Turning a Brand Crisis into Opportunity

How a Strategic Content Plan Helped SolarWinds Rebuild Trust and Drive $10M in Pipeline

In today's crowded digital landscape, simply being present isn't enough. For many small businesses, freelancers and creators, the real challenge lies in creating content that actually converts—not just content that exists. In this case study, we'll look at how I partnered with SolarWinds to rebuild trust, drive engagement, and generate new business opportunities following one of the most significant cybersecurity incidents in recent history.

By defining clear audiences, aligning messaging across verticals, and executing a focused campaign, we turned challenges into opportunities. The journey wasn't about ignoring the crisis or pretending it didn't happen. Instead, it required acknowledging the incident head-on while demonstrating concrete actions, transparency, and renewed commitment to security and customer success.
In this case study, we’ll look at how I partnered with SolarWinds to rebuild trust, drive engagement, and generate new business opportunities following one of the most significant cybersecurity incidents in recent history. By defining clear audiences, aligning messaging across verticals, and executing a focused campaign, we turned challenges into measurable success.

What makes this case particularly valuable is that the strategies we employed extend far beyond crisis management. Whether you're recovering from a setback or simply trying to break through competitive noise, the framework we built—audience segmentation, message alignment, and strategic content distribution—applies to virtually any brand looking to strengthen market position and generate meaningful pipeline growth.

This wasn't a quick fix or a single viral campaign. It was a methodical approach grounded in data, customer insights, and a deep understanding of market sentiment. The $10M in pipeline didn't materialize overnight, but rather through consistent execution, trust-building, and proving that SolarWinds was serious about moving forward. In the following sections, we'll break down exactly how we did it and what lessons you can apply to your own content and marketing strategy.

Background: The Challenge

SolarWinds approached me as they worked to regain momentum after the SUNBURST cyberattack, which had impacted both reputation and pipeline. They faced major challenges with lead generation, sales enablement, and brand perception, particularly within the public sector.

Despite having a strong product offering, loyal customers, and a wealth of technical expertise, their story wasn’t reaching the right audiences in the right way.

Key issues included:

Lack of clarity around marketing strategy for the public sector side of the business
An irregular publishing schedule that led to audience fatigue
Metrics that showed engagement but not conversions
Inconsistent messaging across commercial, federal, state/local, and healthcare audiences

Approach: The Strategy Behind the Turnaround

To rebuild credibility and accelerate growth, we implemented a multi-step content strategy that was clear, concise, and connected with the SolarWind’s public sector customers.

1. Audience & Messaging Deep Dive

We began by defining a succinct value proposition and set of messaging pillars to guide all public sector communications. This ensured every piece of marketing material — from blogs to social posts, online and partner content — tied back to a unified narrative.

2. Content Calendar & Format Optimization

Next, we created a quarterly marketing calendar aligned with sales goals, customer events, and key marketing touchpoints, including:

Webinars and Events
Email newsletters
Blog posts
Social media content
Media outreach

We focused on formats that fit SolarWinds’ strengths and audience expectations — webinars were a proven channel, along with customer success stories, case studies, and thought-leadership articles.

3. Execution & Promotion

Once the strategy was in place, we produced a steady flow of content assets, including blogs, social posts, email campaigns, case studies, and PowerPoint decks for sales — all built around clear, actionable CTAs.

Promotion efforts targeted channels where the audience was already engaged:

LinkedIn (corporate and public sector pages)
Partner networks, including Carahsoft, CyberBytes Foundation, and HIMSS
Newsletters and event follow-ups including email drip campaigns

We also established tracking and analytics frameworks to monitor engagement, conversions, and overall ROI.

4. Measurement & Iteration

Every week, we reviewed key performance indicators — including leads, event registrations, conversions, and media attention. These insights guided agile adjustments to content and our marketing plans, ensuring we doubled down on what worked best.

Results: What We Achieved

In just 12 weeks, this structured, data-driven approach produced remarkable outcomes:

$10.34 million in pipeline attributed to public sector campaigns
328 new opportunities generated
400 hot leads directly tied to content efforts
1,000+ event and webinar attendees

The campaign not only reignited engagement but also helped restore credibility and confidence in the SolarWinds brand — particularly within the government and healthcare sectors.

Lessons Learned: What Others Can Take Away

For any business, freelancer, or content creator looking to transform their marketing outcomes, here are five key takeaways from this project:

Clarity over quantity. A focused message to the right audience is far more effective than constant, unfocused output.
Format matters. Identify which content types resonate most with your audience — and double down.
Promotion is half the battle. Great content won’t perform if no one sees it; meet your audience where they already are.
Measure early and iterate. Frequent performance checks allow you to pivot before small missteps become lost quarters.
Lead with stories. People connect to authenticity. Show the challenges, the wins, and the human impact behind your brand.

If you’re a small business owner, freelancer, or marketer ready to move from just publishing to publishing that converts, this framework can help you get there.

Want help tailoring a content strategy like this for your brand? Download the full SolarWinds case study here, and reach out if you’re interested in a free consultation.

Don’t just create content. Create content that drives results.