From Brazil to Cambodia, the 'Internet of Everything' has emerged as a significant driver of how people, processes, data and devices connect across the globe. The Internet of Everything represents a $19 trillion market opportunity, and Cisco wisely assessed that there was no better way to highlight the power of the Internet of Everything than by showcasing how real people use it in their everyday lives.
Telling up-close and personal stories, Cisco created My Networked Life, a mini-documentary series profiling a group of young adults who have blazed entrepreneurial trails using the power of connected technology. After an overwhelmingly positive response to the award-winning series, Cisco continued to build upon its strategy of authentic storytelling to demonstrate the power of the Internet of Everything by releasing True Stories of the Connected in 2013.
Featuring different locations around the globe, True Stories of the Connected captures the experiences of people using the Internet of Everything to improve their lives, businesses and communities. Since the first video was posted, the six-part series and its trailer have accumulated more than 14,743 YouTube views, continuing to raise the bar for B2B tech video while educating viewers about new facets of technology, growing economies and the reach of the Internet of Everything. The series also positioned Cisco as a cutting-edge thought leader on the Internet of Everything.
With True Stories of the Connected, Cisco hoped to demonstrate the immense potential of the Internet of Everything, estimated to be a $19 million market opportunity. Knowing the Internet of Everything was a popular topic of discussion in the technology industry, Cisco aimed to align with trending conversation to produce content that would not only drive traffic to its innovative corporate newsroom The Network, but would also generate positive buzz and social sharing around the Internet of Everything, positioning Cisco as a thought leader in the technology space and driving bottom-line results for the business. By showcasing real experiences of how people around the globe are using the Internet of Everything to better their communities, Cisco appealed to both those seeking Cisco-specific business content as well as a broader, more diverse global audience.
Because of its authentic storytelling and human element, True Stories of the Connected resonates across communities and cultures, helping the brand gain widespread recognition from media, analysts, businesses, customers, influencers and social media users.
Over the course of a 12-month period, Cisco took True Stories of the Connected from concept to creation. The team identified and travelled to six different locations for filming. Four of these locations had a direct connection to Cisco in that they were either partners or had received funding from Cisco's Corporate Social Responsibility program, while two stood on their own as superb examples of connected technology. After shooting film onsite, the team worked closely with an outside vendor to edit footage down to final deliverables that were brief yet captured the Internet of Everything from the subject's eyes.
Among others, the series tells the stories of a Vancouver doctor who cares for patients in rural Canada via video conferencing, a Vermont vintner who perfects his grapes through the use of connected sensors, a Brazilian professional who oversees activity in Rio de Janeiro via surveillance technology and a Cambodian technologist who trains underprivileged citizens on how to use computers.
To promote True Stories of the Connected, Cisco implemented a variety of tactics. First, the team chose to lightly brand the content by showing the Cisco logo only at the end of each video clip, ensuring the stories would stand on their own and be more authentic. Each video was hosted on YouTube and shared on Cisco's online technology newsroom, The Network, in order to reach a larger audience. The Cisco social media team made sure to align closely with the corporate communications and public relations teams in order to seamlessly connect the series with other branded content and maximize reach.
Cisco also intentionally partnered with an outside vendor, Ironbound Films, to ensure a neutral lens and top quality video. And, given its success, the team used My Networked Life as a benchmark for what the video series should look like in completion. In addition to partnering with corporate communications and public relations to maximize reach, the team tied into other existing initiatives by aligning the video content with relevant issues of Focus, Cisco's online monthly thematic magazine hosted on The Network. Videos were released in conjunction with closely themed Focus issues in order to extend their organic reach and gain more online traction. And, of course, each video was also shared several times across Cisco's corporate social media channels, timed to reach audiences around the globe. Finally, the team skilfully leveraged media, analysts and industry influencers to promote the videos on their own platforms and shared the series through internal communication channels.
Since the first video was posted in August 2013, the six-part series and its trailer have accumulated more than 16,722 YouTube video views. Combined, the videos have been shared more than 868 times directly from The Network, including 292 Facebook likes, 274 tweets, 91 Google+ shares and 211 LinkedIn shares. The series saw 16,000 page views on The Network, 2,000 of which came from social media clicks.
True Stories of the Connected continues to raise the bar for B2B tech video while also educating viewers about growing economies, new areas of technology and the Internet of Everything. Third-party validation has come in the form of social sharing by a wide array of broadcast outlets and online publications. The Cisco social media team continues to innovate in video production, using My Networked Life and True Stories of the Connected as sterling examples of brand journalism content that resonates with broad audiences and drives bottom-line impact for Cisco.