I had one question in mind when I attended the ‘Improve Your Resource Efficiency’ seminar: do we qualify for a grant? Unfortunately, the answer was more complicated than a mere yes or no.

Wessex Enterprise explained that applicants had to meet certain eligibility criteria:

1. Less than 250 employees (or a group with no more than 250 employees)
2. Annual balance sheet not exceeding €43 million
3. Annual turnover not exceeding €50 million
4. Not be more then quarter owned by firms that do not comply with the above criteria.

Grants could be used for: lighting upgrades, new heating systems, compressors, recycling equipment, CAD design software, testing & monitoring equipment, consultancy / training / certification for environmental management or other projects. These grants are issued on a 50% match fund basis (minimum of £1000 threshold and maximum of £40000). Investments must be in Dorset.

The bottom line was that the amount you qualify for depends on the difference between your current carbon footprint and your potential post-grant carbon footprint. The potential difference needs to be comparatively substantial, which unfortunately limits the options of a smaller enterprise [especially those that do not have high consumption or high wastage].

Wessex Enterprise does offer 12 hours free support, which can be used to benefit the business in developing an environmental policy, guidance on developing an environmental management system, legal compliance check, resource related research projects, etc.

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New Appointment - Jamie Homer, Design Director at RT Media

Branding, creative and digital agency, RT Media, has announced the promotion of Jamie Homer from Studio Manager to Design Director as part of the company’s overall growth plan.

The move comes hot on the heels of the recent merger and integration of social media training and consultancy business, SocialTech, and creative agency, Ozone Creative Solutions, which saw RT Media expand its services and core resources.

Ross Thornley, RT Media founder and Creative Director, said: “The appointment of a Design Director is a fundamental step in the growth plan of our business.  Following our on-going strategic development of the company, we decided to expand our offering to clients through mergers with two companies that had the core skills we desired.  Naturally, the additional staff and skill sets need a new level of management and Jamie was the obvious choice.”

Jamie has eleven years of experience in the industry, having spent almost eight of them with RT Media.  He joined the company as a Creative Artworker, progressing to Senior Designer and then Studio Manager.

Jamie has worked on a number of high-level branding campaigns whilst managing the team, and has a philosophical approach when it comes to delivering the best option for the client.  He said: “I am delighted to have been appointed as Design Director and see the position as having the responsibility of nurturing the best talent and ideas within the team in order to deliver the best results for the client.

“These are very exciting times for RT Media and for our clients. I intend to use the unique position of having already worked within the business as a manager as well as creatively alongside our existing clients to inspire and motivate the team to develop world class, conceptual design that meets the strategic aims of any creative campaign.  It is not just about being good at design,” he said.  “It is about being good at design for the good of a business and that, along with our branding, social media and digital offerings, is where we excel for our clients.”

RT Media was the only agency in Dorset, Hampshire and Wiltshire to be listed in a first-of-its-kind national table of design agencies by Recommended Agency Register (RAR), which showed that great design is no longer the preserve of specialist design agencies.

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Ross Thornley (left) with this year’s winner Phillip Khan-Panni (centre) and Alderman, David Trenchard.

Wimborne-based branding, creative and digital agency, RT Media, sponsor of the first UK Business Speaker of the Year, has announced its support for the 2012 competition, now launched.

Last month (Sept) Phillip Khan-Panni’s, a copywriter from Bromley, wowed an audience at Bournemouth’s Pavilion Theatre, winning the first ever UK Business Speaker of the Year competition with a motivational speech, “What it means to be second”.

The speech included stories about Mr Khan-Panni’s rivalry with an older sibling and how he overcame disappointments in life.

As well as sponsoring the event, RT Media founder and creative director, Ross Thornley sat on the judging panel.  He said: “The whole competition was extremely well run, with the eight finalists selected from auditions posted onto YouTube.  At the final, there was the added tension of the judges selecting just three contestants for the audience’s deciding vote.

“It was a great night – there are some really talented speakers out there and this competition is a real opportunity to be independently recognised.  We’re looking forward to building the reputation and scope of next year’s competition.”

The event was devised by the UK Speechwriters’ Guild, which hosts its annual conference at the Bournemouth University Executive Business Centre.  Professor Max Atkinson, one of the country’s leading public speaking experts, author of ‘Lend Me Your Ears’ and a much-acclaimed blogger, sat as Chairman of the Judges.

