Podcast Summary: Marketing Trends

Episode: The Cybersecurity CMO Making Headlines & Dominating B2B Attention
Host: Stephanie Postles
Guest: Don Jeter, CMO of Torque
Date: September 17, 2025

Episode Overview

This engaging episode features Don Jeter, the unconventional CMO of cybersecurity company Torque. Host Stephanie Postles and Don discuss how Torque has shattered expectations in the staid world of B2B cybersecurity marketing. Instead of focusing on technical features and AI buzzwords, Torque has leaned into bold branding, humor, and entertainment—resulting in viral campaigns, unforgettable conference activations, and a deeply loyal audience. Don shares his playbook for attention-grabbing marketing, world-building, and building emotional connections, and explains why creativity beats “data-driven” caution in today’s noisy B2B environment. The episode is rich with stories about marketing risks, team culture, and the critical importance of brand differentiation.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The State of Cybersecurity Marketing & Why Brand Matters

• Don reflects on the “romanticizing” of data-driven, performance marketing and why it led most of the industry to look and sound the same.

• Quote:

  “The alternative is you look like everybody else. There’s no differentiation. People don’t love your brand. People aren’t connected to your brand emotion and you’re never going to break through.” – Don Jeter [00:27]

• He argues B2B buyers are bombarded and disinterested in technical features; what stands out now is emotional connection.

• Quote:

  “We really are entering this new era of entertainment. You have to not just inform because people don’t really care.” – Don Jeter [00:44]

2. Torque’s Unorthodox Approach: Brand, Humor, and Storytelling

• Don describes his pitch to Torque to go “brand-first”—drawing inspiration from consumer brands like Disney and Marvel’s integrated universes.
• He credits the Torque founders and board for giving him “incredible creative freedom” to implement this vision.
• Rather than a typical rebrand, Torque overhauled its color palettes, tone, and voice to be more arresting and entertaining.
• Quote:

  “We didn’t change the logo… but everything else, color palette, identity was completely overhauled just to be more attention getting.” – Don Jeter [02:56]

3. Standing Out at Conferences & Events

• Don paints a picture of cybersecurity conferences as “endless halls of booths” that look the same.
• Torque’s solution: partnerships with culturally relevant brands (like Monster Jam), and attention-getting stunts—e.g., parking a 12,000 lb monster truck in their booth.
• Quote:

  “Unless something really stands out, no one wakes up the morning of a show and says, I’m looking for new products to go buy right now and I’m going to wander this floor looking for them.” – Don Jeter [04:09]
  “There’s nothing bigger than, you know, I don’t know how big. It’s like 12,000 pound monster truck sitting in your booth. It’s just like, no, you have to stop and look at it.” – Don Jeter [05:17]

4. World-Building & Episodic Content for B2B

• Don advocates for building a “connected universe” of brand touchpoints: trade show activations, recurring social media characters, and interconnected story arcs reminiscent of Marvel or Taylor Swift’s media drops.

• The approach fosters repeat engagement and a sense of community.

• Quote:

  “There’s something now with today’s culture where it’s like brand is about belonging. You need to find ways to create belonging in your brand and inviting people in to follow along and to follow your clues and content.” – Don Jeter [08:48]

• Social media is run like series TV, with recurring characters such as Trevor, the viral “junior media intern.”

5. Trevor the Intern: Humor, Skits, and Emotional Connections

• Don details the origin of the Trevor character: a real intern featured in regular LinkedIn skits that have nothing to do with cybersecurity, but everything to do with brand affinity.
• The strategy: keep people engaged with humor and personality, so Torque holds “mental real estate” when the buyer finally needs a solution.
• Quote:

  “At the same time, it’s entertainment, it’s purely entertainment. And I think there’s something to that mental real estate where, oh, I’m following this guy. I just like it.” – Don Jeter [11:21]
  “…it’s really hard to… create any sort of emotional connection. For Torque, our big bet is like, our brand is going to create real emotional connections with prospects and customers and people will love us and then they’ll find our product right when they need it.” – Don Jeter [12:07]

6. Does Creative Marketing Actually Drive Revenue?

• Don confirms that results are “absolutely” there and that executive patience and alignment are essential.

• He underscores that creative stunts must be matched with a product that truly delivers in proof-of-concept and sales demos.

• Quote:

  “I wouldn’t be able to keep doing this if it wasn’t working. I would be cut off so fast… I would have a very short leash if we weren’t seeing the results from this.” – Don Jeter [13:40]

• Anecdote: At the Black Hat conference, a Fortune 500 CISO mimicked Torque’s “Sock Goblin” character during their talk, proving deep customer resonance.

• Quote:

  “This is a CISO of a Fortune 500 company putting on a sweater to look like one of the characters in our fictitious LinkedIn video.” – Don Jeter [15:23]

7. Experimentation & Measuring Impact

• Discussed the challenge of attribution and the need to align all stakeholders on experimental campaigns.

• Quote:

  "Attribution is brutal... big ideas, you never know what they’re going to do." – Don Jeter [18:42]

• Admits data is useful, but over-relying on “data-driven” mantras inhibits creativity and slows necessary risk-taking.

