Reddit’s interactive “Future Tellers” house of clairvoyance impressed B2B audiences at CES earlier this month. Event Marketer looks at how its first activation at the Las Vegas-based tech bonanza married the platform’s digital product with physical experiences to pitch its “early adopter” status and future-forward expertise.

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American Express’s latest Business Class Live is a free annual conference designed to democratize business education by providing free services, workshops and inspiration for small businesses. Event Marketer explores how the brand’s tenth iteration delivered all the trappings of a traditional B2B show—plus a few secret ingredients that set it apart from competitors.

The post How American Express’ Annual Business Class Live Celebrated a Decade of Events for SMBs appeared first on Chief Marketer.

You don’t need attendees—you need joiners.

While digital mediums became a required mechanism circa 2020, the very definition of event and experience has today shifted to something that is not constrained by time and channels. Previously defined as a gathering of people with shared interests in a specific location at a specific time, we now see events and experiences as a gathering of people with shared interests who meet in the mediums where they are. Their “THERE” is now, anywhere, at any time, in all ways.

Spiro, part of the GES collective, is the brand experience agency for the New Now. We create global events and experiences that redefine how humans connect, and we bring them to life across integrated physical, digital, mobile and hybrid mediums. Working with some of the world’s most recognized brands, Spiro’s strategists, creators, innovators, builders, marketers and specialists are skilled in analytic & strategic event management, creative design, and production. Working together, we deliver high-impact experiential exhibits, conferences & events, product launches, sponsorship activations, and consumer pop-ups that unite audiences–wherever they may be.

The post People Attend Events–But They Join Communities appeared first on Chief Marketer.

In the world of experiential marketing, creating more sustainable events and minimizing carbon footprints is top of mind. Event Marketer looks at how the yearly exhibition for the commercial construction industry, “World of Concrete,” pulled off its most sustainable event yet, through tapping into renewable energy sources, limiting paper waste, embracing minimalist design, and more.

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Our monthly analysis of the world’s top brands and the marketing moves that are setting them apart.

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Cisco was hardly the only organization that had to transform an in-person conference to a virtual gathering in the past year. But it was perhaps the only one that decided the night before its virtual event to postpone the conference for two weeks in support of Black Lives Matter.

Nonetheless, the tech company considers its Cisco Live 2020 educational and networking event to have been an unqualified success. More than 124,000 people from around the world logged on during the first day alone; by comparison, roughly 28,000 people had attended Cisco Live 2019 in San Diego. What’s more, 53 percent of the 2020 attendees were first-timers, and 84 percent of attendees said they “liked” or “loved” the conference, which won Best Virtual Event in Event Marketer’s 2020 Experience Design & Technology Awards.

Reimagining and Rightsizing

Cisco announced on March 16 that it would take Cisco Live 2020, scheduled for May 31-June 4 in Las Vegas, virtual. As a tech company with a dedicated Technology Experiences Team of engineers and product managers who could help optimize its gamut of tech and apps, Cisco had an edge over many other organizations that were also grappling with making the switch from face-to-face to virtual events. And Cisco had introduced some digital elements—broadcasting keynotes on Facebook Live, using its Spark messaging platform to facilitate conversations among speakers and attendees—into Cisco Live during the previous years.

Even so, the company had less than 11 weeks to convert the five-day, 1,000-session in-person gathering into a virtual conference. Complicating matters: Its staff was working from their homes.

One of Cisco’s first decisions was to compress the event into just two days with 60 live and prerecorded sessions. This rightsizing was designed to help attendees maintain focus and engagement even as they continued to work (most likely from home) and deal with the myriad distractions resulting from life during a pandemic. “We had to prioritize,” Kathy Doyle, Director of global Cisco Live conferences, told Event Marketer. “We had to make everything much shorter and make it something that was easy to consume. The strategy that we took was we’re going to make it two days, focus on content, and then extend that reach after the event.” The post-event reach included loading recordings of the sessions from those two days onto the Cisco Live On-Demand Library as well as adding recordings throughout the summer of another 700 or so of the originally slated sessions.

For the virtual event, Cisco created four content tracks: the IT Leadership Channel, which looked at tech through a business lens; the IT Heroes Channel, with highly technical content including demos; the Innovation Channel, which focused on strategies for applying tech to solve business issues; and the Possibilities Channel, where in addition to sessions with thought leaders, attendees could watch musical performances by the likes of Fall Out Boy and the Chainsmokers. Live hosts on each channel gave the event an immediacy and spontaneity reminiscent of an in-person event.

