New York, NY – October 2, 2013 – Cisco today announced a collaboration with Facebook that helps businesses increase brand recognition and proactively target promotions and advertisements based on customer preferences and demographics using Wi-Fi. The Cisco Connected Mobile Experience (CMX) with Facebook Wi-Fi is currently being piloted by some of the world's most popular retailers, hotels, restaurants and other public gathering spots. One example is Bonefish Grill, who is testing this solution in two of its restaurant locations. This solution, coined CMX for Facebook Wi-Fi, helps improve the consumer experience, provides a quick and simple way for consumers to access Wi-Fi by checking in on Facebook, and gives businesses more opportunities to connect with their customers. CMX for Facebook Wi-Fi also provides businesses with more likes and check-ins for their Facebook Page, increasing the demographic data on their customers, so they can better serve them.
Also announced today is the expansion of the Unified Access portfolio with the introduction of the Catalyst 3650 access switch designed to accelerate the convergence of wired and wireless networks and the Aironet 3700 802.11ac wireless access point for managing next-generation mobile devices in high density environments. The CMX for Facebook Wi-Fi solution is built on this Unified Access architecture. To learn more about the new mobility and switching products, visit our Enterprise Networks blog.
To learn more details on how Cisco and Facebook are working together, hear from Sujai Hajela, vice president and general manager, Cisco Enterprise Networks Group, in his blog post today.
Supporting Facts:
· Consumer mobile shopping trends from 2013 reveal the immediate business opportunities for retailers who wish to customize their service offerings through shoppers' mobile devices. Data shown is from a 2013 Cisco Customer Experience Report:
o Half of consumers use a mobile phone when shopping: the majority (54 percent) of consumers use mobile phones when shopping in a store.
o Shoppers desire for automated shopping tips: two-thirds (65 percent) of global consumers are comfortable receiving retail advice based on their location through their mobile device. And many consumers (39 percent) would reveal their personal income in exchange for more personalized service, discounts and sale promotions.
o Valued monitoring services: consumers want to track sales and promotions (62 percent), coupons (46 percent), price changes (47 percent), and product availability (45 percent).
· How CMX for Facebook Wi-Fi Works:
o Consumers connect to the network of a participating business, open their browser on any mobile device or laptop, and a Facebook check-in page appears.
o After checking in, consumers are directed to the business' Facebook Page, where they can receive the latest information about the venue.
o Facebook provides aggregated anonymous insights about people's activity on their Page, including demographics such as age, gender, and city.
o Businesses can analyze this data to better understand their customer's preferences and deliver targeted promotions – ultimately improving their advertising and marketing campaigns.
o Driving more check-ins through Facebook Wi-Fi will also increase a business' brand exposure, by increasing the number of stories generated about them, and will make businesses more discoverable in Facebook's Graph Search.
· The Solution: Technology and Features
o CMX for Facebook Wi-Fi uses a software connector on the Cisco Integrated Services Router (ISR) G2 or Aggregation Services Router (ASR) 1000 routers with UCS blades or the Mobility Services Engine to enable end-users to connect to the Wi-Fi network and "check-in" to the venue's Facebook profile.
RSS for Cisco news: http://newsroom.cisco.com/
RSS for Facebook news: http://newsroom.fb.com/
Relevant links:
For more information on Cisco's Connected Mobile Experience solution and new features, visit our blog.
Tags/Keywords: Cisco, Wireless, Mobility, Networking, 802.11ac, Wi-Fi, BYOD, Facebook, Consumers, Retail, Hospitality, Restaurants, Enterprise, Service Providers, Unified Access
About Cisco
Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) is the worldwide leader in IT that helps companies seize the opportunities of tomorrow by proving that amazing things can happen when you connect the previously unconnected. For ongoing news, please go to http://thenetwork.cisco.com.
# # #
Cisco and the Cisco logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Cisco and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and other countries. A listing of Cisco's trademarks can be found at www.cisco.com/go/trademarks. Third-party trademarks mentioned are the property of their respective owners. The use of the word partner does not imply a partnership relationship between Cisco and any other company.
# # #
