PerimeterX "Bad Bot" Campaign

Overview

PerimeterX initially sought a simple out-of-home (OOH) campaign to raise their profile at RSA, one of the largest cybersecurity conferences. However, the project grew into a transformative branding initiative that elevated PerimeterX’s identity through the imaginative “Bad Bots” campaign. The concept combined humor and technical storytelling to highlight their unique ability to identify and neutralize malicious bots.

Bots are responsible for over 90% of login attempts and half the traffic on the internet. Although PerimeterX had cutting-edge technology capable of detecting and thwarting bots, they struggled with low brand awareness.

Their audience, primarily CISOs, was generally targeted with dry, technical marketing from competitors.

PerimeterX needed a creative campaign to differentiate themselves and generate buzz at RSA and White Hat, showcasing their innovative and effective solutions to a broad range of potential clients.

Through discussions with PerimeterX’s CEO, CTO, and marketing team, we gained a deep understanding of their product and target audience. While the leadership team was initially hesitant about bold creative directions, their CMO championed the need for something memorable that would clearly differentiate PerimeterX from the competition.

We created a range of concepts during the ideation phase, from relatively conservative treatments that focused on the problem to others that planted a seed of doubt about current solutions.

A villain to tell the story

The "aha" moment for my team came when we realized the power of creating a memorable, villainous character, the Bad Bot. This bot would embody the chaos PerimeterX solves while providing a funny and approachable way to tell our story.

As the OOH campaign gained traction, PerimeterX saw the potential for motion design to expand the Bad Bots story. Motion allowed us to add depth to the characters, additional humor to the narrative, and flexibility to the messaging. By animating the bots, we could create a more dynamic and memorable experience that resonated and allowed us to use some of our budget on pre-roll ads.

The videos needed to work without audio

We began by creating animatics for a series of 15-second pre-roll videos, where the Bad Bot spoke directly to the audience. This motion approach was embraced immediately, but the CEO added a new wrinkle: the videos needed to work without audio. He wanted these concepts to be featured at events where audio wasn't an option. So the good news is that we had approval on the direction, but needed to back to the drawing board on the scripts.

In the meantime, we advanced several different options for the design of the bot. This allowed us to get early buy-in from the PX team and also provided reference for our 3d modelers.

The completed campaign combined static and motion elements to deliver a cohesive, engaging brand experience.

White Hat Conference: The Bad Bots took center stage, driving significant booth traffic and industry buzz. RSA OOH Campaign: The expanded campaign brought the Bad Bots to San Francisco streets, solidifying their role as PerimeterX’s brand mascots. Digital Platforms: Animated content for LinkedIn and other online platforms reached a broader audience, with motion providing versatility for various formats.

These silent concepts were able to tell our story without voiceover, and were used for pre-roll, conference signage, and social. The Cards video was especially useful, because we built a rig that allowed us to change out the writing on the signs in just a few minutes. Here's another execution of the Cards creative:

The PerimeterX Bad Bots campaign highlighted the power of evolving creative approaches to align with changing goals and constraints. By incorporating motion, we unlocked a new level of storytelling that resonated deeply with technical and non-technical audiences alike. For me, this project reinforced the importance of adaptability and the value of embracing constraints as an opportunity for innovation.

A canceled shoot, a new story

Months later, an unrelated broadcast TV shoot was abruptly canceled the day before filming. Faced with paid talent, a camera crew, and no project, I seized the opportunity to expand the Bad Bots story. With less than 24 hours to pivot, I wrote a script that placed a disgruntled bad bot in a career counselor’s office, struggling to find work after PerimeterX made his "career" obsolete.

Working with a talented actor and a flexible crew, we shot the entire video in a single day across locations sourced on the fly, including a rented office space, my home, and a local gym. The ingenuity and enthusiasm of the team turned a potential loss into one of our most creative moments. Although PerimeterX was acquired before the video was completed, the project remains a favorite of mine, and a testament to resourcefulness and the joy of creative exploration.