How a Cybersecurity Creative Agency Built 5.2x Pipeline With Signal-Based GTM
How Nez and Pez used signal-based GTM to build 5.2x pre-event pipeline targeting cybersecurity companies preparing for RSA Conference and Black Hat.
FAQ
What is signal-based GTM?
Signal-based GTM (go-to-market) is a strategy that uses real-time behavioral and situational data to identify when a prospect is entering a buying window, then triggers targeted outreach anchored to that specific signal. Instead of sending outreach based on static lists, signal-based GTM monitors triggers like funding rounds, leadership changes, event participation, technology adoption, and social conversations to reach prospects at the moment of highest relevance.
How does signal-based outbound differ from traditional cold outreach?
Traditional cold outreach sends messages based on static firmographic filters (industry, company size, geography) without regard to timing or buying readiness. Signal-based outbound only initiates outreach when a specific trigger event confirms the prospect is likely entering a buying cycle. The performance difference is significant: signal-based campaigns achieve 15 to 25% reply rates compared to 1 to 5% for generic cold outreach (Autobound, aggregating Instantly, Belkins, and Martal Group data).
Why is timing so important in event-driven markets?
In event-driven markets like cybersecurity conferences, buying decisions follow compressed timelines. Companies begin planning for events like RSA Conference 4 to 6 months in advance, but most vendors and agencies only begin outreach when public exhibitor lists appear 8 to 12 weeks before the event. The 2 to 4 month gap between internal planning and public visibility is the window where signal-based outreach creates the most impact, reaching prospects before the shortlist is formed.
What signals indicate a cybersecurity company needs creative services?
Six signal types proved most predictive in this engagement: early conference participation signals (confirming RSA or Black Hat attendance 10 to 18 weeks out), funding rounds (Series A to C in the last 90 days), new marketing leadership (CMO or VP Marketing hires), brand staleness indicators (outdated website or visual identity relative to product maturity), lookalike ICP matches, and social intent conversations about rebranding, booth challenges, or agency frustration.
Can signal-based GTM work outside of cybersecurity?
Yes. The framework applies to any market with identifiable buying triggers. Event-driven industries (trade shows, conferences, product launches), funding-triggered markets (startups, growth-stage SaaS), seasonal buying cycles (budgeting periods, fiscal year transitions), and leadership-change-driven evaluations all create predictable signal patterns. The key requirement is mapping which triggers predict buying behavior in your specific market and building monitoring systems to detect them.
How long did it take to see results?
The signal-based GTM system was designed and deployed in alignment with the cybersecurity event calendar. Pipeline impact was measurable within the first event cycle, with the 5.2x pipeline increase and 71% conversion rate on hot signals reflecting performance across the pre-event engagement window. The 6 signed retainers represent ongoing relationships that extend well beyond the initial event cycle.
TL;DR
Nez and Pez partnered with getGTM.ai to build a signal-based GTM engine targeting cybersecurity companies preparing for RSA Conference and Black Hat. The result: 5.2x increase in pre-event pipeline, 71% outreach-to-meeting conversion on high-intent signals, and 6 new retainer clients from Series B to C cybersecurity vendors.
The Results at a Glance
5.2x increase in pre-event pipeline
71% outreach-to-meeting conversion on high-intent signals
3,800+ cybersecurity ICPs tracked continuously
140+ actionable social intent alerts generated monthly
6 new retainer clients from Series B to C cybersecurity vendors
The Client: Nez and Pez
Nez and Pez is a creative agency with deep expertise in the cybersecurity ecosystem. The agency specializes in booth design, conference creative, brand identity, messaging, and visual positioning for cybersecurity vendors exhibiting at major industry events.
The agency had strong creative capabilities, clear positioning inside the security ecosystem, and a track record of delivering high-quality work for cybersecurity companies. But pipeline growth still depended heavily on referrals, networking, and inbound demand around two major annual events.
The issue was not capability. It was timing.
The Problem: Creative Agencies Enter the Conversation Too Late
By the time a cybersecurity company starts looking for booth design, conference creative, or brand refresh support, the shortlist already exists.
