank you for tuning in to another episode of Breaking Through in Cybersecurity Marketing. You can join the Cybersecurity Marketing Society on our website, on our main LinkedIn page, our Instagram page, or our podcast LinkedIn page. 

See you in the next episode!

Episode Summary:

Cat Allen, Senior Product Marketing Manager at SpyCloud, brings a rare mix of technical grounding and ethical clarity to cybersecurity marketing. Her path into the industry was unconventional, shaped by psychology, hands-on technical training, and a deep interest in privacy, surveillance, and responsible data use.

The conversation focuses on what it means to market security products responsibly, especially in an industry where marketers are frequent targets and data collection can quietly introduce risk. Cat shares how her technical background helps her bridge engineering and go-to-market teams while keeping trust, accuracy, and transparency at the center.

The episode also explores tougher questions about workplace ethics, the limits of compliance, personal responsibility for data privacy, and the broader implications of AI.

About Cat: 

Cat Allen is a Senior Product Marketing Manager at SpyCloud, working on product messaging, enablement, and go-to-market support for cybersecurity teams. She has held senior product marketing roles at Cloudflare and Everfox (formerly Forcepoint).

She is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Cybersecurity and brings a technical foundation into her work, partnering closely with product, engineering, and revenue teams.

Follow her on LinkedIn. 

Links & Resources:

SpyCloud

Signal (secure messaging)Proton Mail

DeleteMe1Password

Subscribe & Review:

👉 Enjoyed this one? Drop us a quick ⭐ rating or review, it helps more cyber marketers find the show.

📩 Questions, feedback, or want to be a guest? Email: [email protected] 

Follow the Hosts:


Gianna Whitver on LinkedIn


Maria Velasquez on LinkedIn

Thank you for tuning in to another episode of Breaking Through in Cybersecurity Marketing. You can join the Cybersecurity Marketing Society on our website, on our main LinkedIn page, our Instagram page, or our podcast LinkedIn page. 

See you in the next episode!

Episode Summary:

Maria and Gianna are joined this week by Tyler Lessard, Chief Marketing Officer at TechnologyAdvice, for a grounded look at how cybersecurity and B2B buying behavior are shifting and what that means for marketers trying to break through the noise.

The conversation centers on preference marketing and why buyers are forming vendor shortlists earlier than ever, often before any formal evaluation begins. Tyler shares insights from TechnologyAdvice’s research on how younger buying committees, particularly Millennial and Gen Z decision-makers, rely less on legacy analyst models and more on trusted external channels like creators, newsletters, niche communities, Reddit, and peer-driven influence.

The discussion wraps with a takeaway for marketers planning: TechnologyAdvice’s Cybersecurity Marketing Handbook, built to help teams identify where influence actually lives and how to show up there with intent.

About Tyler

Tyler Lessard is the Chief Marketing Officer at TechnologyAdvice, where he focuses on research-led perspectives on buyer behavior and helping cybersecurity and B2B marketers navigate how influence and trust are formed today. 

He works closely with marketing teams across the industry, drawing on TechnologyAdvice’s portfolio of enterprise IT and cybersecurity media brands to identify where buyers research, who they trust, and how preferences are shaped before formal evaluations begin.

Follow Tyler on LinkedIn. 

Links & Resources:

3 Trends that will Redefine B2B Marketing in 2026

Cybersecurity Marketing Handbook

TechnologyAdvice

Subscribe & Review:

👉 Enjoyed this one? Drop us a quick ⭐ rating or review, it helps more cyber marketers find the show.

📩 Questions, feedback, or want to be a guest? Email: [email protected] 

Follow the Hosts:


Gianna Whitver on LinkedIn


Maria Velasquez on LinkedIn

Thank you for tuning in to another episode of Breaking Through in Cybersecurity Marketing. You can join the Cybersecurity Marketing Society on our website, on our main LinkedIn page, our Instagram page, or our podcast LinkedIn page. 

See you in the next episode!