Fear, uncertainty and doubt have long been marketing staples in antivirus software. But as the media have taken to spinning their own tales from the crypt, FUD has begun to give way as a marketing tool. That's good for the brands, but how do you move beyond fear when it's all you know?
A number of industries face the peculiar challenge of marketing products whose appeal is based on the rudimentary fear of calamity. Just think of insurance companies, alarm makers and anyone else who sells "security." The anti-virus software market falls in this category, with a twist: People know floods damage homes and robbers pilch businesses, but with computer viruses, the damage is still somewhat unfamiliar. With so many new users jumping onto the Internet, AV marketers have to command attention and educate-but without turning off customers via scare tactics.
In June, the International Computer Security Association reported that computer virus infections in 1997 ran about 33 per 1,000 computers per month, up from one per 1,000 three years prior. The number of virus encounters has increased consistently-mostly in the form of macro viruses spread via Microsoft Word and spreadsheet email attachments, says Larry Bridwell, ICSA program development manager. While the percentage of infections from diskettes is dropping, the number from email has increased from 9 percent in 1995 to 32 in 1997.
Before the Internet went mainstream, the market for antivirus software was limited to protecting at the desktop. Now, for home users and corporations, the Internet is the biggest petri dish-a fertile ground for computer viruses. That has meant big business for some. According to Dataquest, $579 million in AV products were sold worldwide in 1997, a number that's expected to skyrocket to $2.3 billion in 2002. Dataquest lists Network Associates as the leading vendor, with 36 percent marketshare, vs. Symantec's 25 percent, Dr. Solomon's 14 percent and Trend's 7 percent. At retail, meanwhile, PC Data has Symantec with 41.7 percent of the market, followed by NA's 39.7 percent and Dr. Solomon's 10 percent. Last year the U.S. retail AV market rang up $136 million-up from $86 million in 1996.
Naturally, the grim statistics from ICSA reflect a real market(ing) opportunity. Every AV company knows it must tap into that concern, but long-term growth and stability in this marketplace will take discipline. There's a fine line between instilling fear and keeping consumers aware of new threats and solutions.
Bridwell tracks the growth of the AV marketplace along the same road manufacturers of uninterruptible power supply (UPS) products have traveled. "First, sellers had to convince people to buy one, convince them that [power outages] could damage machines," he says. "Eventually people felt they had to have one. Most [AV] products now are pretty good. Now they have to sell them, so we're seeing more hype."
On the consumer end, retail has meant headaches for vendors-from wars for shelf space and endcaps to loss-leading prices designed to get consumers to subscribe to continual updates. "Our competitors are creating the image that [their product is] free," says Symantec's director of end-user marketing Chris Benham, noting that 67 percent of Symantec's sales come at retail.
Network Associates uses retail mostly to promote the company's brand, says Wes Wasson, director of product marketing for the virus security division. Almost 90 percent of NA's revenue comes from the corporate sector. "In retail, there's huge name recognition that benefits corporate sales," he says. "If you use it at home, then when there is a virus concern at the office you'll think of looking into the corporate solution. It's a good referral system."
As MC went to press, NA announced its intent to merge with Dr. Solomon's in an acquisition pegged at $640 million. The official spin was that NA was looking to keep pace with Computer Associates and other firms playing in the corporate arena. The acquisition, then, came for synergistic reasons. "We're now in the consumer business because it's a good place to do branding," Anne Beitel, vp of marketing said, pre-merger. "Corporate buyers are home computer users."
Of the big four AV makers, only Trend avoids retail-ironic considering that Trend could most benefit from wider recognition. Until 1995, Trend pushed its technology via an OEM relationship with Intel. So, while the company holds 60 percent of the antivirus market in Asia, it lags in the U.S. It does, however, operate the popular antivirus.com web site, offering a free virtual lab with the functionality of Trend products. "We have gotten to the stage where if a Fortune 2000 company were to look at a solution, they'd have Trend in the short list," says president Irfan Salim. "Our branding requirements are different than someone who is trying to pull average user X off the street. We're more on the model of Oracle. Their branding is not designed at people going to the store."
In the lucrative corporate marketplace, a strong sales force is considered more important than flashy marketing. And because the purchases are comparably big-ticket, and the margins so high, the AV players are making a bumrush for the enterprise. Dana Siebert, vp Americas for Symantec, says the company regularly conducts focus groups and tests packaging for retail, but last fall Symantec began leveraging its retail brand in the enterprise, where executives tend to care more about specific technology.
Retail "is essentially a marketing game," says Zona Research analyst Larry Dietz. "It's another case where you have a highly technical complex product that has to be explained in a simple way. The commercialization was built on the fear factor."
Precisely because technology is less important at retail, the marketing there has been more interesting. Creativity is key, says Wasson, who adds that fear as a tactic is now pass?. "There certainly was a time when there was more marketing through fear, but today it's almost the opposite," he says. "We don't want to hype or play up the fear because 60 Minutes and the news has done that sufficiently."
