When you think of a marketing leader, you don’t often picture someone with a law degree. But Jeff Spencer’s path from the courtroom to the content room wasn’t a detour—it was a deliberate move driven by a passion for building things that matter.
Today, as a marketing leader at Seclore, a global data-centric security firm, Jeff combines the analytical edge of law with the storytelling chops of a content strategist. And in his conversation with Anirudh Singla for the Global Marketing Leaders 2025 series, he lays out what it really takes to create marketing that earns attention—and keeps it.
Why the Legal Mindset Works in Marketing
Jeff didn’t “fall into” marketing. He chose it.
"I've always been much more interested in creating or building something. And I think in the startup world and marketing and venture capital and that entire ecosystem, it really lets you explore that creativity and bring something new into the world."
His first role? Not a marquee brand—but a small search engine startup his brother co-founded. "It was very much being thrown into the deep end from both a marketing perspective, but also living that sort of accelerated life around startups and that entire journey. Ultimately, they shut the company down, but it was really a great experience."
It was here that Jeff learned two foundational lessons:
Speed of learning is everything.
You earn credibility by being useful, not flashy.
What Makes Content Click (It’s Not SEO Tricks)
Jeff’s philosophy is simple: "You are compelling. And I think often what that breaks down to is you are speaking in a way that is honest and authentic. And that's what resonates with people across all industries I've found."
He’s not dismissing SEO. He’s just clear on priorities. "SEO sort of nuances of the industry, be damned, it really comes down to do people care about what you have to say."
At Seclore—where trust is non-negotiable—this belief powers every decision. Whether it's a technical whitepaper or a short-form explainer, Jeff ensures the content is clear, credible, and grounded in truth.
"Anytime you put out content in a space where trust is the most critical factor, again, it's all about authenticity and building that authority."
Breaking the Rules—Intentionally
For someone who started in law, Jeff surprisingly embraces risk. "So many people in content marketing and other marketing disciplines play it safe. They look at the playbook of larger companies, and they say, I can duplicate that. And my philosophy is, yes, those things work, but you should also experiment, you should also be willing to take risks."
That mindset has led him to passion projects like building a music streaming platform. "Turns out, lots of other people like that too. So that being sort of wildly popular, and we had to shut it down because it was, again, running afoul of some of the policies of sites like YouTube. But it was a really interesting project until we ran into that particular legal wall."
The Case for Going Deep, Not Wide
Unlike most B2B companies chasing volume, Jeff’s team plays a different game. "We're probably very far on the spectrum towards low volume, just because, again, the authenticity always has to be there."
"We aim for very high quality content. Now, I think there's a balance there as we see this explosion of content."
And with AI changing the landscape fast, Jeff's approach is proactive. "We use AI in a lot of different elements or capacities. When we generate content, I think a lot of the ideation generally starts with AI today."
But there’s no letting go of human oversight. "We also use AI, and this is a highly trained model to review our material. So we're looking for consistency of language. We're looking for any terms that we are trying to either invest in or deprecate."
Rethinking the Role of Content Teams
Jeff’s dream content workflow isn’t just about pumping out assets—it’s about precision. "I very much see AI, at least for me in an ideal world, optimizing that content for specific verticals to make it more relevant to the CISO in the manufacturing space or the CISO in aerospace or healthcare or banking and financial services."
And when it comes to team structure, he’s focused on depth, not headcount. "Not a very big team. We're surprisingly lean. I've got a couple of people out in India, the Middle East, and they handle most of West Asia, India, the Middle East, and then the North America team handles North America and the European markets."
What Jeff Thinks Great Content Leaders Do Differently
"We're moving away from that sort of spray and pray approach to marketing. And I think to a more, I guess, domain authority driven model, where experts are really talking about these problems."
And what keeps him up at night?
"It's always more pipeline. That's, that's, that's the problem. But I think at the end of the day, it really is continuing to invest in great people."
"So many companies have these vast mountains of content, which at this point now is probably doing more harm than good. It can be okay to look back at some of the existing content and either cut it, revise it, or just, just get rid of it."
Final Thoughts: No Gimmicks, Just Great Content
Jeff Spencer’s story isn’t just about changing careers. It’s about changing how we think about marketing itself.
Content that earns attention doesn’t need to shout. It just needs to matter. Whether it’s a whitepaper or a one-minute video, it’s got to reflect thought, not just tactics.
And for Jeff, the long game of content is worth it—because when trust is your product, you can’t afford shortcuts.
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