What Intent Data Tells Us About CISOs in 2025

Cybersecurity marketers at startups with lean budgets often tell us they’ve wasted precious dollars chasing cold, low-intent leads. On the other hand, enterprise marketers—despite having more resources—still struggle with mountains of data that offer little real insight into buyer behavior, especially when it comes to understanding the CISO.

That’s why we built the Athena managed service platform: to close this visibility gap. Powered by our world-class media network and its 15 million unique monthly touchpoints, Athena delivers actionable intelligence based on real engagement—not guesswork.

Every year, CyberTheory and Cyentia transforms billions of these Athena intent signals and engagement data into actionable insights—distilled into a visually-driven, marketer-friendly report for free.

If you’ve ever questioned the value of intent data in cybersecurity marketing, this report makes a compelling case for shifting toward contact-level intelligence as the foundation of your strategy.

Download the full report here

Here are the biggest takeaways from the report about how intent data shapes smarter, more effective cybersecurity marketing targeting CISOs.

1. Sponsored content reveals only a portion of real engagement happening

One of the most revealing insights is that the majority of user engagement happens outside of sponsored content. For example, on the topic of “Security Operations,” 73% of total engagement came from editorial and non-sponsored assets. This underscores a critical gap: if you’re only tracking performance on your branded assets, you’re missing most of the story.

“Without leveraging intent data, three out of four user engagements on a topic may remain invisible to vendors.” (Page 30)

Intent data fills that blind spot—surfacing where, when, and how buyers are interacting with third-party and editorial content that signals interest long before a direct lead capture.

Multi-touch activity is a cornerstone of modern digital marketing because it reflects a more realistic, non-linear buyer journey. Within trusted content ecosystem, you get repeat visitors who rely on the content to make more informed decisions on their own terms without a sales rep trying to pitch them without always taking the time to listen carefully

2. Content format interactions and preferences are very role-specific

Different roles within the same account interact with different content formats. CISOs and VPs leaned into editorial articles, while staff and directors preferred webinars and whitepapers.

“Account activity alone can be misleading—tracking individual behavior reveals who’s active, what they care about, and when to act.” (Page 23)

By mapping intent signals to job roles and content preferences, marketers can personalize outreach, align with buyer needs, and time their engagement with surgical precision.

Sales cycles in cybersecurity are inherently long and complex. CISOs must be focused on strategic, long-lasting organizational changes. Disrupting existing systems requires careful consideration and consensus-building across multiple organizational levels. To effectively influence CISO decisions, vendors must:

• Create comprehensive content for technical evaluators
• Build relationships across different organizational levels
• Demonstrate persistent value through multiple touchpoints
• Understand that technical users significantly influence platform selections

3. Digital content performs better in conjunction with an event

Intent data also shows that event attendance is a powerful catalyst for content consumption. Companies with at least one summit attendee generated more than 13x the engagement across other content assets compared to those without event participation.

“Asset and overall engagement increase impressively with event attendance—it’s an ABM strategy in a box.” (Page 28)

For marketers, this means every event should have a post-engagement content strategy. Follow-up campaigns should align with the topics and formats attendees have already shown interest in.

When brands host their own events, they take control of the narrative,and design an experience that truly reflects who they are. At that point, they’re not just present—they’re remembered. At ISMG.Studio, we’ve partnered with leading brands to transform their events into digital experiences that resonate far beyond the venue. A recent example is our collaboration with CyberArk, where we partnered with them for their IMPACT event, building lasting memories and distributing content across our network of 2M+ professionals.

Learn about seven principles to own your conference narrative

4. OT and AI: high-intent niches hidden in the noise

The report also highlights high-value content niches where intent signals are strong but vendor coverage is weak. Operational Technology (OT) content drives significantly higher per-asset engagement—yet is underrepresented in sponsored formats. Similarly, AI-related topics are now the most engaged themes across all buyer segments, from SMBs to large enterprises.

These are signals you can’t afford to ignore. By tracking topic-level momentum and aligning content strategy to what’s trending now, vendors can capitalize on under-served interest before competitors catch on.

Intent data isn’t just a backend analytics tool—it’s a strategic compass. It tells you what buyers care about, when they’re most engaged, and how to tailor outreach in ways that feel timely, relevant, and trustworthy. For cybersecurity marketers looking to stand out in 2025, intent-driven storytelling is no longer optional—it’s the new baseline.

Ready to Dive Deeper?

This post just scratches the surface. The 2025 CyberTheory/Cyentia CISO Engagement and Decision Drivers Study is packed with charts, real-world examples, and persona-based insights to elevate your cybersecurity content strategy.

Download the full report here