In this episode of The Marketing Front Lines, we speak with Ryan Mattison, VP of Corporate Marketing at Cribl. Cribl has built one of the strongest brands in the infrastructure space by prioritizing authentic storytelling over sanitized marketing. Ryan shares how Cribl’s founding team embedded their practitioner DNA into every aspect of the company—from product roadmap decisions to customer support interactions—creating a brand that stands for choice, control, and flexibility. Through provocative positioning and a ”geek chic” aesthetic inspired by retro sci-fi, Cribl has carved out differentiation in a crowded market while maintaining messaging consistency across diverse IT and security personas. Topics Discussed: - Building customer-centric narratives using the hero’s journey framework - Creating initiative-based storytelling for multiple technical personas - Embedding brand DNA from founding team through entire organization - Balancing provocative positioning with product delivery capabilities - Using pop culture references to make technical concepts accessible - Maintaining narrative consistency across all customer touchpoints - Pushing creative boundaries in B2B tech marketing Lessons For B2B Tech Marketers - Center Your Customer as the Hero, Not Your Product: The most common storytelling mistake in B2B tech is positioning your company as the hero. Your customers are buying technology to transform their careers and organizations—they’re the protagonists. Your product is a supporting character that enables their journey. Frame narratives around how customers achieve transformation, not how your technology works. This shift from inside-out to outside-in thinking creates authentic resonance with sophisticated buyers. - Structure Stories Around Customer Initiatives, Not Product Features: When serving multiple personas with different needs, lead with the specific initiatives each persona is pursuing rather than starting with your brand promise. A security professional migrating to a new SIM has different priorities than an SRE focused on reliability. Begin with their initiative, then connect to your unified value proposition. This approach allows you to maintain one brand story while making it relevant to diverse technical audiences. - Embed Brand from Founding DNA, Not Marketing Documentation: Messaging houses and positioning docs matter, but truly powerful brands live beyond marketing collateral. Cribl’s founders were practitioners who lived the pain they’re solving, allowing the brand ethos to infuse product development, partnerships, and customer support naturally. When brand represents authentic company DNA rather than marketing craftsmanship, every team member becomes a storyteller. Early-stage companies should leverage founders’ practitioner experience as a strategic advantage in building authentic narratives. // Sponsors:  Front Lines — We help B2B tech companies launch, manage, and grow podcasts that drive demand, awareness, and thought leadership. www.FrontLines.io The Global Talent Co. — We help tech startups find, vet, hire, pay, and retain amazing marketing talent that costs 50-70% less than the US & Europe. www.GlobalTalent.co // Don’t Miss: New Podcast Series — How I Hire Senior GTM leaders share the tactical hiring frameworks they use to build winning revenue teams. Hosted by Andy Mowat, who scaled 4 unicorns from $10M to $100M+ ARR and launched Whispered to help executives find their next role.  Subscribe here: https://open.spotify.com/show/53yCHlPfLSMFimtv0riPyM