BEST PRACTICESVISUAL QUEST: Ahuge part of making Cisco's

Global Sales Experience successful was creating a
totally immersive environment that would engage
its high-powered sales force while expressing thecompany's key messages, EM scored theseexclusive screen shots ofthe custom environment'snavigation, information and chat zone areas.

VIRTUAL EDGE
Cisco takes its global sales meeting virtual for the first time in 20 years
VIRTUAL EVENTS are one of the fastest grow--16

EVENT MARKETER NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2009

ing platforms in the event industry. Yet despite
their slick graphics, 3D environments andhigh-tech appeal, the pervasive question
remains: How do you engage with attendees if
you can't see, touch or talk to them?
When Cisco Systems set out to save costsby taking its weeklong annual sales meeting outof the real world and into a virtual one for the
first time in 20 years, it had 20,000 very
demanding reasons to answer that question: itssales force-the people who compete ali day,every day to generate revenue and then bask in
the recognition and rewards reaped at theannual sales conference. Cisco's Global Sales
Experience (GSX) serves as one of the industry's largest virtual events of the year, a massive

undertaking-and one that required a little bitof moxie, Let's take a look at both the programand some of the lessons learned.
COMMUNICATION

The three primary objectives of Cisco's annual
sales meeting are: communication, motivation
and recognition. Making sure its sales force isup to date on product lines, economic projections and goals for the year is mission critical tothe company's communication strategy and theevent's success. To help ease the transition fromlive to virtual, Cisco communicated to its attendees in a variety of familiar formats.
One way the brand helped familiarize
attendees with the virtual realm was to create avirtual concierge, Eva, who welcomed every

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BEST PRACTICEStAME ON: Within the GSX environment. the minigames were a place for recreation, but also a criticalpart of the virtual event's strategy. The games
helped drive key messaging, offered recognition andreal-world prizes for the best players, unlocked clues
forthe larger "The Threshold" game and keptattendees engaged between sessions andkeynotes, driving attendee engagement way up.

attendee who visited the environment for the firsttime and showed them how to navigate and maximize their time in each area of the virtual space.
After that she didn't return unless called for. "We
had to make people comfortable in the virtualenvironment:' says Chris Meyer, svp-client services, worldwide and general manager at George P.
Johnson Experiential Marketing, which handled
the event. "We spent a lot of time on how to makethe user eJ'1Jerience easy and, if they needed help,
how to give it to them."
In the weeks before the event, which ran
Sept. 14 to 18, attendees were invited to pre-register for their agendas (about 80 percent complied, compared to 55 percent on average for
Cisco's live events). Once they were inside theenvironment, their agendas helped them navigate
directly to the sessions, chats and keynotes they
signed up for. The exhibit floor was the first stop
for the attendees, where product experts wereavailable for scheduled live chats in real time. In
the off-hours, content and videos were available
for download from the product display booths.
Much like a real-world event, conference sessions were presented in several different formats.
Some were video on-demand and others were live
chat, like a breakout session. Some sessions were
for specific product groups and others were forthe various worldwide regions. (Remember, thisevent was global, so attendees were from all overthe globe, from Sri Lanka to London.) Cisco
research before GSX revealed that too much show
content often overwhelms conference-goers, so
the virtual show was right-sized accordingly. All
in all there were about 200 sessions-less thanthere would have been at the live event.
The virtual environment also featured a chatzone for attendee networking and getting toknow each other. Finally, there were several educational mini-games to be played and exploredthroughout the environment. Thanks to its
efforts, Cisco hit all of its communication objectives this year; the post-event results show thatthe attendees are giving the communication
strategy the same scores as those from previousyears' live events.
"It was a cost-cutting initiative at first, whena decision was made to cancel all internal eventsor transition them to virtual," says Angie Smith,manager-global sales experience, global sales
operations at Cisco Systems. "Our story now isthat it's no longer about the cost, it's about theopportunity to innovate, too." (Though the brand
did manage to execute this year's event for about
one-tenth of the live event cost.)

