Overview
Cisco enables people to make powerful connections whether in business, education, philanthropy or creativity. Cisco hardware, software, and service offerings are used to create Internet solutions that make networks and communication possible, providing easy access to information anywhere, at any time.
As a hi-tech B2B vendor, Cisco is accustomed to working behind the scenes, but the organisation is keen to find ways to deepen and strengthen ties between the public and its brand. Mobile advertising is becoming increasingly viable as smartphone prices drop, networks get faster, data packages become cheaper and mobile services and social media adoption rates rise. With 17 mobile sites created in local languages, Cisco’s mobile channel is an opportunity to demonstrate Cisco’s leadership in mobile innovation.
Engagement through contextual targeting
With a view to improving brand awareness and engagement, Cisco wanted to drive traffic to the European Cisco Mobile websites, aiming for mobile search traffic to make up 5% of total mobile website traffic. Cisco launched a mobile search engine marketing (SEM) campaign to complement its natural (or ‘organic’) search traffic from mobile platforms.
The campaign targeted an audience made up of IT and business decision makers from small- and medium-sized businesses. From research conducted with the major search engine providers Google, Microsoft Bing and Yahoo, Cisco discovered that Google had a far better reach in terms of advertising capabilities across Europe.
As Microsoft and Yahoo supported only the UK, France and Germany with mobile SEM opportunities, the campaign was designed for Google AdWords for Mobile. Initially piloted in the UK, it was then rolled out to Austria, Denmark, Finland, The Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.
Google’s mobile search is executed in a very similar way to its search network offering: keywords compete in an auction and are bought on a cost-per-click (CPC) model with a choice of search or content networks. The character restrictions for text ads are smaller – limited to only two lines of 18 characters each – which creates quite a challenge for brand messaging. As mobile keyboards are generally small, search queries are typically one- or two-word generic phrases. Cisco used a selection of mostly one- and two-word phrases relating to the brand and small business solutions – Mobility, Small Business, Network Technology, Routers and Technology – and translated these into German, Danish, Finnish, Dutch, Norwegian, Spanish, Swedish and French.
‘Always-on’ campaign – an industry first
Cisco’s AdWords for Mobile campaign generated steady traffic volumes, with keywords in the Brand, Mobility and Network Technology areas producing the highest traffic volumes. One-word phrases delivered 70% of the clicks with two-word phrases at 30% and three-word phrases less than 1%. The click-through rate achieved the industry average at 0.5%. More importantly, the campaign represents an industry first for Cisco: the ‘always-on’ campaign is something that none of its closest competitors are currently executing.
Overall, this proved a cost-efficient method of driving traffic and raising awareness of the Cisco mobile websites. By embracing mobile search outside the popular entertainment sector, the campaign allowed Cisco to advance its position as a technological leader.
