Category Creation and Market Leadership with the CMO of 1Password, Melton Littlepage
Description
In this episode, Dave sits down with Melton Littlepage, CMO at 1Password, to discuss how he’s transforming a well-known consumer brand into a B2B category leader in cybersecurity. With decades of experience in SaaS marketing, Melton shares insights on category creation, demand generation, and the intersection of brand and product marketing—and why being the leader in your space matters more than perfect attribution.
Dave and Melton cover:
- Why category leadership is critical and how to position your company as #1
- How enterprise marketing, brand-building, and demand gen work together to drive growth
- How 1Password is expanding beyond password management to create a new category
Timestamps
- (00:00 ) - – Intro to Melton
- (06:24 ) - – The evolution of marketing from demand gen to category creation
- (09:33 ) - – The balance between data-driven marketing and brand-building
- (11:07 ) - – Why attribution alone won’t make your company “hot”
- (11:40 ) - – The importance of category leadership and market perception
- (13:52 ) - – How 1Password is shifting from password management to Extended Access Management (XAM)
- (16:16 ) - – How COVID changed the cybersecurity landscape
- (18:29 ) - – Why legacy security tools aren’t enough for modern businesses
- (20:59 ) - – The role of category creation in defining 1Password’s future
- (22:14 ) - – Naming and positioning a new category (Extended Access Management)
- (23:53 ) - – The risks and rewards of category creation vs. competing in an existing space
- (25:57 ) - – Why CISOs are hesitant to be early adopters—and how to shift buyer perception
- (28:42 ) - – The strategy behind creating demand for a new category
- (30:39 ) - – Lightning strike moments and big brand plays for category awareness
- (33:18 ) - – Structuring a marketing team to support both enterprise and self-service growth
- (37:12 ) - – Balancing B2B and consumer marketing
- (40:37 ) - – Why 1Password invested in sports sponsorships
- (43:34 ) - – The power of emotional marketing and brand trust in enterprise sales
- (46:21 ) - – Thought leadership and analyst relations in shaping a category
- (47:43 ) - – Final takeaways
Send guest pitches and ideas to hi@exitfive.com
Join the Exit Five Newsletter here: https://www.exitfive.com/newsletter
Check out the Exit Five job board: https://jobs.exitfive.com/
Become an Exit Five member: https://community.exitfive.com/checkout/exit-five-membership
***
Today’s episode is brought to you by Grammarly.
Ever have one of those weeks where you spent more time replying to Slack and email than doing actual marketing work?
You’re not alone. The average marketing team spends 28+ hours a week just keeping up with comms.
That leads to burnout, frustration, and a whole lot of performative productivity that doesn’t actually move the needle.
AI-fluent marketing teams are changing that. Grammarly’s 2025 Productivity Shift Report shows how they’re using AI to:
– Cut down on back-and-forth
– Automate content, research, and reporting
– Eliminate busywork
– Make space for strategy
We’re marketers because we love crafting campaigns, driving revenue, and proving impact – not spending all day buried in messages.
Get the report and see how top teams are making AI actually useful.
Visit go.grammarly.com/exitfive to grab it.
***
Thanks to my friends at hatch.fm for producing this episode and handling all of the Exit Five podcast production.
- They give you unlimited podcast editing and strategy for your B2B podcast.
- Get unlimited podcast editing and on-demand strategy for one low monthly cost. Just upload your episode, and they take care of the rest.
- Visit hatch.fm to learn more