There are some marketing campaigns that just work. They resonate with their audience, they add value, they’re interesting and topical – but they’re also rare. In 2020, the MobileIron (now Ivanti) communications team launched a new campaign to tell the story of the Everywhere Enterprise (a precursor to Ivanti’s Everywhere Workplace). We wanted to paint a picture of the current reality and the future workplace, while creatively showcasing how our products were perfectly suited to enable and secure that new world. Flash forward to 2021 and I’m thrilled to share that not one, but TWO of MobileIron’s 2020 creative marketing campaigns were selected as winners in two of the industry’s most prestigious marketing awards programs!

Our “Phishing with Cookies” campaign was selected as the winner in the North America Business-To-Business Marketing category in the SABRE Awards, and our “Everywhere Enterprise” marketing campaign was selected as a Gold Award winner in the NYX Awards.

gold winner: marketing effectiveness

A sweet campaign

Last year, we saw cloud, mobile devices and changing work habits make it exponentially more difficult for IT to protect corporate networks. These events, accelerated by COVID-19, gave us a platform to discuss the threats and challenges an enterprise with a remote workforce needed to address. We developed the “Everywhere Enterprise” theme to illustrate our evolution from a unified endpoint management (UEM) provider to the center of enterprise security – providing enterprises with the security infrastructure they needed in a zero trust world.

To pave the way for our Everywhere Enterprise message, we issued a survey that revealed how C-suite executives are one of the weakest links in mobile device security. We also arranged media opportunities on mobility-related topics like 5G, BYOD and election security to further amplify the Everywhere Enterprise theme.

When MobileIron released its new phishing protection product, we came up with a creative strategy to stand apart in a crowded market and highlight unusual vectors for phishing attacks that can put users, their data, devices and organizations at risk. We tempted media and influencers with hand-delivered sugar cookies bearing a QR code iced onto their surface but with no note or explanation. We relied on the curiosity of recipients who could scan the code through the cookies’ packaging and, after doing so, got directed to a landing page explaining the risks of following links (and QR codes) from an unknown source. The page also offered one-click booking for follow-up briefings, and extended to social media, with scannable ‘virtual cookies’ shared via Twitter cards. Our treats were scanned by an overwhelming 97% of those who received them – most of them scanned multiple times (one recipient scanned over 20 times, we assume showing their friends and family).

winner qr cookie

To further amplify the messaging from this campaign, we released another survey and a corresponding video on the security risks associated with QR codes, which found that three out of four people cannot distinguish between a legitimate and malicious QR code, among other jarring statistics. The findings of this survey were featured in numerous publications and outlets, leveraged by our sales and marketing teams, and spurred further creative ideas. Clearly, we hit on a topic that resonated!

The impact

Our thought leadership initiatives and creative marketing campaigns resulted in 100+ articles over the span of 2020, including mentions in Business Insider, The Wall Street Journal, Forbes and the BBC. The campaign also helped drive business impact. With the Phishing for Cookies campaign, MobileIron saw a 25% increase in product trials from June (when the campaign launched) to July, representing the highest period of the quarter by 66.7%. The company also saw a 43% increase in new Annual Recurring Revenue Pipeline from the prior period, up from $820k to $1.18M since the campaign launched. And in September of 2020, MobileIron announced that it had been acquired by Ivanti.

What’s next

At Ivanti, we are continuing to develop creative marketing campaigns that resonate with people. We recently announced our bold brand identity and mission to make the Everywhere Workplace possible.

Case in point: Right now, we’re currently hosting an #EverywhereWorkplace social challenge! From treetops to treadmills, poolside to pillow forts, we want to see YOUR most creative remote workspace. Follow us on social, share a photo of your work setup with the hashtag #EverywhereWorkplace and tag us for the chance to win amazing prizes. Tune in each week during May for a new challenge.

We also recently announced the results of a consumer sentiment study, which revealed that QR code usage continues to rise in popularity. We conducted this study as a follow up to the September 2020 MobileIron report to understand how consumer attitudes and usage of QR codes have evolved over the last year. As the need for touchless transactions increased due to COVID-19, 83% of respondents stated that they used a QR code to make a payment (or complete a financial transaction) for the first time.

Download the report to get more insight into our QR code security forecast for 2021. And, most importantly, find out how IT organizations can respond to security threats by improving consumer awareness and adopting a zero trust mobile security platform to protect against a new wave of cyberattacks.