MOTIVATION
The motivation objective proved to be more challenging. "How do we motivate and recognize people when they are used to seeing great motivation-18

EVENT MARKETER NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2009al speakers like our ceo [John Chambers] or Bill
Clinton and walking into a general session room
that's glitzed and glammed up with loud music
and great lights?" Smith asked. "Although thegames and environments were great, there was alittle piece missing."
Part of the motivation strategy was to go"Dr. No" on Cisco's sales force. Enter "TheThreshold," a James Bond-style, "DaVinci Code"esque scavenger hunt and puzzle-solving online
game that was about getting the entire sales force
involved and tapping into their inherent competitiveness to pull them into the virtual environment. It began three weeks before the sales meeting and ended on the last day of the event. Thestory line was simple: Someone stole a bit ofCisco technology and the company needs YOU tofind the culprit. Clues to each step arrived via
voicemails and emails, driving players into thevirtual world. These weren't easy puzzles, either.
One was a sound file that sounded like static, but
had an embedded coded message. Other clues
were hidden in the virtual conference sessions.
There were prizes scattered throughout the game,at checkpoints and milestones. The final winningteam won an all-expenses-paid trip to the Super
Bowl this season. (For a complete play-by-play,check out pg. 20.)
One of the most motivational aspects of
Cisco's previous annual sales meetings was thechance to travel to the event, so Cisco recognizedthat in the environment's visuals. The virtual
event, powered by Chicago-based provider
InXpo, was hi-res and packed with rich imagery
and vivid colors reminiscent of an exotic vacation
spot. It rivaled the best Xbox or Wii game's graphics in fluidity and, most importantly, depth, Especially in the gaming sections, the imagery wasalmost three-dimensional in feel. "I didn't hear asingle bit of feedback that said it was anything but
stunning and beautiful looking:' Smith said.

RECOGNITIONIn the spirit of supporting recognition objectives,
there was an exclusive chat area created just for
top-tier sales champions. Top sales leaders' names
were also advertised throughout the event's environments on leader boards and news crawls. But
even with the additional levels of acknowledgment, it was still a tough sell. "These guys in thebest of times made money hand over fist:' Smithsays. "They were the elite Cisco sales team and all
they really wanted was to shake John Chambers'
hand-but in times like this, when you take away
the handshake, it's hard to replace."
So the event had its challenges, but will they
do it again? In a word, yes. "Absolutely we will dothis again, and on some level this will be part ofour sales meetings going forward:' says Smith. EM-Kenneth Briodagh

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BEST PRACTICESLICENSE TO THRILL
How do you get a team as driven and high-maintenance as the Cisco Systems global sales force to get pumped up for a virtual
sales meeting instead of a live event? Well, one way is to pit them against each other in an Ian Fleming-style action-packed
puzzle game full of prizes to be snagged and problems to solve where the only way to get the brass ring is to work together as ateam. So that's what they did. Introducing "The Threshold".

Three weeks before the Global Sales Experience (GsX) kicked off on Sept.

1 14, the 21,000-member sales force was enticed to help the company findan industrial saboteur- an agent of a competitive corporation that had stolena piece of revolutionary technology, recently developed by Cisco. The culprit'sidentity was unknown, butthe clues would point the way forthe clever andthe quick. The hunt was on.

Along the way, it was revealed that the technology that was stolen was arevolutionary pair of eyeglasses, which contained an embedded microchip
4
allowing the wearerto control computer devices hands-free. Mind-controlled
computers and cell phones? Call Q branch because they need to see this.

Once the game was launched, the sales people teamed themselves up on

2 in-house and private message boards so they could work on puzzles lil<ethese together, without being "eavesdropped" by other teams. They sharedintel as they solved clues and brainstormed ideas, tryingto getto the next
step faster than the other teams. For instance, each of the clues conceals ahidden message encoded within the image. Once one member of the team
decrypted the code, the others would go to work on the next step.

Some clues pointed to bits of live film that would advance the story along

5 the pre-set path. Agency George P. Johnson, which designed the gamewith Cisco, wrote and shot more than 40 minutes of original video forthe

game. It all built toward a climax that hit right before GsX began. The last few
clues we!e hidden within the virtual environment.

The last clues were crucial to solving the puzzle and winning the game

6 and, since they were hidden in conference session slides, virtual exhibitor

As teams decrypted and solved clues, each of which led to other puzzles,

3 and so on, they were driven back to this landing page, where they would
enter the "Retrieval Code" to post points on the leader boards to earn one ofup to sao mini-prizes. The leader board also served as a constant reminder of
who was winning and who was behind, driving them to work faster on eachstage ofthe game. The site also gave lagging teams a chance at a hint. Just askand maybe another player would tal<e pity and help out.

