Turning
“nice-to-have” SECURITY into a “must-have” FOR GRAMMATECH
GrammaTech had a powerful application security suite. CodeSonar and CodeSentry. But the go-to-market motion was upside down.
The story started with CISOs. That felt logical on paper. In practice, adoption lived with DevSecOps and engineering teams. They had to run the tools, integrate them into pipelines, and trust the output. If developers did not pull it in, the deal stalled.
At the same time, the industry was changing. Shift Left and DevSecOps were moving security responsibility earlier in the SDLC. The burden for clean code was landing on the people shipping code. Developers were becoming accountable for outcomes they could not control without the right workflow support.
Shift Left changed the buying physics. The CISO could approve it but didn't see value. Developers did. We realized they could create internal demand, then sell it up as a must-have tool.
The core tension was not fear. It was pressure. Developers are judged on speed and stability. When issues show up late, blame lands on them. They want control. They want issues caught earlier. They want fewer surprises at release. They wanted to look good. Our job became clear:
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Make CodeSonar + CodeSentry feel essential to DevSecOps workflows.
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Create a developer pull that could travel upward to security leadership.
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Reposition the suite as a developer product, not a security initiative.
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Lead with education that mirrors developer reality and workflow stakes.
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Design a champion path that makes the sell-up easy: adoption first, proof next, approval last.
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Run multi-channel to build reach and conversion: LinkedIn, display, and email.
What we did
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Reframed CodeSonar + CodeSentry around developer outcomes: find issues early, reduce rework, ship with confidence.
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Built the campaign around a satirical idea: from Coding Scapegoat to Coding GOAT. It was meant to get a laugh, then surface the real problem. Developers were getting blamed for issues found late.
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Created Coding GOAT tees to make the idea feel real and shareable.
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Launched simply. Paid social drove ebook downloads.
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The ebook went deeper on Shift Left, what is changing in the threat landscape, and what DevSecOps teams can do to improve code quality earlier.
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We also made it personal. The content showed how developers can grow their careers by building better habits, earning trust, and staying out of hot water.
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Built the supporting funnel pieces: landing pages, ads, and email follow up.
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Used the idea to spark early community around Shift Left.
Impact
The buying motion flipped. DevSecOps teams became the entry point. Developers became the champions. They created internal momentum and sold the value up to CISOs.
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5X increase in developer sourced pipeline: where the first touch is a DevSecOps asset or developer channel.
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35% ebook to demo conversion rate by role
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3X increase in demos booked per month.
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Growth accelerated fast enough that the company hired 2 addidtional SDRs within 90 days to keep up with demand.
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Within a year of this work, GrammaTech’s software products division, including the CodeSonar and CodeSentry product lines, was successfully acquired and formed CodeSecure.
