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Company: Cisco, San Jose, CA
Nomination Submitted by: George P. Johnson Experience Marketing
Company Description: gpj.com | George P. Johnson is the world’s leading experiential marketing agency. We create innovative live, mobile and online experiences that motivate audiences and activate brands. We’re part of Project Worldwide, an independent, global network of complementary, wholly-owned agencies.
Nomination Category: Marketing Campaign Categories - Specialty
Nomination Sub Category: Brand Experience of the Year - Business-to-Business
 Nomination Title: Cisco IMPACT
- Which will you submit for this nomination, a video of up to five (5) minutes in length about the nominated campaign or program, OR written answers to the questions for this category? CHOOSE ONE:
Written answers to the questions
- If you are submitting a video of up to five (5) minutes in length, provide the URL of the nominated video here, OR attach it to your entry via the "Add Attachments, Videos, or Links to This Entry" link above, through which you may also upload a copy of your video.
- If you are providing written answers to the questions for this category, you must answer this first question: Specify the date on which this campaign or program was launched:
Monday, August 24th, 2021
- If you are providing written answers to the questions for this category, you must answer this second question: Describe the genesis of the nominated campaign or program: the reasons it was initiated, the challenges it was created to address, the problems it was developed to solve, etc. (up to 250 words):
Total 250 words used.
Cisco’s annual in-person sales kick-off, IMPACT, brings the top global Cisco sellers & employees together at the beginning of each fiscal year to celebrate the prior year’s achievements, receive updates on key corporate strategies and priorities for the year, immerse themselves in the training and networking that will enable them to exceed their personal sales goals for the upcoming year. The goals and strategic approach of the Cisco IMPACT team is to increase seller confidence, effectiveness and engagement in order to increase customer satisfaction.
Usually, this program sees 20,000 global attendees gather in Las Vegas for a three-day event but with a focus on employee health and safety the team made the decision to host IMPACT in a digital format for the second year in row. The team embraced learnings from the 2020 event, to ensure they continue to move the needle with employees.
The challenge that Cisco IMPACT faces annually is creating a coveted experience that increases seller effectiveness and drives meaningful seller engagement. For Cisco IMPACT FY22, our focus was to create a similar sentiment and experience that our attendees receive in the live program and ensure that they walk away from the digital experience with the same “WOW” feeling. To accomplish this, we developed another custom-built digital event platform designed to connect, motivate, and celebrate attendees. Another challenge to Cisco IMPACT FY22 was bringing the unique hands-on learning environment of previous IMPACT events to the digital world in a refreshed format from the 2020 digital program.
- If you are providing written answers to the questions for this category, you must answer this third question: Describe the development of the campaign or program: the planning process, the goal setting, the creative and media development, the scheduling, etc. (up to 250 words):
Total 244 words used.
The team’s approach this year needed to stand apart from 2020’s initial pivot to digital. Cisco continued to build on the success of their digital program and ensured that the 2021 program would continue to hit the mark.
We examined past IMPACT audiences to extract insights around behavioral patterns, desired outcomes & actions, and content consumption trends. This level of analysis allowed Cisco to distill the experience into essential components, serving to inform new digital persona creation and narratives.
While missing the in-person experience and camaraderie they’ve come to love, the 20,000 global attendees realized the benefit of a digital-first program. To keep the content fresh and captivating, Cisco offered more content/sessions than in previous years in multiple formats to create seamless brand engagement.
To encourage breaks between programming, on-demand wellness sessions were provided, giving attendees a chance to step away from the screen and add some movement to their day. The team also sourced A-List talent to provide musical performances and captivating live content to celebrate Cisco and kick-off the sales year on an inspirational note.
Digital Components:
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Live keynote broadcast with chat
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Live hosts in between sessions
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On-demand content
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Real time Q&A from SMEs in sessions
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Interactive product demos
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Competition-based learning (quizzes/surveys) and leaderboards
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Peer-to-peer networking
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An agenda and schedule builder that provided tailored session recommendations
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A-List talent performances and speakers
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Prizes and draws
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Ability to contribute virtual “points” to activate charitable donations
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Social sharing and content gathering via “Shared Stories”
- If you are providing written answers to the questions for this category, you must answer this fourth question: Outline the activities and concrete results of this campaign or program since the beginning of 2020. Even if your initiative started before 2020, limit your response to activities and results since the beginning of 2020 only (up to 250 words):
Total 238 words used.
The objective of Cisco IMPACT is to increase seller confidence and sales effectiveness. Cisco measures the success of the event against multiple key performance indicators. This year, results demonstrated that the team successfully delivered a strong outcome.
● 19,250 Attendees
● 231,000 Total Training hours
● 492 Speakers
● 86 Unique Session Topics
● 122 Always-on Activities
● 5,400 Peer Connections
The combination of a rich content portfolio, live keynote presentations, competition-based engagement, and meaningful recognition created a winning experience.
[REDACTED FOR PUBLICATION]
This year’s program combined the competition-based points with a give-back program called IMPACT for Good. Individual attendee points were combined at a regional level to unlock donations to three special charities: “the more you engage, the more you give back to the world”. This competition-based system ensured that the IMPACT attendees were eager to continually engage with the program. 3 out of 4 attendees said the points system motivated them to attend more sessions and maximize their event participation.
- You have the option to reference here any attachments of supporting materials throughout this nomination and how they provide evidence of the claims you have made in this nomination (up to 250 words):
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