Digital B2B Opps: Sophos loses top marketer amid spend decreases (Score 32)

Sales lead: Keep an eye on this company because a CMO hire will likely lead to spend shifts & agency appointments. 

• Sophos lost its CMO of over 10 years, Matt Fairbanks, in October 2023.
• Fairbanks is now the CMO of Island. 
• We will be sure to update you as soon as a replacement is announced.

Target demographic: Businesses that need cyber security services

Once it hires a new CMO, the company will likely:

• Ramp ad spend back up
• Try new marketing channels
• Seek agency assistance

Broadcast insights (TV ad creative spend, effectiveness, impressions, and performance)

• YTD spend: Sophos has not aired a national TV ad since spending $4.8m in 2021.
• 2021 ad programming: It placed ads during programming such as College Basketball, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, NBA Basketball, Blue Bloods, and Hawaii Five-O. 

Digital and social insights (digital ad spend, effectiveness, impressions, and performance)

• YTD spend: Sophos spent approximately $234.2k on digital display ads YTD, just 24% of the $980.6k spent on digital display ads YTD.
• YTD data: 32m impressions via Facebook (67%), YouTube (16%), Instagram (15%), desktop display (2%), and mobile display (1%). 
• 2021-2022 spend: Full-year spend fell from $4.5m in 2021 to $1m in 2022. 
• Ad location: It placed 99% of these ads directly onto sites such as facebook.com, youtube.com, instagram.com, techrepublic.com, and cio.com. It placed 1% of these ads indirectly through Google AdX+AdSense onto sites such as crn.com, community.spiceworks.com, cars.com, youtube.com, and fandom.com. 

Additional channel insights 

• Top podcasts sponsored: The News Agent, CyberWire Daily, Security Weekly Podcast Network, Download This Show, and Cybersecurity Today. 

Agency analysis:

• Opportunity: Start working on your pitches so that you are prepared to reach out as soon as Sophos hires a new CMO.
  • Sophos does not currently work with any agencies to the best of my knowledge.