Khan-Panni, CEO of PKP Communicators, a training company that helps business leaders to speak in public without fear and in a way that makes others want to listen, said: “The UK Business Speaker of the Year is a splendid and worthwhile initiative that attracted some quality speakers. Much credit to Brian Jenner, whose idea it was, and to RT Media, the brand agency that recognised its potential. I was delighted to take part and honoured to have been voted the inaugural winner.”

Aspiring or professional speakers over the age of 18, with an unusual story to tell can register their interest to take part in next year’s competition at www.ukbusinessspeakers.co.uk.

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Following our recent acquisitions, we’re very proud to announce our updated and extended social media services!

We’ve expanded our training workshops to include:

Introduction to Social Media – designed for decision makers who need to understand how social fits into their business and how to begin to create a SMART strategy to do so.

I’m on LinkedIn, But… – understand how to take your LinkedIn profile to the next level as a powerful networking tool.

Twitter 101 – learn to make best use of this powerful communication tool for your business.

Better Blogging – covering both technical how-to (using Wordpress) and best practice content creation.

Facebook for Business – designed to enable you to utilise the world’s largest social network for real business benefit.

We’ve also launched 2 new services:

The Online Social Impact Audit provides a reference point to identify areas of improvement and forms the starting point for any social media campaign or strategy development.

Maximise the number of people who hear about and interact with your event, product or brand launch with our Social Media Event Amplification.

Our Social Media Management page has been updated to reflect changes to our offerings also.

We’re offering an Introduction to Social Media breakfast session for only £25+VAT.

Come and join us on the 26th October at 8am (for an 8:30 start) for some breakfast and an overview from our Social Media Strategist, Luke on:

• Why social networking matters to your brand
• An overview of the key sites
• Some future trends to look out for

Call Steve on 01202 888192 to reserve your place.

If you’d like more information on any of our social media services, please call Luke in the office.

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The popular video sharing website and social network YouTube has recently released what you could describe as a book of  ‘Commandments’ for what the team at YouTube believe are the most successful and effective ways to help its users generate better quality content and drive more traffic to their channels.

This extensive guide dubbed the ‘Creator Playbook’ gives YouTube users a distinct structured list of the best strategy to maximise the potential of their online videos. It also explains how to promote your marketing material through other social media networks and is designed to be accessible to all users, mapping out a tick list agenda to optimise the opportunities that Youtube offers.

So, just what is it that makes the largest online video destination and second most used search engine such a valuable brand and marketing tool? One reason I can think that video marketing is so advantageous and so powerful could be linked to the fact that 90% of our day to day communication is non-verbal. This implies that messages are most likely to be understood when given out and received usingbody language and self-expression. Unlike written words in printed media and websites, and spoken words in radio advertising, video and television marketing have the additional messages which are transferred by eye movements, visual cues, and overall body language, which makes YouTube a great channel to add more depth to your brand strategy.

You can download the YouTube instruction ‘bible’ here:

http://youtube.com/creators/playbook.html

While you’re waiting for it to download I can give you a few of my own ways to use make the most of your ‘home generated’ content which are often overlooked.

Firstly, it’s important to take an honest and value based approach to using YouTube to raise awareness of your business.  The direct selling route is not always necessary. Ultimately if your videos are interesting, informative, innovative or humorous then your audience are more likely to value them and share it, spreading awareness of your brand without any legwork from you. If a key factor to your video strategy is sharing then make your videos focussed and simple with a more subliminal marketing message. People are unlikely to share your video if they think they are being pitched to!

Make use of the close integration that YouTube allows with other social network sites such as Facebook and Twitter. Before you know it you can quickly and effortless have your video posted across platforms and embedded in your website and emails. YouTube video’s are viewed for an average of 2.9 billion hours a month so make sure you get a look in and use it as part of your overall strategy.

Customise your own YouTube channel (Like ours here: http://www.youtube.com/user/rtmediauk) to compliment your branding and to set up playlists with your personalised content. No lack of equipment or technology should stop you from producing original, creative content for your YouTube channel. Consider interviewing clients, or experts on a variety of topics which are relevant and authentic, and make sure an element of your brands personality shines through and reflects what your all about. You should maintain communication with your audience with regular updates and new posts.

Be Tag savvy. Remember…search engines like Google can only determine the content of your video if you tag it and your YouTube channel. Think carefully about the words and phrases you use for titles and descriptions. Link your social media accounts and make sure they are on your own website as well to encourage sharing and remind people to subscribe.

Check out RT Media’s You tube channel here:

http://www.youtube.com/user/rtmediauk

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There are some things we just come to accept after a while, no matter how inadequate and cumbersome they may be.

What am I referring to? The Facebook Business Pages.

