21,000 attend Cisco’s hybrid sales event

Press release: INXPO Virtual Platform Hosts Meeting Industry’s Most Innovative Event, Cisco Global Sales Experience (GSX) 2010

Cisco Advances Their Next Generation Event Technologies with Global Sales Experience (GSX) 2010 on the INXPO Virtual Platform

CHICAGO — This year, Cisco took the Global Sales Experience (GSX) to another level.  Working with partners George P. Johnson (GPJ – Experience Marketing), jUXT Interactive and INXPO, Cisco’s 2010 GSX event ran from August 16th to September 10th under the theme “Together We Can.” GSX 2010 was created as a hybrid event, which combined virtual experiences with on-site gatherings.  Participants gathered at their local offices all over the world in Viewing Rooms and Gathering Rooms.

After 19 years as a physical event, Cisco reinvented the sales meeting with its inaugural Global Sales Experience (GSX) in 2009, an all-virtual remote learning, networking and employee reward event that set the standard for web-delivered event marketing programs.  More than 19,000 attendees from across the globe participated, while driving total event costs down and creating entirely new ways to engage and motivate a global workforce.

“Our Global Sales Experience (GSX) 2010 has taken engagement to the next level as a hybrid event,” said Angela Smith, Senior Manager, Global Sales Experience at Cisco Systems.  “We delivered an online connection, as well as face-to-face experiences through an innovative hub-and-spoke model that promises again to change the way organizations communicate their vision for the future and inspire employees to action,” continued Smith.

From August 31st through September 3rd, over 100 live sessions were broadcast.  Cisco’s IPTV technology (Cisco TV) powered the live broadcasts, which were carried within the INXPO platform via Cisco TV integration.  In total, 130 hours of live video programming were broadcast.  In addition, Cisco executives leveraged INXPO’s “Executive Chat” technology to host moderated Q&A sessions with the entire sales force.

Key Facts

  • Timing: August 16 – September 10
  • Number of Attendees: 21,000+
  • Number of participating Cisco offices: 162
  • Over 1,100 conference rooms across the globe
  • Technical support staff: 200+
  • 24/7 Contact Center support in multiple languages (GPJ)
  • 26 hours of live staged production
  • Live event staging and production in 4 cities around the world
  • 100+ sessions live broadcasts over 7 days
  • 130 hours of live broadcast over 7 days
  • Broadcasts hosted from 6 Cisco TV production facilities worldwide

GSX 2010 built on the social gaming momentum of the 2009 event, with incorporation of “The Hunt Alternate Reality Experience”, an Alternate Reality Game (ARG) developed by jUXT Interactive.  In addition, GSX included Head-to-Head Sudoku and Symphonic Togetherizer, which allowed participants to compose masterpieces of video and sound collaboratively, with their peers.

Cisco GSX leveraged the virtual platform to connect the sales team with Cisco Business Units by way of a Solutions Showcase, which featured over 50 virtual booths across 4 halls.  Attendees could visit any of the 50 booths to download documents, view on-demand presentations and interact with colleagues. In addition, 90 minute “Power Xchange” sessions leveraged Cisco technology to educate the sales force about Cisco’s key technology architectures.  The Power Xchange sessions were broadcast via Cisco TV and WebEx via integration with the INXPO platform.

“Cisco GSX set the bar high with the 2009 event.  Cisco GSX 2010 far surpassed that bar with its hybrid approach, along with an overall experience that delighted its attendees,” said Chris Meyer, Executive Vice President, Sales & Marketing, INXPO. “INXPO is privileged to serve as the virtual platform behind GSX, helping build a case study of how collaboration, video and social networking can drive real business results,” said Meyer.

About INXPO Inc.

INXPO is transforming the Web from pages and files to events and destinations, where people go to meet, learn and do business. We are the leading technology platform for virtual events and virtual business environments that connect, engage and educate audiences. We have delivered more than 1,000 successful virtual events and experiences for global customers and publishers including AAA, Cisco, Forbes, HIMSS, GE Healthcare, PennWell, SAP, TechTarget, UBM and Ziff Davis Enterprises. We are headquartered in Chicago and on the web.  Visit us at http://www.inxpo.com