Are you a network uber-user?
We just kicked off a new marketing campaign, focused on the uber-users of the network, to act as a run-up to a major announcement we are planning in a few weeks time. Instead of taking a traditional approach of interviewing enterprises and providers as to the challenges they are facing with network, we directed our questions to the likes of Santa Claus, the Stork, Cupid, the Easter Bunny, and a Unicorn, all of which face some daunting operational issues which must be addressed by the network.
Such an approach is a bit different for Cisco. Admittedly, we are showing our fun side which many of our customers and constituents have encouraged (at dinners with analysts, I’ve heard "why are you always so serious in briefings... you’ve earned the credibility to joke around now and then"). Beyond just the tone, though, and more applicable for this forum, our uber-users campaign is also a way for us to embrace the viral marketing benefits that are possible with Web 2.0. With the "tell a friend" function, we are hoping to have these passed about amongst our customers, and in the process, target the news of our upcoming announcement to the parties that are interested in it the most, far more efficiently and broadly than what we could achieve through other, often costly means. This represents us to not only talk about the Human Network but to benefit from it as well. (Our promotional effort will have ties to the larger Human Network campaign itself too, but we can talk about that later....)
So what’s your take on this?
And, are you, too, a networking uber-user?
Posted by Doug Webster at 01:27PM PST
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