Hypershield Launch at McLaren: Scaling Creative Operations for Immersive Brand Experiences
Launching breakthrough technology requires breakthrough experiences.
The Challenge
As Senior Design Manager, I faced a pivotal moment when Cisco tasked our team with creating a complete 360-degree customer experience for the launch of Hypershield, a first-of-its-kind cybersecurity product. The exclusive VIP event at the McLaren Technology Centre would host fewer than 100 cybersecurity leaders, making every touchpoint critical to success.
This assignment pushed our creative capabilities into uncharted territory, presenting several complex operational challenges:
Scope expansion: Our team's expertise centered on digital marketing collateral and trade show booth designs — comprehensive customer experience mapping across physical, digital, and experiential touchpoints was entirely new territory
Multi-stakeholder complexity: Success required coordination across product marketing, events marketing, and account-based marketing teams, each with vested interests and input requirements, plus approval from the VP level
Approval bottlenecks: The layered approval process created unpredictable timelines and last-minute pivots, requiring constant readiness to shift into high-gear production mode
Unnamed product challenge: The revolutionary product lacked an approved name when we began the project, forcing us to design assets without final branding until late in the process
Timeline pressure: With only 2 months from brief to event execution, every delay had cascading effects across our complex production schedule
Cross-functional coordination: Managing input from multiple teams while maintaining creative quality and brand consistency across diverse asset types — from email invitations to custom lighting design
The stakes were exceptionally high: this wasn't just an event, but the launch platform for groundbreaking technology that needed to generate industry buzz and secure testimonials for ongoing campaign support.
The Solution: All-Hands Creative Operations
Understanding that this project would set the precedent for future experiential marketing, a comprehensive approach that prioritized both immediate delivery and long-term operational scalability was developed.
Team Structure and Resource Allocation
Partnering with our Creative Director and project manager, I orchestrated an "all-hands" approach, strategically sourcing five designers across project elements while maintaining other client commitments. When production demands intensified, I made the difficult decision to pause secondary projects, communicating transparently with stakeholders about the reallocation of resources to this company-wide initiative.
Communication and Workflow Management
Recognizing the complexity of multiple Webex channels and stakeholder inputs, I positioned myself as the primary communication hub for my team. This allowed designers to focus on creative execution while I tracked conversations, distilled feedback, communicated new requirements, and managed deadline updates across all channels.
Customer Experience Innovation
I developed our first customer journey mapping template — a comprehensive PowerPoint framework outlining every branded touchpoint from invitation receipt through post-event follow-up. This tool ensured a cohesive experience design across the complete attendee journey: flight arrangements, hotel stays, transportation, event staging, and post-event engagement.
Asset Production Coordination
The project encompassed an unprecedented range of deliverables across multiple channels:
Digital: Email invitations, web banners, screen content, presentation decks
Physical: Branded jackets, gift boxes, signage, menus, custom lighting
Experiential: Stage graphics, event staging, branded collateral
Team Support and Leadership
Throughout the intensive production period, I maintained constant availability to remove blockers, provide clarity on requirements, and coordinate with vendors. When weekend and late-night work became necessary, I worked alongside the team, demonstrating solidarity while ensuring they had the support needed to maintain quality under pressure.
The Impact
The McLaren Hypershield launch event exceeded expectations and established new operational capabilities that significantly enhanced our team's strategic value within the organization. Beyond the immediate success of the event, the project created sustainable frameworks for future high-stakes experiential marketing initiatives.
Outcomes
Successful product launch: The event generated significant industry buzz for Cisco's groundbreaking Hypershield technology, with overwhelmingly positive attendee feedback from cybersecurity VIPs
Operational scalability: Created customer journey mapping template and mockup systems that reduced future event turnaround times and became standard for subsequent ABM campaigns
Expanded creative capabilities: Successfully transitioned team from traditional digital marketing focus to comprehensive experiential design, positioning us as the go-to resource for future immersive brand experiences
Process standardization: Developed comprehensive style guide for Hypershield brand assets, including product name lockup guidelines and integration with overall brand standards
Team capability building: All 5 designers gained experience in experiential design, expanding their professional skill sets and increasing team versatility for complex projects
Communication efficiency: Established streamlined stakeholder communication protocols that protected designer time while ensuring clear requirement delivery and feedback loops
Strategic positioning: This success led to our team becoming the primary resource for experiential event planning and design, expanding our organizational impact beyond traditional marketing collateral
Key Takeaway
This project demonstrated that scaling creative operations isn't just about managing bigger projects — it's about evolving team capabilities while building sustainable systems for future growth. By protecting my team's focus, developing reusable frameworks, and taking on communication complexity myself, we delivered exceptional results under pressure while establishing processes that continue to drive efficiency. The success proved that when designers are pushed beyond their comfort zones with proper support and protection, they don't just meet the challenge — they excel and discover new capabilities that elevate both their professional growth and the organization's strategic potential.