20

EVENT MARI{ETER NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2009booths and mini games, some of the mostfeverish game play was duringthe
weeklong event, which was the goal.
"The whole strategy was to entertain, but also to engage," says Angie
Smith, manager-global sales experience, global sales operations at Cisco
Systems, who headed up the game. "Our executives were super excited about
the game, butthey didn't want itto be only fun and games. No one could win
without paying attention and listening to the speal<ers in the sessions." Oh,and the prize? It wasn't revealed until the end. The winning team was told tochoose any kind oftrip or vacation they wanted as a prize. Theychose an allexpenses-paid trip to this season's Super Bowl. If only they'd invite poor-Kenneth Briodagh
Money-Kenny, er Penny. EM

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. ~< ~-,:~ ..~':'. : ;:~~~;'~.~-:(SPECIAL REPORT:100.
.:~;_..... . - .,.: .:.''-.'THE YEAR IN REVIEW~,

700 retailers participate
in Fashion's Night Out,
Sept. 10, on the eve of
Mercedes-Benz Fashion
Week to support theindustry and kick offthe
fall season. Anna
Wintour is overheard
asking, "What is thisplace?" when shearrives at her first stop,Macy's. (Okay, we madethat up. But seriously,
like she shops atMacy's? Bitch, please.)

50

BRIGHTSIDING

With America's collective spirits in the dump, the pop
psychology trend that suggests we look on the brightside of life becomes a marketing concept. So does the trend of turning
ordinary consumers into living marketing campaigns. Example:
I(odak's BrightSide tour features the Compliment Guys, two kids from
Purdue who dish out compliments for fun.

Ann Taylor LOFT stores go on tourto build
media attention for the brand's more youthfullook and to attract anew, younger clientele.

"We found these guys on YouTubeand noticed they have a huge fanfollowing. We nave a campaign
launching this fall with the tagIine,'It's time to smile,' so we thought,
what a great opportunity to get
together with them, take theiraenuine sense of optimism anddesire to make people happy andtry to get them to as many people
as possible."LESLIE DANCE, VP-WORLDWIDE BRAND MARKETING AND
COMMUNICATIONS AT KODAK, ON WHERE THE BRAND GOTTHE IDEA FOR ITS BRIGHTSIOETOUR WHICH FEATURES TWOSTUDENTS FROM PURDUE KNOWN AS THE COMPLIMENT GUYS76

EVENT MARKETER NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2009

51

LIVE REINVENTION

Brands more and more turn to events to shake off old perceptions about their products. Cintas, the uniform company best known for its blue scrubs, shakes up its reputation with anupscale fashion show in Las Vegas. It is, dare we day. sexy.

ARIBAL:i~~52

VIRTUAL EVENTS LEVERAGE LIVE STRATEGIESTo help ease the transition for first-time virtual event
attendees, brands such as Ariba, ASI and Navistar turn tolive event tactics. Top tips include: giveaway offers that encourage exploration of the environment. a 24-hour help desk, a guided tour. pre-show
training via webinars and hybrid programs that mix live and virtual events.

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SEPTEMBER
On Sept. 14, Cisco takes its annual sales meeting
virtual for the first time in 20 years. Dubbed G5X,
it becomes the year's biggest example of theproliferation of digital events (see pg. 16).

S3"We wanted to show consumers
that they never have to be without
Ereat coffee. We're trYiI).g to trail
blaze in social media and this is justthe first step in things to come forStarbucks in thIS space."

GREENWASHING

File this under the"nendsthatneedto
die" file. Eco friendly tours may not be
so eco-friendly after all. Many use gasguzzling flatbed trucks to haul
biodiesel, electric and solar-powered
vehicles from city to city, defeating thepurpose entirely. What's worse, somehave yet another vehicle that follows
filled with alternative fuels. WTP

LARA WYSS, DIRECTOR-GLOBALCONSUMER P.R. AT STARBUCKS

5tarbucks
concludes a 4,500mile, two-week, 33stop international
tour designed tobuild excitement
for the official launch of its new instantcoffee, Via, touted to taste the same as
the brewed version.

It ain't easy telling 200,000 of your top
sales people that there would be norecognition event this year. So Cisco
created "The Threshold:' an online
scavenger hunt and puzzle-solving game
EDITOR'S
that was designed to get the entire sales~PICKforce excited about the event and tapped(\into their inherent competitiveness to pullthem into the virtual environment. It began
three weeks before the sales meeting andended on the last day ofthe event. The storyline: Someone stole a bitof Cisco technology and the company needs you to find the culprit.
Clues to each step arrived via voicemails and em ails, driving players into
the virtual world. Some attendees may have been bummed about
missing the chance to shake ceo John Chambers' hand, but when facedwith the economic realities of cutting back on its live shows, Cisco
found a way to talk to its audience in a relevant way (see pg. 20).

J01SItSCREENLESS GREEN SCREEN

No longer do your photo activation programs require
the big stationary neon green curtain. Thanks to a tonof new technology, consumer photos can be taken anywhere andelectronically manipulated on the spot to appear in front of any variety of backdrops. As an added bonus, attendees can customize thephotos themselves, which means more time spent on the data collection website. Aw, snap!

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NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2009 EVENT MARKETERn