SYDNEY, Australia - October 25, 2005 - Cisco Systems®, supported by creative agency Brains Intelligent Design, has been awarded the Advertising Federation of Australia's (AFA's) Advertising Effectiveness Award for Print. The award is an Australian first for Cisco®, and was achieved following a 14-month campaign which used a variety of media to alert senior business decision makers to the benefits of Cisco Internet Protocol (IP) Communications solutions.

Entrants in the AFA's Effectiveness award were required to conform to strict criteria, which included displaying measured outcomes of the campaign, credibility of the case and originality of thinking. Cisco's campaign was judged to have excelled in each of these aspects.

Launched in 2003, the IP Communications campaign was designed to help ensure that Cisco was clearly positioned as the leading solution provider of end-to-end IP solutions in the Australian market. The campaign targeted the uppermost levels of enterprise and senior management, highlighting the productivity and cost-efficiency benefits of using an IP Communications network from Cisco.

Cisco and Brains used double-page spreads in major newspapers such as The Australian, the Australian Financial Review and the Sydney Morning Herald to give the campaign a larger presence in its targeted publications, further reducing the 'noise' generated by rival offerings.

'Out-of-home media' at major Australian airports was also used, including signage at airport baggage retrieval carousels. This innovative advertising approach was designed to target high-traffic areas to help ensure the Cisco IP Communications was top of mind with business travellers.

At the end of the campaign, Cisco marketing manager for Australia and New Zealand, Tony Wright, said Cisco experienced strong growth in sales of IP communications systems in the target market in Australia.

Mr Wright said; "The campaign was a complete success. Our research revealed a return on investment of 26 to 1. Furthermore the campaign has given Cisco a strategic platform to launch further activity."