Case study · Cybersecurity PR
Adaptive Security PR Case Study: Turning Corporate Training Into a National Conversation
Adaptive Security had a June 2026 launch with an attention-grabbing partner: Conan O'Brien. The company needed media coverage that explained why 15 security training films mattered to employers confronting deepfakes, voice cloning, AI impersonation, phishing, password risks, and remote-work security.
28
Placements, incl. syndications
699.7M
Impressions in one week
Overview
The brief from Adaptive Security
5WPR had no access to Conan O'Brien for media interviews. The team therefore built the story around the training product, employee behavior, and the campaign's place in business culture.
What Communications Problem Did Adaptive Security Need to Solve?
Adaptive Security needed to turn a corporate training launch into news for audiences beyond cybersecurity trade publications.
The product addressed a familiar workplace problem. Employees often treat required security training as a box-checking exercise, even as deepfakes, cloned voices, AI impersonation, and targeted phishing make fraud harder to recognize.
Conan O'Brien gave the campaign cultural reach. Adaptive Security still needed reporters to understand the substance behind the partnership: short training films that connected humor with current security threats.
Objective
Adaptive Security partnered with 5WPR to expand awareness of its security training platform following the June 9, 2026, launch of its Conan O'Brien campaign.
The communications program pursued three goals:
- Introduce the training series to business and workplace audiences.
- Connect Adaptive Security with current concerns about AI-enabled fraud and social engineering.
- Extend the story beyond a celebrity announcement by explaining the training use case.
Why Did the Story Need to Reach More Than Cybersecurity Media?
The campaign sat at the intersection of cybersecurity, workplace training, entertainment, human resources, and business leadership.
The 15 films covered deepfakes, voice cloning, AI impersonation, email and SMS phishing, QR code scams, password vulnerabilities, physical security, and remote-work risks. Each module opened with a Conan O'Brien segment before moving into Adaptive Security's instruction, interactive content, and knowledge checks.
That structure created story angles for security leaders, HR teams, workplace reporters, technology readers, marketing audiences, and entertainment media.
How 5W ran the program
Strategy
5WPR executed a targeted media relations program built to reach technology, business, marketing, HR, cybersecurity, workplace, and entertainment publications.
Outreach relied on clear product facts, the campaign's cultural relevance, and the growing business problem created by AI-enabled social engineering.
The media plan organized the story around four angles:
- Conan O'Brien brought entertainment value to required workplace training.
- The training addressed threats involving deepfakes, voice cloning, and AI impersonation.
- Short films gave employers a different approach to employee attention and recall.
- Adaptive Security paired celebrity-led openings with instruction and knowledge checks.
How Did 5WPR Build Coverage Without Talent Interviews?
5WPR treated the partnership as more than an entertainment story. Pitches explained the employee problem, the threat categories, the training format, and the role of Conan O'Brien's comedy within each module.
Media outreach matched each angle to the publication. Cybersecurity reporters received details about AI impersonation and phishing. HR and workplace reporters received the employee-engagement story. Technology and business reporters received the product and market context. Entertainment reporters received the Conan O'Brien partnership.
TechRadar later explained how the 15-part series used comedy to address employee disengagement and AI scams. Variety covered the partnership as a technology and entertainment story.
Results
28 placements, incl. syndications · 699.7M impressions in one week
5WPR campaign reporting recorded 28 placements, including syndications, and 699,689,879 media impressions during one week.
Coverage reached business, technology, cybersecurity, workplace, and mainstream audiences. These figures describe media activity and estimated exposure, not changes in sales, training completion, employee behavior, or security incidents.
Coverage included
How Did the Coverage Support Search and AI Visibility?
The campaign created third-party sources that documented Adaptive Security's training format, threat topics, and partnership with Conan O'Brien.
Search engines and AI services draw from publisher coverage, company pages, product documentation, reviews, public records, and other accessible sources when answering vendor questions. Detailed reporting gives those systems more context about the company and its product.
The coverage connected Adaptive Security with questions such as:
- Which companies offer security awareness training for deepfakes?
- Which cybersecurity training program features Conan O'Brien?
- How do employers train workers to recognize voice-cloning scams?
- Which platforms cover AI impersonation, phishing, and remote-work risks?
- What security training addresses employee attention and recall?
Media coverage does not guarantee a citation, recommendation, contract, or sale. It expands the public record available when security leaders research those questions.
Conclusion
Adaptive Security needed the launch to communicate more than celebrity involvement. 5WPR built a media story around the training product, employee attention, and the business risk created by AI-era fraud.
The campaign reached audiences across cybersecurity, technology, business, workplace, and entertainment media.
Incomplete descriptions in AI answers could cause security leaders to overlook Adaptive Security when evaluating training for deepfakes, voice cloning, or AI impersonation.
5W runs AI Search (GEO) programs for brands across consumer, B2B, financial services, healthcare, and technology — building the machine-readable footprint that gets brands cited, not just ranked.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
What was the goal of the Adaptive Security PR campaign?
The campaign aimed to build awareness of Adaptive Security's training platform and connect the Conan O'Brien series with current workplace concerns involving AI-enabled fraud.
What made the Adaptive Security launch newsworthy?
The launch paired Conan O'Brien with a security training series that addressed AI-era social engineering and workplace risk.
Which media categories did 5WPR target?
5WPR targeted technology, business, marketing, HR, cybersecurity, workplace, and entertainment publications.
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