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Building Confidence in a Sensitive Space: CEIA USA
How a strategic approach to content helped an industry leader earn attention and trust with K-12 decision-makers.
Engagement Scope
Content Strategy
customer personas
Demand gen Strategy
email & Social Strategy
Measurement strategy
The Challenge
CEIA USA is the leading provider of weapons detection systems in the U.S., but that reputation hasn't yet extended into the K-12 education space.
They're trusted by airports, major event venues, and law enforcement agencies. But school districts represent a different conversation—one filled with emotion, nuance, and a high-stakes decision-making process involving administrators, board members, security staff, and the broader community.
While CEIA performs well once they're in the room, they weren't getting enough opportunities to get there.
Their Italian parent company had historically controlled marketing, and content was written more for engineers than educators. Competitors with splashy tech and aggressive sales tactics were gaining ground. CEIA needed a strategy that made them visible, credible, and trustworthy.
TL;DR
Client: CEIA USA. Industry leader in weapons detection systems
The Shift
We helped CEIA reframe how they showed up for K-12 search committees. This wasn't about hype. It wasn't about fear. It was about:
- Being useful to decision-makers navigating a high-risk, high-scrutiny process
- Earning trust through clarity, transparency, and education
- Equipping buyers with the resources they needed to justify their decision to peers, boards, and community stakeholders
To do that, we focused on:
- Clarifying the audience: We identified the key stakeholders, including superintendents, school boards, operations and safety leaders, and parents, as part of the buying committee. All had different questions and concerns.
- Aligning content to buying behavior: We developed a funnel-aware content strategy that focuses on short- and mid-form educational content (FAQs, checklists, and blog content) and long-form assets (white papers and implementation guides).
- Humanizing the narrative: We helped shift the messaging from technical specifications to trust-building, highlighting CEIA's experience, values, and role in a broader safety strategy.
- Planning for action: We provided CEIA with a prioritized roadmap that they could implement with internal or external teams.
The Work
Strategic Content Roadmap
Including what to create and publish where, plus a recipe for creating unique content by layering competitive differentiators with content pillars, building trust through content, focusing on larger content assets, and atomizing those to increase reach, and cadence recommendations.
Buyer Persona Mapping
Including identification of specific content gaps for each stakeholder group (superintendents, school boards, facilities managers, safety coordinators, and parent influencers)
Social & Email Strategy
Designed for different buyer types, including LinkedIn targeting for administrators and email nurture sequences for committee-based decision processes
The Outcomes
CEIA USA walked away with a fully built, K-12-specific content strategy, a first for the organization.
They aren't trying to win with louder marketing. They're showing up smarter, earlier, and with more clarity than their competitors.
A clear, buyer-centric narrative
A roadmap for building awareness and trust at scale
Tactical recommendations they can implement with internal or external teams
Tools to justify future marketing investments to their global leadership
The Takeaways
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