Cimaglia Productions

Overview

In 2002, Matt Cimaglia, having recently graduated from college,identified a burgeoning opportunity to use new technology in the video and creative industry to create unique experiences and strategic campaigns. Eager to shape the future of this industry, Cimaglia founded Cimaglia Productions believing that digital marketing—not boilerplate business models from traditional agencies—is what drives innovation. Since then, Cimaglia Productions has been spearheading campaigns for some of the world’s top companies. The common theme? Innovation.

Over the years, Cimaglia Productions has expanded from South Florida to Chicago, New York City, and Los Angeles. By tailoring talent and services to each client’s needs, Cimaglia Productions is constantly finding unique ways to tell their clients’ stories through experiential marketing, high quality video production, and digital media. “We spend a lot of time listening to our clients and understanding their companies before we start anything creative,” explains Matt Cimaglia, CEO and Founder. “That way, we can bridge their needs with our expertise in the digital landscape and aim beyond their expectations, offering up a creative, non-traditional solution they might not have thought of.”

 

The Challenges

One client in particular, Heart Six Ranch, an authentic dude ranch with over 100 years of history in Wyoming, planned to relaunch as a luxury resort all while keeping the rich culture. To do so, they were in need of a new marketing strategy and brand identity. The goal was to create a brand and experience that reached people all over the globe, as well as guests staying on the ranch. Cimaglia Productions wanted to take on the client, but there were some unique challenges that came with creating a marketing campaign for a deployment based in one of the most remote locations in the continental U.S., with the nearest store being more than 40 miles away.

First, the ranch’s network infrastructure needed a significant upgrade. Although Cimaglia Productions is more of a creative agency, that transition took place before anything else. The new underlying technology would lead the way for the ranch’s future advancement, while also test Cimaglia’s skills in an expanded setting.

 

The Deployment

The ranch prepared to build a formal network architecture spanning the 83-acre property. Cimaglia Productions envisioned login splash pages for guests that could later serve marketing content, video ads, and promotional materials to improve guest experiences. They also wanted to use iBeacons to track guests’ behavior and movements throughout the ranch to maximize engagement. For this, they needed innovative wireless technology.

In the past, Cimaglia Productions internally deployed Cisco Meraki solutions because of the security required to support its robust client roster, many of which involve sensitive data. “Our company is always focused on future-proofing our networks, and security is paramount in that,” Cimaglia said. “I already knew Meraki was reliable, since we used it internally and it’s always up to date with the latest security updates and VPN tunneling.”

For Heart Six Ranch, Cimaglia Productions started by ripping out the consumer-grade wireless routers from the main lodge, which provided limited connectivity and spotty coverage. Meraki enterprise-grade wireless access points were deployed throughout the location. Eventually, Cimaglia upgraded the whole ranch to the full Meraki stack, which includes APs, switches, security appliances, and even MC phones. This new design will help improve future guest experiences, and help the ranch accommodate large corporate groups or even productions and events on their property.

Back in New York, the Cimaglia Productions team can remotely manage the Wyoming ranch’s security appliances through the Meraki dashboard, allowing the team to troubleshoot the most critical equipment from miles away. He also set rules like group policies, SSIDs, and Auto-VPN.

Similarly, with the switches, remote teams can identify port issues or device problems all through the dashboard. “Streamlining our equipment and data into a single dashboard has saved us and our clients time, energy and money,” said Cimaglia.

 

The Results

After the network infrastructure was deployed, Cimaglia Productions focused on creating unique experiences for Heart Six Ranch and other clients. With reliable technology, they were able to solve many of the initial challenges Heart Six had previously faced.

Cimaglia Productions was able to accomplish their original goal of implementing splash pages to capture email addresses and fuel the ranch’s marketing engine. They also established Bluetooth location tracking to see where guests were moving throughout the ranch.

For example, with reliable wireless coverage, guests can connect seamlessly from anywhere on the ranch. They also built customized diagnostic systems to assess network connectivity, which was provided by a local carrier. They also hardwired Meraki ruggedized APs that withstand temperatures up to -30 degrees throughout the ranch.

Additionally, nature can be unpredictable—one day a sheet of ice fell and severed a pipe housing the fiber connection. Without Meraki, part of the network would have failed; however, due to automatic failover capabilities in Meraki appliances, the wireless connection was able to keep running at the ranch, pivoting to an access point within close range and turning into a repeater.

Cimaglia Productions is excited to continue using Meraki solutions in a unique way to drive innovation at Heart Six Ranch and with other clients. “We’re excited to see how Meraki evolves their technology,” Cimaglia said. “When you’re in a business as fast-moving as the tech world, it’s critical to align yourself with like-minded companies and people who understand what it means to stay innovative, aware and future-oriented. For us, Meraki fits that directive perfectly.”