Cisco’s #LifeonWebex Helps Restore a Sense of Normalcy During Trying Times
As millions of Americans stay home due to social distancing measures, the need for emotional connection is greater than ever. Before the pandemic struck, many of us sought out those connections through sports, either by playing or watching them. But the coronavirus has disrupted nearly every part of our lives.
To help bring people together during the sports shutdown, Cisco has launched a social media campaign called #LifeonWebex. Leveraging Webex, its video conferencing platform, Cisco will include content from its sports partners to showcase how fans and teams are staying connected by using the technology.
“For us, it’s about grassroots fan engagement,” says Brian Eaton, the director of sponsorships at Cisco. “We’re all about creating authentic connections to make sports entertainment accessible, which is more important than ever before during a time like this.”
It’s working. In March, Webex registered a record 324 million attendees, an 111% increase over January. The platform also hosted 14 billion meeting minutes in March, more than double the minutes in February.
Two sports in particular—golf and soccer—have utilized Webex to bring fans together from around the world. Erik Anders Lang, a filmmaker who produces golf videos around the globe, recorded a group podcast on the platform with golfers and Cisco brand ambassadors Brendon Todd, Viktor Hovland, Maverick McNealy, Keith Mitchell, Jessica Korda, Nelly Korda and Danielle Kang. He’s also recording house tours with the golfers as well as discussions about their memorabilia.
“Our paradigms are shifting with what we’re comfortable with,” says Lang. “And what matters is that golf fans are all watching the same thing. That was a tremendous and powerful realization for me. We really don’t care what it is, we just want to be doing it together.”
Adds Lang: “You can go big. Video chatting with people I haven’t seen in a while is exciting. This is an incredible time, if we look at it right, if we use the materials we have. The way technology can breed creativity, we can get a tremendous amount done in this time. This kind of stuff was not possible under the normal situation.”
The golf community is also leveraging Webex through Golf.com’s “That’s Debatable,” a match-play style debate series that tackles a wide range of topics. The editors and writers of Golf.com have discussed things such as “18 holes or 9 holes” and “Caddyshack or Tin Cup.”
“When golfers can’t watch live golf on TV and can’t tee it up as they normally would, we meet to discuss ways we could help our audience keep the conversations they’d be having on the golf course with their buddies alive,” says Ashley Mayo, the editorial director of GOLF.com.
Content creators and media organizations are discovering that this type of personalized, virtually-in-your-home content isn’t just a fad. It has the potential to become a staple long after the pandemic has receded. Golf.com recently shifted to more lifestyle content, with plans to extend it well into the future. Lang will use the Webex platform to keep his shows, such Random Golf Club, going while also using it to form communities such as a golf-centered book club.
Another sports organization, MLS’s New York City Football Club, is using Cisco’s platform to create engagement during the hiatus. With its players at home, and with its home city being one of the hardest hit in the world, the team is using Webex to bring a little joy and connection to its legion of fans. NYCFC has launched #FriendlyMatch, with players calling in and having conversations with some of their most hardcore fans—many of them first responders.
Fans and players alike were overjoyed in making those connections. “The reactions speak for themselves,” says NYCFC COO and chief commercial officer Matt Goodman. “Now that we’ve seen the power of it, it’s a 100% yes that we’ll continue doing it after the pandemic is over.”
These types of activities are happening all over the world. Through a larger partnership with City Football Group, Cisco is looking to expand the Friendly Match program in the coming weeks with its other clubs around the world. And this past weekend, the Yokohama F. Marinos (Japan) hosted “Stay Home with F. Marinos,” a six-hour livestreamed event that connected players via Webex to give fans a look at their daily lives and activities.
As the world continues to grapple with the COVID-19 crisis, many of the usual distractions of modern life have been put on hold. But the longing for connectivity, for togetherness, for any sense of normalcy, is a need that can still be fulfilled and powered by technology. And while we remain apart, buffered by at least six feet at all times, it’s these connections in virtual gatherings that have proved a lifeline in these otherwise unrecognizable times.