Concerts were just one element designed to encourage engagement beyond listening to presentations. Others elements included virtual Zumba and yoga classes, trivia games, a TikTok dance contest, live Q&A sessions and the Meet the Engineer program, which enabled attendees to have one-on-one video conferences with Cisco pros via Cisco Webex Teams. In lieu of in-person networking and socializing, the company set up the #CiscoLive Social Lounge where attendees could connect via Instagram and Twitter. To encourage participation as well as social media sharing, Cisco gave away prizes ranging from bobblehead dolls to Apple TVs.

“There was a lot taking place on social media, and it was just buzzing the whole time,” Doyle said. “We created contests and real-time social engagement activities, which made it feel like an interactive in-person event.”

Last-Minute Postponement

The new, virtual Cisco Live 2020 was scheduled for June 2 and 3. In the days prior, the protests against the of Brionna Taylor, George Floyd and other Black Americans had reached a fever pitch. Groups such as Black Lives Matter had organized Blackout Tuesday, a day of social media silence during which Black people were asked not to buy, sell or otherwise partake in business, to take place June 2.

Late in the day on June 1, Cisco decided to postpone Cisco Live for several weeks. “We had a couple of hours to shut everything down,” Doyle said. “We sent out communications to all of our customers and our partners, our analysts, all the internal teams across Cisco. We changed the website, we activated all the social channels, and it just all happened at one time.”

As Cisco chairman/CEO Chuck Robbins said in a video released that evening, “… in light of recent events, the turmoil happening across the United States, and with your feedback, we feel that this is the right thing to do. And that is something we always strive for at Cisco.” The company also announced it would donate $5 million to nonprofit organizations fighting discrimination.

The re-rescheduled Cisco Live was held June 16 and 17. Not only did attendance increase more than fourfold from the previous year, but the conference generated three million session views during the two days and 2.1 million social views; it was even a national trending topic on Twitter. Easily as important, attendees gave the content an average score of 4.5 points out of 5, exceeding expectations.

Key Takeaways

Scheduled for March 30 and 31, Cisco Live 2021 is another all-virtual conference. The company is of course implementing learnings from last year to bolster this year’s event. Among the takeaways you can use when creating your own virtual events:

* Don’t underestimate how long it can take to produce pre-recorded content. Producing a half-hour pre-recorded session will take longer than the half-hour of the actual taping. You need to factor in time for sound and lighting checks, editing, uploading and the like.

* Test any and all technology well in advance. And be sure to have solid contingency plans.

* Lean toward shorter sessions. A 45- or 60-minute session might command attendees’ attention when they’re in an off-site venue, but when they’re in their office or home they might find it difficult to block out distractions for that length of time. Some of the Cisco Live 2021 sessions are as short as 10 minutes.

* Mix pleasure with business. Pentatonix, Bebe Rexha, Keith Urban and the Killers are among the music acts scheduled to perform exclusively for Cisco Live 2021 attendees. And Serena Williams, Billie Jean King and James Cameron are among the non-tech celebrities speaking at sessions. Such star power amps up an entire conference, and many celebrities are more likely to participate in a virtual event than in one they’d have to travel to.

* Incentivize social sharing. Once again Cisco will have the #CiscoLive social media hub, complete with media leaderboards spotlighting attendees who’ve garnered the most social engagements. Cisco and some sponsors are also awarding prizes to attendees who post fun photos (say, of their dog watching a session on the computer), notable quotes and more.

* Keep the momentum going beyond the event. This year’s Cisco Showcase will offer more than 90 live and on-demand product demonstrations as well as Cisco experts available for live chat. Those demos will be available for viewing for a full month after the conference ends.

The post Brands on Fire: Cisco appeared first on Chief Marketer.

The event, which took place June 16-17, served up about 40 sessions across four channels, each led by a pair of hosts live. Thought leaders told inspirational stories on one channel; essential IT business solutions populated another; technical content via breakouts filled the third; and the event’s leadership channel presented insights into business and technology.

Event content was a mix of pre-recorded and live sessions coupled with a robust social media strategy to boost engagement, ultimately earning the brand a trending spot on Twitter and 2.1 million social media views. Social initiatives included custom filters, a popular TikTok dance contest and a #CiscoLive Social Lounge. Other engagement tactics included Zumba and yoga classes, volunteer activities, trivia and swag giveaways. For a deep dive into what made the event so successful, read more in Event Marketer.

