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The Wiz Drops Playbook

The Story

Tom is Director of Growth Marketing at Wiz, a cloud security company. For three years, his team has run Wiz’s organic presence — social media, website, and viral projects (Source 1).

The company’s growth: “Wiz became the fastest company ever to reach $1B valuation (18 months). Then the fastest to $10B (just over 3 years). Our LinkedIn following grew to 365,000+ and our content regularly goes viral in an industry known for being, well, boring.” (Source 1).

Tom’s team rejected the standard B2B playbook of “Blog twice a week, gate your best content, pray for MQLs.” (Source 1). The reframing: “Stop acting like a B2B company.” (Source 1).

The replacement model: “Content calendars make you create boring content. We now believe in ‘drops’ - launching unexpected B2C-style content that surprises people.” (Source 1).

The drops Wiz has shipped (Source 1):

  • A children’s book about cloud security
  • Card games featuring famous attack paths
  • A job board for cloud security roles
  • A toy store for CISOs
  • A Broadway musical for CISOs
  • A Kubernetes course taught by golden retriever puppies
  • A meditation app for burned-out CISOs

Tom’s formula for what makes a drop work: “Take one expected format + combine it with one unexpected audience.” (Source 1).

Each example follows the rule: Musicals → A musical for CISOs. Kubernetes training → Kubernetes training for puppy lovers. Toys → A toy store for security professionals. Meditation → A meditation app for burned-out CISOs (Source 1).

Why one variable and not more: “Change too many variables and people get confused. Change nothing and people keep scrolling. The sweet spot is taking something universally familiar and giving it ONE weird twist. It’s pattern interruption that still feels recognizable.” (Source 1).

The sustaining philosophy: “Ship a lot of drops. The few hits will build your entire brand. Not everything will work, and that’s the point. Most marketers are so terrified of 90 failures that they never get their 10 wins.” (Source 1).

The contrarian takeaway: “Being different isn’t risky. Looking exactly like everyone else is risky.” (Source 1).

Lesson for Creators

The “one familiar format + one unexpected audience” formula is the most reusable thing in this story. It explains why so many viral B2B campaigns feel like “why didn’t I think of that?” — the building blocks are obvious in hindsight. The other lesson is shipping volume. Most marketers won’t run the puppy-Kubernetes experiment because they’re afraid of the 9 puppy-Kubernetes experiments that will flop first. Wiz’s growth is partly a story about shipping enough drops that the hits could compound into a brand identity. The drop framing also matters: a “campaign” implies sustained effort and expectation; a “drop” gives you permission to ship and forget.

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