Cisco Marketing Velocity Program

OVERVIEW

Headquartered in San Jose, California, Cisco Systems is a global technology juggernaut. The largest networking company in the world, Cisco develops, manufactures, and sells networking hardware, telecommunications equipment, and other high-technology services and products. They also specialize in specific tech markets, such as Internet of Things (IoT), domain security, and energy management.

CHALLENGE

Cisco was faced with the challenge of increasing the number of channel partners (resellers) they co-market with, while also improving their partners’ overall marketing acumen. They worked with Lightspeed to come up with a solution.

SOLUTION

We designed and implemented an award-winning event called Cisco Marketing Velocity, a multi-faceted program engineered to encourage Cisco’s channel partners to think about marketing in a whole new way. With a thought-leadership approach, the event enables Cisco’s partner community to learn and apply the latest trends in marketing to enhance business strategy, accelerate sales, and increase profitability. Cisco Marketing Velocity is anchored by an annual conference and includes an ongoing online curriculum series, all tailored to partners’ marketing interests and varying levels of marketing acumen.

• Annual In-Person Conference – Taking place in a different location throughout the world every year, the annual conference is the cornerstone to the program.
• Monthly Webinar Series – To maximize ongoing engagement the annual conference is supplemented with a monthly webinar series covering hot marketing topics and the application to strategic initiatives.
• Industry & Partner Recognition – The program was a revolution in channel marketing methodology because it put partners first. The approach of not being Cisco-centric, but instead focusing 100% on helping their partners become better, stronger marketers garnered industry attention and awards such as Best Vendor Conference of the Year. It also won high-praise from Cisco’s global partner community including the highest ratings of any partner event that Cisco conducts throughout the year.