Panda Security

Leapfrogging the Competition

Challenge

The security beat moves at lightning speed, with the majority of news driven by high profile hacking incidents and threat advisories. Security alerts from antivirus labs are a big part of the marketing and PR budget for any antivirus vendor, as they allow companies to increase brand awareness while demonstrating the ability to catch malicious Internet activities. Panda Security competes against antivirus software vendors with a larger presence in the U.S., including Symantec, Sophos, Kaspersky and Trend Micro, each of whom has dedicated extensive resources to their AV-lab communications. The Bateman Group set a lofty goal to maintain a consistent media market share lead over Kaspersky and Sophos and narrow the gap on Trend Micro, all of whom have historically generated more North American coverage.

Strategy

The first hurdle that the Bateman Group had to jump was delayed information delivery since Panda Security’s global headquarters and antivirus lab are located in Spain. By prioritizing research and security alerts based on the current news climate and initiating a direct line of communication with the PandaLabs team in Spain, the Bateman Group put the resources and protocol it needed in place to deliver timely information to media before the competition. In addition, the Bateman Group kept a close eye on what reporters and bloggers wanted to cover by consistently reading their work, monitoring them on Twitter, and keeping an open dialogue with them.

The Bateman Group used a combination of traditional news embargoes and exclusive strategies to maximize coverage within top tier media surrounding a series of innovative PandaLabs research campaigns linked to hot issues such as the economic recession, presidential election, and social networking. For example, the Bateman Group secured an exclusive with the Associated Press (AP) on Panda’s multi-year security assessment of wire transfer services for U.S. Immigrants, generating feature coverage in Time, Newsweek, BusinessWeek, Forbes, USA Today and the New York Times. In total, more than 15,000 news sources published the AP story.

Beyond relying on one-on-one briefings with top-tier media and distributing press releases, the Bateman Group leveraged a variety of other new media platforms and content syndication services to maximize coverage. For example, the Bateman Group initiated a blog syndication program with Panda’s chief corporate evangelist and primary U.S. spokesperson and coached him on the best way to converse with fellow bloggers to increase his following. This blog proved to be another excellent channel for disseminating Panda’s research, often presented in a more conversational voice to resonate with peer readers.

Results

The Bateman Group’s diligent eye on the latest trends coupled with rapid action related to breaking research and industry news cycles has enabled Panda Security to greatly increase brand awareness in the United States. The following chart, produced by independent online media monitoring company Meltwater News, depicts Panda’s media market share in comparison to key competitors over the course of 2008:

Since partnering with the Bateman Group, Panda has surpassed Kaspersky and Sophos in overall media market share and significantly narrowed the gap on Trend Micro. In addition, Panda Security has become known as a resource to many top-tier security reporters, including Jordan Robertson, Associated Press; Ben Worthen, Wall Street Journal; Rob Vamosi and Elinor Mills, CNET; Brian Acohido, USA Today; and Bob McMillan, IDG News Service.

Panda Security

"Bateman Group's ability to deliver smart, effective ‘off-the-cuff’ PR recommendations impressed us from the very first conference call."

Juan Santana
CEO
Panda Security