Selling Sophos Marketing was a constant challenge. We sold programmatic display advertising, which is a complex topic; its mechanics are technical, its function as an awareness builder is abstract, and its effects are hard to quantify.

Complicating things further was our target audience: practical, frugal, and skeptical small business owners. Their response to our early sales pitches was clear: 'I don't understand it, so I probably don't need it.'

The timeline on this page illustrates how I turned key audience insights into distinct brand messaging in my tenure as Sophos Marketing's Creative Director.