Andrés RamirezOn April 4th, the Avaya Evolutions Tour received a bronze award in the “Global Awards for Media Innovation” granted by the journal The Internationalist.
The Avaya Evolutions Tour has been developed and executed by the internal Marketing team at Avaya Americas International, a team of marketing, graphic design, Web programming, communications, social networks and demand generation professionals. We were one of the only business-to-business campaigns, and competed against programs developed by international agencies such as Starcom MediaVest, PHD International and Universal McCan for companies such as Coca-Cola, Evian and Mastercard.
The results achieved by the Avaya Evolutions Tour in the past years are really surprising: over 15,000 attendants in Canada and Latin America since June 2010 and a scope which exceeds 300,000 users in social networks.
And although the results are history, in my opinion there are two factors which set Evolutions apart: the first one is that it is more than an event, it is a multimedia experience which helps us to position Avaya, generate demand, close deals and motivate our colleagues, business partners and customers. It is a factory of “hurrahs” around our brand.
The second factor is the spirit of excellence and the commitment by all the team involved in Avaya Evolutions. That is how the Tour was born, since it is internationally recognized as a case of success:
Evolutions started in Mexico in 2006, where an annual customer event was being held, and it grew year after year; based on its success in 2010 with over 1,800 attendants, we decided to take it to other countries. In November 2010 we took it to Toronto, Buenos Aires and Sao Paulo under the title Avaya Evolutions “Changing the Game”, three main events, in three countries, three languages, and in three weeks.
These events were difficult to conduct; we had several emergencies and problems which we could solve by working as a team. We “played” these events with courage and effort. During this first round of Avaya Evolutions we learned the recipe, as well as the required ingredients and processes. These events were successful, and we had a full house.
When Evolutions Sao Paulo ended in November 18, 2010 with over 1,700 attendants and after four months of intense coordination of our motivated marketing team, business partners, hundreds of resources and suppliers in five countries, I told Roberto Ricossa, Director of Channels and Marketing in Avaya International Americas, with satisfaction and tiredness: “Roberto, one less!!”, referring to the fact that we would close this series of events in Bogota in April, 2011. He said to me: “NO, ONE MORE!!” That is when I understood that we were just starting, because we were “Changing the Game”.
On May 1st, 2011 we started the Tour Avaya Evolutions Tour “Live The Experience” in Mexico City, with the beginning of a new experience. Avaya Evolutions was an event which became a multimedia experience. This tour went to Santo Domingo, Monterrey, Toronto, Sao Paulo,
Montreal, Kingston and Calgary and will go to Bogota on May 10 and to Buenos Aires on June 7 . 10 cities and over 10,000 attendants.
The tour is a process of continuous improvement, the experience in each city brings new ideas and learning for the following event. In this way, the experience we are living becomes richer.
The activity spans over the Internet with real-time video streaming and photo upload into social networks, attendants share their experience in real time via Twitter by marking their messages with #AvayaEvolutions, which lets us listen to and interact with the audience.
On June 14 we will host “ONE MORE” starting the new tour “Feel the Power of We” in Mexico City. with the attendance, among others, of Joel Hackney, Avaya’s Global Vice President, Sales and Marketing, and Jorge Valdano, recognized Argentinean soccer player and coach. A new tour full of Avaya’s innovations which will speed up your business and will offer plenty of surprises. We will be expecting you to feel the power of Avaya Evolutions, to feel “The Power of We”.