Other articles you might enjoy:

• The Pivot: Accelerated Migration to Remote and Digital in B2B Marketing
• Lessons Learned for B2B Marketers: Financial Software Company Model N Pivots to Virtual
• B2B Event Pivots: How Facebook and IBM Converted Global Conferences

The post Cisco Live Event Goes Virtual With Creative Attendee Engagement appeared first on Chief Marketer.

1. Embrace New Technologies

Crystal Worthem, Head of Global Brand Experiences for Ford Motor Company, believes that the most successful B2B marketers will do well by embracing change and innovation. Take Ford’s presence at auto shows, which is evolving as consumers crave new technologies. The brand is using chat bots—run by product specialists in another room—within its activations to engage consumers and answer questions inside the actual vehicles. It’s also allowing consumers to purchase cars right then and there at the shows, which represents a shift in funnel strategy compared to previous events.

At Sephora, Jessica Stacey, VP of PR and Event Marketing, uses new technological innovations to elevate event programs. Sephora’s “Color IQ” matches foundation, lip and concealer products for consumers, aiding product recommendations and purchases. Mobile point-of-sale technology lets attendees buy products in real-time at the brand’s events.

On the virtual event front, AI technology company GumGum has engaged customers through webinars, virtual happy hours and interactive content. The latter entailed using a content platform to create a more engaging, choose-your-own-adventure experience. Computer software provider Cockroach Labs has created a virtual badge scan that captures website visitors’ contact information on a landing page. In exchange for their email addresses, a small donation to Women Who Code is made, and an even larger donation is promised in the name of those who commit to a virtual meeting.

2. Focus on Customer Community

Cutting through the conference and event clutter is a huge challenge for B2B event marketers, according to Monica Long, SVP of Marketing for Ripple. One way her team breaks through the noise is by bringing customers together with those who they’re influenced by in thoughtful ways. Lori Ann Pope, Facebook’s VP of Global Event Marketing, is uniquely focused on events that bring communities together. Charged with oversight of events for Facebook’s global small business group, Pope brings the platform’s tools to life through community-based events. For instance, the brand’s “Boost with Facebook” event series, free in major cities and neighborhoods across the world, provides small business the tech and insights to compete in the digital economy.

3. Diversity and Inclusion

Pope’s events offer content for all levels of users, learning styles and abilities, which supports Facebook’s larger diversity and inclusion mission. One-on-one chats with experts, a Facebook Help Desk and digital courses are a few of its support tools. Facebook’s Supplier Diversity Initiative identifies and works with diverse-owned businesses, and the brand’s #SheMeansBusiness platform gathers women entrepreneurs who use Facebook and Instagram tools and helps them connect. Similarly, Twitter’s Global Event Marketing Lead Kristine Yapp Jones works with the brand’s diversity and inclusion division to make sure that different communities are represented in the suppliers that the team engages with for events. And GitHub is somewhat of a specialist when it comes to diversity and inclusion at events, from its pump rooms for nursing mothers to its gender-neutral bathrooms to its prayer rooms.

4. New Event Formats

Verizon Media’s Kevin Schwoer, Senior Manager of Events, recommends that B2B marketers take the time to curate their invite lists, personalize attendee outreach and make sure that the event space itself is interesting. Dell Technologies took analysts and press outside of the ballroom and onto an actual movie set during its Summit in order to spice up the experience. Photo ops, a custom drone show, movie props, virtual reality activations and more engaged attendees in exciting ways. eBay Open, the platform’s annual seller conference, has experimented with various casual event formats between leadership and attendees, Q&A-style sessions and regionally-focused networking groups to inspire connections.

5. A Local Approach

Felicia Kaban, Senior Manager of Live Events, Johnson & Johnson Vision, has seen success with local programming. In place of what’s typically a free dinner and presentation, Kaban invented The Light Symposium, a series of local events leveraging scavenger-hunt tactics to engage eye-care professionals through experiences and encourage them to educate patients when back in the office.

6. Content Studios

Kaban also thinks that B2B events can become hubs of content creation. Her team activated the Insight Studio, where health care professionals could schedule a time slot to create content for their own channels that focused on their needs and topics rather than those chosen by Johnson & Johnson. The action positioned the brand as a hub for thought leadership and industry influencers. Athenahealth Event Marketing Manager Dani Sullivan similarly believes in the strength of content in the B2B space. Through recruiting industry luminaries to keynote its events instead of internal leaders, the brand become known as a thought leader by highlighting its expertise within the health care industry.

Want to learn more? Here are five networking ideas for B2B event marketers, from carnival-themed activations to app integrations to empowering team leaders. And check out a new on-demand virtual chat with event industry leaders about how to get your event portfolios, teams, budgets and strategies back on track.

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