Launching Motific: How Watts Helped Cisco Introduce Its Enterprise AI Platform

Motific by Cisco

Cisco has a Skunkworks operation, Outshift. A behind the scenes, covert, incubation arm for emerging technologies that only a select few have access to.  When one product, Motific, reached critical mass, management decided to share it with the public and launch it as a SaaS offering.

When launch plans were drawn up, they faced a two-fold challenge:

1. Complex Product Story
   Motific isn’t a simple app - it’s an enterprise-grade platform that combines AI deployment, governance, and monitoring. Explaining its value in a way that was clear, engaging, and visually compelling was essential.

2. High-Stakes Launch
   As Cisco’s first SaaS-based generative AI product, this launch wasn’t just about introducing Motific - it was about signaling Cisco’s role in shaping the future of enterprise AI. The announcement video needed to feel authoritative, trustworthy, and innovative.

Watts Media collaborated closely with the Outshift team to understand Motific’s positioning and the key problems it solves: speeding up GenAI deployment, ensuring security and governance, integrating enterprise data, and monitoring ROI.

 The Watts Media team designed a launch video strategy around three key creative pillars:

1. Clarity Through Storytelling
   Break down complex capabilities - such as vendor-agnostic LLM deployment, policy guardrails, and shadow AI detection - into simple, digestible messaging.

2. Visualizing the Invisible
   Since Motific operates largely “behind the scenes” (governance, integrations, monitoring), the video leaned on dynamic motion graphics, abstract visual metaphors, and bold design to make the invisible aspects of AI infrastructure visible.

3. Establishing Authority + Excitement
   Pairing sleek visual design with professional narration and pacing to communicate both trust (a hallmark of Cisco) and innovation (the Outshift ethos).

 The result was a polished, cinematic announcement video, crafted to capture attention at events, in media coverage, and across Cisco’s digital channels.

The launch video became the centerpiece of Motific’s product debut at Cisco Live EMEA 2024, introducing the platform to customers, partners, and the press. 

• Clear Communication: The video distilled Motific’s complex value proposition into a simple, memorable narrative.

• Brand Alignment: Design and tone reinforced Cisco’s authority in enterprise security and innovation.

• Global Reach: Deployed across Cisco’s digital ecosystem, events, and PR, the video amplified awareness at launch.

By combining deep technical understanding with bold visual storytelling, Watts Media helped Outshift position Motific not just as a product, but as a statement: Cisco is ready to lead in enterprise AI.

Launching advanced AI products requires more than just technical specs - it requires storytelling that builds trust, clarity, and excitement. Watts Media’s launch video for Motific translated a complex enterprise SaaS offering into an engaging narrative that resonated across audiences, proving the power of video in technology product launches.