This pattern is backed by industry data:
85% of B2B buyers select from their day-one shortlist (6sense Buyer Experience Report)
49% of buyers begin their process with just 1 to 3 solutions already in mind (G2 Buyer Behavior Report)
61% of buyer research happens before any vendor contact (6sense 2025)
By the time vendor evaluation is visible, budgets are partially committed. Procurement discussions are active. And the conversation shifts away from strategic value toward pricing comparisons.
For Nez and Pez, this meant competing on price instead of creative quality. The agency needed to reach cybersecurity companies while they were still planning, not after they had already shortlisted competitors.
Why Cybersecurity Events Create a Unique GTM Challenge
What Makes Event-Driven Markets Different
Cybersecurity conferences create compressed buying windows. RSA Conference alone attracts over 40,000 attendees from more than 130 countries (Vendelux). Black Hat draws a similarly high-value audience of security practitioners and vendors.
Most vendors begin preparing for RSA Conference and Black Hat months before the market sees any visible activity. Behind the scenes, companies are already planning:
Booth design and construction
Messaging updates and category positioning
Product launch campaigns
Website refreshes
Event-specific creative assets
Pre-event outreach campaigns
But most agencies only react once exhibitor lists become public or inbound demand appears openly. By that point, the planning cycle is already underway and the agency shortlist is already formed.
The Timing Gap
The planning window for a major cybersecurity conference typically opens 4 to 6 months before the event. Public exhibitor lists appear 8 to 12 weeks before the event. That leaves a 2 to 4 month gap where companies are actively planning but agencies are not yet reaching out.
That gap was the opportunity.
The Solution: A Signal-Based GTM Engine Built Around the Cybersecurity Event Calendar
getGTM.ai designed a signal-based GTM system built specifically around the cybersecurity event calendar. The objective was straightforward: identify cybersecurity companies entering a pre-event planning cycle before competitors even knew they were in-market.
The system layered six distinct signal types to build a composite picture of buying readiness.
Signal 1: Conference Participation Signals
The first signal layer focused on early exhibitor intent. Instead of waiting for public exhibitor lists, getGTM.ai monitored:
Exhibitor registration databases
Press release wires mentioning RSA or Black Hat participation
Event participation announcements on company blogs and social media
Cybersecurity event activity signals across industry publications
The goal was to identify companies confirming RSA or Black Hat participation 10 to 18 weeks before the events, well before public lists were available and well before competing agencies started outreach.
Signal 2: Funding Rounds
Cybersecurity companies raising Series A, B, or C rounds frequently revisit their market positioning immediately after funding. New capital changes expectations:
Investors expect brand maturity and market credibility
Buyers expect professional positioning that matches the product
Founders want stronger visual identity and conference presence
Leadership teams prepare for larger market visibility
A funding round in the last 90 days combined with confirmed event participation created a high-confidence buying signal for creative services.
Signal 3: New CMOs and Marketing Leaders
When a new CMO or VP Marketing joins a cybersecurity company, one of the first areas they evaluate is brand quality:
Messaging clarity and differentiation
Website positioning and design
Visual identity consistency
Conference presence and booth quality
Category differentiation against competitors
Leadership changes in marketing roles created a reliable trigger for creative agency evaluation, especially when combined with upcoming event participation.
Signal 4: Brand Staleness Indicators
Many cybersecurity vendors showed outdated websites, inconsistent branding, weak visual positioning, and mature products paired with immature brand presence. The system surfaced companies whose product maturity had outgrown their brand maturity by monitoring:
Website age and design quality relative to competitors
Inconsistency between product sophistication and visual identity
Outdated conference materials visible in event archives
Brand presence that lagged behind recent funding or growth milestones
Signal 5: Lookalike ICP Engine
The system prioritized companies matching a proven ICP profile:
Series A to C funding
20 to 200 employees
RSA or Black Hat participation history
Strong technical credibility
Weak brand expression
Competing in crowded cybersecurity positioning categories
This lookalike engine ensured the system continuously identified new accounts matching the profile of Nez and Pez's best existing clients.
