Executive Summary

Trustwave PCI compliance leader needed to reposition itself as a managed security services powerhouse. Through a focused communications strategy that sharpened the company’s narrative, expanded media and analyst relations, and scaled executive thought leadership, Trustwave elevated its market presence—culminating in an $850M acquisition by Singtel.

Background

Trustwave was known for its PCI compliance solutions for SMBs. With a growing portfolio of software and services, the company aimed to transform its identity and market perception—to move beyond compliance and establish itself as a leader in enterprise-grade managed security services. This evolution helped set the stage Singtel’s acquisition of Trustwave in 2015.

Challenge

Trustwave’s brand and messaging were still largely tied to its roots in PCI compliance. To achieve its growth goals, particularly amid a booming cybersecurity market, the company needed to reframe its story and capitalize on its technology investments and acquisitions. Without clear repositioning, Trustwave risked being overlooked as a serious player in managed security—potentially weakening its strategic options for IPO or acquisition.

Approach

The communications strategy centered on focus:

• Tightening the messaging to transition from compliance to managed security.

• Sharpened analyst relations strategy by prioritizing only the most influential reports—Gartner MQs, Forrester Waves, and IDC MarketScapes in managed security services—to drive leadership recognition and avoid dilution across less impactful coverage.

• Dramatically increasing PR efforts and media coverage.

• Building new content marketing and social media functions.

• Integrating marketing assets from Trustwave’s SpiderLabs team under a unified brand voice.

• Building a full corporate marketing and communications team from the ground up covering public and analyst relations, content marketing, web, creative, and internal communications.

This disciplined focus enabled the brand to “tell the future” early—positioning the company for the market leadership it was building toward.

Execution

The strategy was activated through:

• Developing a multi-year communications roadmap.

• Hiring and expanding the right marketing talent.

• Gaining executive buy-in and securing the necessary budget.

• Prioritizing high-ROI marketing and communications efforts over vanity initiatives.

• Carefully balancing aspirational messaging with business reality, ensuring credibility over time.

While some marketing initiatives raced ahead of internal readiness, the early narrative shift was critical for Trustwave’s perceived value during acquisition discussions.

Impact

• Google Trends: Brand search indexed interest more than doubled (2.3X).

• Press Coverage: 4,500+ articles secured.

• Analyst Recognition: 5 “Leader” placements across Gartner MQs, Forrester Waves, and IDC MarketScapes.

• Business Impact: Communications drove thousands of qualified leads and strengthened market positioning, directly contributing to Trustwave’s $850M acquisition by Singtel.

Takeaways

• Message discipline is everything. Staying relentlessly focused on the new narrative helped transform how the market—and potential buyers—viewed the company.

• It’s okay to “tell the future” strategically. Setting the story early helped Trustwave create a strong perception before all internal milestones had been met—buying time to align operations with brand promises.

  Advice: If you’re repositioning a business, commit early, stick to the story, and invest in third-party validation (analysts, media, customer proof points). It’s the outside-in view that accelerates perception change.

Note: This project reflects work by PURDYPR’s Founder prior to launching the firm.