Of course, Network Associates is the company responsible for the ad campaign featuring, in one spot, a tattooed hacker wagging his spiked tongue at the camera. Wasson calls that an attempt at levity. "We are trying to avoid the serious, heavy-handed, Armageddon tone that too frequently characterizes security marketing," Wasson says. "We believe high-level business executives, our target audience for this campaign, are very aware that security is a critical issue. We are simply addressing the fear which already exists, then driving home a critical, perhaps unknown, point in a memorable way."
The use of fear advertising is against Dr. Solomon's corporate policy, Beitel says. "It might make good marketing in some situations, but we don't use fear to sell," she says. "It's a profitable business to be in, but we have ethical parameters, and intelligence works better than fear." More specifically, Dr. Solomon's ads do, however, use "professional embarrassment" to make a point.
A year ago, Symantec conducted a brand audit and discovered the name is well-respected and that customers bought the product not because they were afraid of anything, but because they saw a need. The message: Consumers want to be enabled, not protected. The rhetoric has followed suit. "People know viruses corrupt data," he says. "We want to send the message that we clear the barriers and help you achieve your goals. It's a fine line to be able to communicate the fear. How would you feel if you lost your last five years of Quicken or love letters? It's tough to communicate that."
Symantec is currently running three print campaigns, with some online elements. Research, according to Benham, has played a crucial part in crafting that campaign. "Instead of going head-to-head comparing technical minutiae, we're going after the customer focus," Benham says. "National ads speak to small business, and about the issues. Our research really shows us that print is the medium that our customers learn first about the solutions." The Norton consumer initiative (NCI) speaks to the consumer with the message: "No viruses, no crashes, no barriers." The campaign launched in January and carried over to the channel with floor stacks.
In its small business campaign, Symantec includes non-Norton products. A year ago, all print materials emphasized saving time. The three current ads reflect a more positive message: that businesses need to stay focused on the customer. Symantec's third campaign for telecommuting includes anti-virus products and includes radio and one single-page ad that launched in November with the message, "Instant telecommuting, just add employees."
Consumers do not buy anti-virus software like they buy word processors-they don't care about little features, intones Network Associates' Wasson. Network Associates' current print campaign has been running in large consumer publications, including BusinessWeek, Forbes and Fortune, as well as in some trades, on TV and online.
"Our whole ad campaign has shifted toward total solution, buying a suite of products," he says. "All the ads focus on buying an insurance policy. We believe the market has moved beyond antivirus protection to broader security." So it's no longer the technical staff being targeted, it's the business executives.
Of the four AV vendors, only Network Associates has advertised on television. A Christmas ad in 1997 showed security problems threatening to delay Christmas and was followed by a one-time commercial that ran during the Super Bowl. Four commercials are currently running with the tagline, "Who's watching your network."
Partnerships can also be a key marketing strategy in this arena. IBM and Symantec recently announced a combined effort, which Symantec announced in a one-page ad in The Wall Street Journal. As part of the arrangement, Symantec will license IBM's immune system technology and patents, combining them with Symantec's own technology to produce a range of products across all IBM platforms. "The deal gives Symantec an additional level of credibility, as well as additional access and reach into leveraging IBM's breadth and channels," Siebert says.
Surely the arrangement makes Symantec more of a powerhouse, but some competitors say they aren't worried. Dr. Solomon's Beitel says of the deal: "There is a lot of buzz, but the way we look at it is one of our competitors is getting out of the market and another has admitted that their technology needs help. We ultimately look at it as a good thing. We're going to put out offers like competitive upgrades and other solutions."
Meanwhile, Trend is playing up peripheral benefits, such as central control, to avoid the usual AV dilemma of marketing products that are similar in nature. The company signed on San Francisco ad agency Tracey/Ryan & Partners in January with the goal of making Trend the dominant player in server-based AV software for small to mid-sized companies. "The primary message is that they have a different message, and that approach is central control," says creative director Tom McGuire. "Our job is to show the benefit of central control of virus defenses and to tell customers that there is an advantage to the software." The idea of central control is real-time configuration and updating of desktop anti-virus on networked computers from a single console.
"McAfee is the most dominant brand in the segment, but Trend has a product point of difference, [so] we have an advantage in how we advertise," says agency partner Tom Ryan. "Trend has been careful about not enlivening fears. Trend has directed us to be highly ethical in the way we present the products." As for the media buy, four cover wraps, three online banners and six print ads will run through the year in magazines such as BusinessWeek, Fortune and InfoWorld.
Beitel says Dr. Solomon's has to focus on technology in its marketing-to make up for the relatively paltry ad budget. "Our competitors have advantages for what they can spend on media. We have to be tactical," she says, adding that direct mail is most useful on the corporate side, though some print ads are planned for the fall.
Even without a significant marketing budget, Beitel has the right idea-thinking tactically about the market without relying on the public's inherent fear of viruses. AV software marketers must develop along with the changing trends in consumer awareness of the product. What started out as an industry promoting technological differences and educating an uninformed public has developed into a pure marketing game. When technological differences cease to exist, successful marketing must take over. It's a matter of finding the fine line between fear and education-then taking it the next step to positive brand recognition. May the best brand win. MC
Natasha Wanchek is a staff writer at MC in San Francisco. Email her at natasha marketingcomputers.com.