Case Study: Evolution of Game Marketing at Cisco

Marketing 2.0: Evolution of Game Marketing at Cisco A Case Study From the Cisco Service Provider Marketing Organization’s Perspective

Meet the Games EdgeQuest 1 EdgeQuest 2 Cisco myPlanNet www.cisco.com/go/edgequest www.cisco.com/go/edgequest www.cisco.com/go/myplannet

Cisco Service Provider Game Marketing Game Comparison EdgeQuest (EQ)1 EdgeQuest (EQ)2 Cisco myPlanNet Internal Release 03/04/2008 11/11/2008 09/14/2009 Public Release 03/04/2008 11/11/2008 10/05/2009 Game Approach Multi-level, speed and skill-based , “search and find” game Skill- and speed-based quick play game. (Easier and faster play than EQ1) Real-time strategy game Game Play Online Online, iPhone and Facebook Download Game Focus Product Product 25 years of Internet history (technologies, solutions and products) Game Objectives
Engage broader market (current and potential influencers)
Make technology fun
Articulate Cisco ASR 1000 Series router value proposition through game play
Continue market discussion beyond initial product release
Engage broader market (current and potential influencers)
Make technology fun
Articulate Cisco ASR 9000 Series router value proposition through game play
Continue market discussion beyond initial product release
Encourage learning and/or a walk down memory lane
Become a telecom CEO making research, technology and business decisions
Translate speeds and feeds into end user value

Game Components EdgeQuest 1 EdgeQuest 2 Cisco myPlanNet
Welcome message by Cisco executive
Router air craft
Navigate levels of increasing difficulty while collecting packets by traffic type (video, email, voice)
Tournament version goes up to level 9 difficulty as measured by speed and increased obstacles
Fictional newscasters used for side story
Features Cisco executives as interview subjects
Router air craft
“ Drive” router and attempt to maximize speed while collecting key attributes of the product and avoiding common network issues
Multi-level
No executives
Pre-programmed customer testimonials deliver end user value
Build your city, manage your balance sheet
Discover technologies, products and solutions
Migration path from dial-up, broadband, mobile to medianet eras

Cisco Service Provider Game Marketing Marketing Comparison EdgeQuest (EQ)1 EdgeQuest (EQ)2 Cisco myPlanNet Introduction Method Traditional and social media marketing Traditional and social media marketing Traditional and social media marketing Targets At Introduction Cast as wide of a net as possible, encourage pass along Reconnect with EQ1 players separately, cast as wide of a net as possible Focus on Cisco sales, networking students and aficionados, customers, encourage pass along Go-to-Market Approach
2 months between introduction and promotion
Promoted as a standalone tool
3 ½ months between introduction and promotion
Promoted as a standalone tool
Started promoting at introduction
Integrated into programs in addition to promoting it as a standalone tool
Uptake in Usage Due to Awareness and contest Awareness and contest Social media, word of mouth

Cisco Service Provider Game Marketing Contest Details EdgeQuest (EQ)1 EdgeQuest (EQ)2 Cisco myPlanNet Reach Global (traditional and social media in US, social media everywhere else) Global (traditional and social media in US, social media everywhere else) No contest with prizes, only socially competitive mini-games. Global reach Prizes One winner at the end of Tournament “Money” round: 1 winner for USD10,000 cash + 1 Cisco ASR 1000 Series router Parallel Facebook activity: Design Bake – Tourney aircraft updated and played with winning aircraft design
Three winners each week for a total of six winners:
Cisco Wireless Audio Home System +
Grand prize: USD500 gift card
Second prize: USD300 gift card
Third prize: USD100 gift card
Contest Duration Qualification period: 05/05/08 – 06/11/08 (5 wks) Tournament “Money” round: 06/19/08 – 06/20/08 No qualification period Tournament round: 02/23/09 – 03/09/09 (2 wks) N/A Contest Location Qualification period: Online Tournament “Money” round: Online, but winner announced at trade show Online N/A