8. Internal Alignment & Organizational Buy-In

• Don repeatedly emphasizes the need for upfront buy-in from sales, product, and the entire C-suite before running high-risk, non-traditional campaigns.
• Quote:

  “You gotta be. You have to take risks to stand out. And before you do those risks, it’s in your best interest if you’re a marketing leader to go align because now it’s shared accountability.” – Don Jeter [19:38]

9. Why Product Quality is Foundational

• No amount of hype, humor, or creative marketing will help if the product isn’t excellent and trustworthy.
• Quote:

  “…if your product isn’t standing up when you get to POC, or when you’re in a demo, if it’s all theater and then you get behind the curtain and it sucks, it doesn’t work.” – Don Jeter [20:28]

10. Building Consistent Messaging & Memorable Taglines

• Don discusses the value of simple, emotional taglines (“Soar is dead”) based on real customer pain, not technical features.
• Quote:

  “Soar is dead. Oh, everyone will remember that. It’s three words. It’s like, just do it or I’m loving it.” – Don Jeter [23:50]

11. Handling Pushback & Polarization in Marketing

• Not everyone loves Torque’s style—some find it too weird or offbeat, but Don sees even negative reactions as a sign they’re doing something right.
• Quote:

  “If you don’t have failures, you’re probably not trying hard enough... All gas, no brakes is the mentality at Torque.” – Don Jeter [34:30]

• Quote:

  “We have people who hate Torque deeply... We love it because you at least care.” – Don Jeter [30:14]

12. Scaling & Culture: Lean Teams, High Output

• The creative engine at Torque is a small but mighty team(“We did four events my first year at Torque. We did 95 events the second year, and we've done 160 events this year.” [47:33])
• Don credits collaboration between technical product marketers and creative content marketers as the “secret sauce.”

13. Partnerships, Collabs, and Lessons from Consumer Brands

• Unique partnerships—like with Monster Jam—afford Torque “cultural relevance” and stand out amid the noise of F1 partnerships and traditional event tactics.
• Don predicts consumer trends like unexpected collaborations and immersive content will become mainstream in B2B.

14. AI in Content Creation: Brainstorming, Not Replacing Taste

• The Torque team uses AI for brainstorming and early drafts, but insists that true quality content comes from human taste and emotional investment.
• Quote:

  “Taste is a big part of this game... you’re not going to get great out of AI without somebody who has great taste working with it.” – Don Jeter [39:45]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “The big ideas, you never know what they're going to do. Right. And the alternative is you look like every one of those other booths in that exhibit hall. You're never going to break through.”
  – Don Jeter [18:42]

• On event stunts:

  “Getting [the monster truck] into the booth, a nightmare.” – Don Jeter [05:46]

• On negative feedback:

  “We've had hate at events, we've had hate online. It means you're doing something right because you're creating a reaction.” – Don Jeter [30:58]

• On AI:

  “The AI slop is relentless… It actually makes good content stand out even more. So I’m inviting everybody to use AI for–don’t hire designers, just use AI.” – Don Jeter [39:23]

• On creative marketing culture:

  “If you don't have failures, you're probably not trying hard enough. Yeah, like, you should go harder.” – Don Jeter [34:25]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [00:27] – Differentiation and leading with brand in cybersecurity
• [04:09] – Conference tactics: from generic booths to monster trucks
• [07:46] – World-building and Torque’s narrative-driven content
• [10:26] – Origins and success of “Trevor the Intern”
• [13:36] – Do creative marketing and skits actually drive revenue?
• [15:23] – Fortune 500 CISO participates in Torque's brand narrative
• [18:42] – Attribution, data-driven marketing, and necessary risk
• [20:28] – Why product quality is non-negotiable for bold marketing
• [23:50] – Taglines and defining the core narrative ("Soar is dead")
• [30:14] – Handling hate, polarization, and making people care
• [34:30] – Fails and learnings from past marketing stunts
• [47:33] – Scaling marketing output with a lean, creative team
• [39:45] – AI: brainstorms are useful, but human taste is indispensable
• [50:15] – Sacred marketing beliefs we’ll laugh at (like “data-driven marketer”)

Lightning Round Highlights

• $10 million marketing experiment?
  – “Super Bowl ad—just a personal dream.” [48:27]
• Overhyped concept to retire soon?
  – “Data-driven marketer…” [50:15]
• Memorable recent ad?
  – Don cites a utility truck ad featuring a quirky, offbeat storyline [52:11]

Podcast Tone & Style

The episode is lively, irreverent, and candid—much like Torque’s marketing ethos. Don’s language is direct, self-deprecating, and filled with humor, underscoring the importance of authenticity, risk, and emotional connection. Stephanie provides the perfect platform, alternating between insightful questions and authentic reactions.

Final Thoughts

This episode is essential for:

• Marketing leaders frustrated with B2B sameness
• Teams seeking inspiration for bold, brand-first tactics
• Leaders wrestling with measurement, attribution, and team buy-in

Don Jeter’s playbook proves that, even in technical industries, creative risk, humor, and storytelling can drive not just awareness, but real business results—so long as the product delivers and the C-suite is aligned.

LinkedIn is where you’ll find Torque’s skits and content—including Trevor, Sock Goblin, and more.
As Don says: “Smash the subscribe button!” [56:09]