Signal 6: Social Intent Monitoring
The final layer tracked real-time conversations across LinkedIn, Twitter/X, and cybersecurity community forums related to:
Rebranding initiatives
RSA Conference preparation discussions
Black Hat planning conversations
Booth design challenges
Agency frustration or vendor switching
Event creative and messaging changes
This social monitoring layer generated 140+ actionable alerts per month, each representing a company publicly signaling a need that Nez and Pez could address.
How the Outreach Changed
Before: Generic Agency Outreach
Before the signal-based system, outreach followed a typical agency pattern:
Generic messaging about creative capabilities
Sent based on static lists and referral networks
No connection to the prospect's current buying timeline
Timing based on the agency's sales calendar, not the prospect's planning cycle
After: Signal-Anchored Outreach
With the signal-based system, every outreach sequence referenced the exact trigger that activated the account. The outreach only existed because the signal existed.
For example:
A company confirming RSA participation received outreach referencing their specific event timeline and booth planning window
A recently funded company received outreach connecting their funding milestone to the brand maturity expectations that follow investment
A company with a new CMO received outreach acknowledging the leadership transition and the brand evaluation that typically follows
This is the core difference between generic outbound and signal-based outbound. Signal-based outreach achieves 15 to 25% reply rates compared to 1 to 5% for generic cold outreach (Autobound, aggregating Instantly, Belkins, and Martal Group data). Nez and Pez saw results at the top of that range because every message was anchored to a specific, verifiable trigger.
Why the System Worked: Timing Over Scale
Most outbound systems optimize for scale. This system optimized for timing.
Instead of asking "Who should we prospect?", the better question became: "Which companies are most likely entering a buying window right now?"
The system worked because it aligned three variables simultaneously:
Fit: The account matched Nez and Pez's proven ICP (cybersecurity vendor, right size, right stage, weak brand expression)
Timing: The account was showing signals of entering a planning or evaluation cycle (event participation, funding, leadership change)
Relevance: The outreach referenced the specific signal, creating immediate relevance instead of manufactured personalization
When all three variables align, outbound stops feeling like outbound. It starts feeling relevant. And relevance is what creates pipeline.
The Outcome: Full Results Breakdown
5.2x increase in pre-event pipeline: Pipeline generated in the months before RSA Conference and Black Hat grew 5.2x compared to the previous year's referral and inbound-only approach
71% outreach-to-meeting conversion on hot signals: When all signal layers converged (event participation + funding + brand staleness), 71% of outreach attempts resulted in a booked meeting
3,800+ cybersecurity ICPs tracked continuously: The system maintained a living database of cybersecurity companies, updated with real-time signal data across all six signal types
140+ actionable social intent alerts monthly: Social monitoring generated over 140 verified alerts per month, each representing a company publicly signaling a creative services need
6 new retainer clients from Series B to C cybersecurity vendors: The engagement produced 6 signed retainer relationships with funded cybersecurity companies, converting from signal detection to ongoing creative partnership
The Bigger GTM Lesson
Most companies still treat outbound as a volume problem. But modern GTM is increasingly a signal-detection problem.
The companies winning today are not necessarily sending more emails. They are identifying intent earlier.
This pattern is not limited to creative agencies or cybersecurity. Any business selling into event-driven markets, seasonal buying cycles, or funding-triggered purchase decisions can apply the same signal-based framework:
Map the buying timeline for your market (when do prospects actually plan and evaluate?)
Identify the signals that predict entry into that timeline
Build monitoring systems to detect those signals before competitors do
Anchor every piece of outreach to a specific, verifiable trigger
Measure conversion by signal type, not by campaign volume
When outreach happens during moments of internal momentum (funding events, leadership changes, event preparation, expansion phases, and repositioning cycles) it stops feeling like cold outreach. It feels like a relevant conversation arriving at the right time.
That is what creates pipeline.
Nez and Pez did not change their creative capabilities. They did not lower their prices. They did not increase their outbound volume.
They changed when they entered the conversation.
By detecting buying signals before competitors even knew prospects were in-market, the agency moved from competing on price to competing on timing. And timing won.
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