EdgeQuest 1 Contest Communications

EdgeQuest 2 Contest Communications

The Effects of Games on Marketing at Cisco Message Integration, Marketing, Tracking/Analysis Evolve Over Time EdgeQuest 1 “The Game Changer” EdgeQuest 2 “The New and Improved” Cisco myPlanNet “The First Serious Game” Key Marketing Impacts
Proves qualitatively games can reach Cisco customers (winner worked for a Cisco customer)
Proves social media can help drive contests
Proves social media and non-traditional marketing tools can help keep products top of mind months after launch
Sparks a lot of interest within Cisco outside of Service Provider Marketing
Key Marketing Impacts
Helps prove qualitatively increased reach into customer base (winners worked for Cisco customers and partners)
Proves non-traditional marketing tools can accommodate increased levels of product messaging
Clearly proves the concept of and interest in “novelty marketing” (such as educational, or “edugames”) in the technology space
Key Marketing Impacts
Helps understand and validate user profiles through data collection and analysis
Clearly shows the effects of social media and WOM on an on-going and quantitative basis
Helps shape marketing 2.0
Proves “novelty marketing” can accommodate heavy messaging
Builds engagement with future customers and influencers - the emerging workforce
Makes technology fun and experiential in new ways
Helps communicate core messages in new ways
Key Marketing Impacts Across the Board

Key Marketing Lessons Progressively Getting Better Due to Lessons Learned
Global tax laws must be considered for contest marketing and legal terms and conditions
5-week qualification round followed by 2-day tourney was too long
USD10,000 helped quickly boost awareness but discouraged game play, therefore inhibited learning, for those who were not top scorers
Facebook use focused on contest announcement (short term, tactical)
Parallel FB activity requiring too much effort for no prize and with no event reminders didn’t take off – had interest but no submissions
Announcing more than 1 winner was a good idea but a high-value grand prize augmented with more smaller prizes would have helped boost participation more
Simplified contest flow worked but announcing the contest on Day 1 of the contest and giving 2 weeks of play time to a global audience was not sufficient
Created Facebook and iTunes versions for rolling thunder effect but marketing was extremely limited and short lived (only at time of contest), hence limited success. Need to fund more promo for these to kick-start pass along
Increased level of integration and cross linkages between various communication channels from EQ 1
Messaging was more focused and reiterated through more frequent reminders
Not only did introducing the game internally first helped with testing but it also helped increase “pass along” effect
While a contest would have helped accelerate the awareness curve, it is possible to boost the number of players without one – it will just take longer
Go-to-market was fully integrated and worked well
Developed long-term strategy on social media platforms to keep momentum going
Strong focus on experimentation: socially competitive mini games requiring little effort, tidbits, posts and more
EdgeQuest 1 “The Game Changer” EdgeQuest 2 “The New and Improved” Cisco myPlanNet “The First Serious Game”

Six Things We Wish We Had Known or Done Sooner
Estimating amount of time and effort it takes to sustain social media momentum months after introduction
Lining up team members dedicated to engaging in social media long term and splitting up workload among them. Making this part of somebody’s job responsibilities, hiring part-time and/or temporary help would help further
Requesting and securing budget for listening and monitoring to help automate sentiment tracking and monitoring, and selecting such tools during go-to-market campaign development
Establishing and nurturing a test community during development phase will not only help with bug fixes but it will also help create a sense of involvement, and therefore, will help with word-of-mouth (WoM) advertising
Engaging influencers as testers so that the WoM can come in the form of a review and a referral to the game
iPhone, Facebook etc versions could have come sooner as these are the preferred platforms for quick-play games like EdgeQuest 1 and 2 (myPlanNet is a different genre although we have received questions about doing a Facebook version of myPlanNet too)

Many Thanks to…
Melissa Mines ( [email_address] ) of Cisco for her input into this presentation
By Petra Neiger [email_address]
www.twitter.com/petra1400

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Case Study: Evolution of Game Marketing at Cisco

by Petra Neiger on May 13, 2010

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Case Study: Evolution of Game Marketing at Cisco — Presentation Transcript