What does the Nordic media write about cybersecurity?
By Michael Falk, PR/Communication Advisor at Agera PR
It happens a lot to us that international companies in cybersecurity need our help to get coverage in the Nordic media. For some, the Nordic region is attractive because it is a region at the forefront of technology. For others, it is instead about expanding into a market with a GDP of USD 1.7 trillion.
What does a cybersecurity company need to think about when trying to get publicity in the Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, or Finnish media? Here are some points that, according to our experience, can be different when working with PR in the Nordics compared to other countries:
There are several small media landscapes
The Nordic countries consist of four larger countries and a small one (Iceland). In some of the Nordic countries, there isn’t a single news outlet that only covers cybersecurity. Fortunately, however, in all four major countries, there are several media outlets that cover B2B tech, where cybersecurity is an important part.
The fact that there are only a few media also means that relatively few journalists cover security issues. It means fewer articles are written regarding cybersecurity issues, which in turn means there is fierce competition for media space. We simply need to have a good angle in order to have an impact – although this applies in and of itself in all countries.
The cybersecurity news is local
Nordic media almost exclusively write about cybersecurity in their own country or in the region. What they write can of course reflect international trends, but the focus is how it affects their own country. As such, meeting international executives may not cut it unless they have Nordic-specific insights.
On the other hand, there is great interest in how different companies and organisations work against security threats as well as in numbers and stats of all kinds – as long as they are about a local angle.
The media likes to cover new threats
It could be about new ransomware or that intrusions have affected a certain type of device, such as speakers or cars. If it is possible to say that there has been an intrusion in one’s own country, interest increases even more.
Of course, there are also articles about various breaches that are hitting local businesses. Publicity in the wider media often focuses on how cybercrime affects individuals or businesses, but in the technology media, there is also room to comment and talk about more technical aspects.
They like surveys
When we have figures from, for example, Sweden, we manage to get publicity. Local figures are very popular with the media. However, the questions must be locally relevant in order to get answers that are interesting to the local audience.
It is also good to know that many media in the Nordics are demanding to know all the details of how the survey was carried out. If they do not think the method was good, they may well refrain from publishing, so it is important to think in advance about how the survey should be carried out.
Product-based news is difficult
One thing that the Nordic media is less keen on is product news. If they do publish, they are careful that it does not become too obvious that it is really about the selling of products. It is also not possible to get writings that it is a “unique” product or that it is the “first in the industry”, but a neutral tone is a prerequisite for getting publicity.
What works instead is to talk about trends and opportunities for customers and users. Often a new product is a response to demand or an example of a trend – and this is what is most interesting to the media.
Feel free to contact Agera PR, an integral part of the Code Red Global Network, if you want to discuss how you can have a good impact on the media in the Nordics. For more cybersecurity news, insights and analysis, follow Code Red on Twitter and LinkedIn.
