Cisco Creates Experience At VoiceCon

March 2006 saw the global launch of Cisco’s Unified Communications System. So for last spring’s VoiceCon IP telephony trade show, the company was looking to recast its image from a product vendor to a strategic partner that could help top-level decision makers improve their business processes.

The brand’s launch team began laying the groundwork in June 2005, when it applied for ceo John Chambers to keynote the conference. Once his speaking slot was confirmed, the company zeroed in on VoiceCon as the focal point for launch efforts.

Cisco hatched a four-phase plan for the show. The first wave included an overview video to demonstrate the value of the new platform. Next was a series of customer testimonials to help validate the approach and build industry buzz. Direct mail and email messaging invited clients to attend Cisco’s VoiceCon booth and to visit the company’s event web site for more details. (Those who attended were invited to an exclusive reception on the first night of the show.)
Phase three aimed to drive market leadership by leveraging Chambers’ keynote with a series of related marcom efforts at the show, and the company set up a series of product demos based on different scenarios for how the UCS products would be used.

For the final prong of the attack, Cisco surrounded show attendees in UCS messaging from the Orlando airport to their hotels to the show floor.

Among the impressive results: Cisco expected to close up to $40 million in revenue, long-term, as a result of the program.