Earlier this month I was listening to Radio 1 while they were trying to boost the number of ‘likes’ on their Facebook page to over 1.5 million. I picked up two interesting points from their chatter. Firstly, they were trying to see if there was a way that they could set permissions for a video so that only people who ‘liked’ the page could see it, as a loyalty reward. They established that this could not be done (it is possible, but not by any means easy) and moved on to uploading the video itself. They struggled for ten minutes to get it to display on the page, with Aled Jones stating that as he couldn’t sign in as the Business Page itself, only his personal account, the video was ending up on his profile.

This was not a very significant event, nor was it something we didn’t already know about Facebook Pages. It did, however, make me consider just how long we have put up with the difficulties of the Facebook business pages and that Google+ as a competitor is long overdue.

Despite its very recent invite only launch, the number of Google+ users has grown at a rate greater than that of Facebook at its’ launch. Google have also been continuously updating the selection of features on offer, with the game sections which was released last month.

However, the benefits of Google+ are likely to be had within their much anticipated Business offering. Where other social media platforms have struggled, Google+ Business is rumoured to be a tailored business social solution, rather than a business add on to a social platform.

Google+ are still in the development stages of the business pages, and brands have been advised not to try and create their pages under personal accounts. This indicates that they intend to offer something that is quite different for businesses from the individual accounts. They are even going as far as policing the network to shut down any business accounts that are set up prior to the launch.

Although nothing official has been released, experts have predicted that Google+ business will excel above Facebook in its usability, features, search functionality and analytics tools – most of these are native to the success of Google.

Google+ looks set to have the potential to be the leading social media platform for businesses, and I for one cannot wait for the launch.

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Dorset based strategic branding and digital agency, RT Media, has completed the acquisition of two Bournemouth based companies – social media training and consultancy business, SocialTech, and creative agency, Ozone Creative Solutions.

Ross Thornley. founder of RT Media, explains: “We recently carried out a strategic review within the business with a view to increasing resources, skills and generating growth. Both SocialTech (http://www.socialtech.biz/) and Ozone complement our existing capabilities and will further enhance our offering, expanding our branding expertise into all online communications and leading to a wider solution for our international, national and regional clients.”

Ross Thornley with Tony Ridgway and Luke Williams

Founded in 2008, SocialTech has built a reputation as a leader of social media training and consultancy. Its clients include Channel 4, E.ON, Condé Nast and Dorset Chamber of Commerce & Industry (DCCI).

Luke Williams, Director and founder of SocialTech, comments: “I’ve always held the team at RT Media and the outstanding quality of their design work in the highest regard. When the opportunity to merge our businesses became available it was an obvious fit, in terms of culture and approach, and as a logical extension of their brand communication to offer an extended range of services.”

As a total creative resource, Ozone Creative Solutions brings expertise from its impressive folio of advertising, direct mail, sales literature, Point of Sale, interactive CD and online design work to RT Media. Its ‘straight talking’ and ‘clear creative thinking’ approach is also a natural fit for RT Media, as Tony Ridgway founder of Ozone, comments:

“Our view has always been to get the job done, and get it done well. The team at RT Media has a similar approach; they like to get under the skin of a client’s and challenge them to really know what is actually required to achieve the objectives. We have already started collaborating on several campaigns and new business wins, which has shown us just how much potential we have, working together.”

Steve Mills, Business Development Manager at Nutrichef said “As a long standing customer of RT we were asked to be one of the test clients they worked with pre-merger to support the re-launch of our new web site. Adding the social media knowledge from SocialTech to the branding expertise of RT worked very well, dramatically extending our reach online.”

Ross adds: “This is a coming of age for RT Media. Integrating the three very like-minded, skilled and professional teams has given us a very strong platform for growth. It is a new era, both for us and for our clients, who will most certainly benefit from having this level of resource for their campaigns.”

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We are the only agency in Dorset and the surrounding counties of Hampshire and Wiltshire, to be listed in a first-of-its-kind table from the Recommended Agency Register (RAR).

We were delighted when, after months spent collecting and collating the financial data of hundreds of recommended agencies, the Recommended Agency Register’s Design Review – a table that recognises design as a discipline – placed us 62 out of 100.

We have made the list because we have been highly rated by our clients through the RAR’s ratings programme. The agencies in this elite group not only have the high regard of their clients, but have also demonstrated that they have remained strong across our financial rankings in spite of the current economic state.

RT Media founder and Creative Director, Ross Thornley, explains: “Traditionally, design was seen and treated as a separate entity, and even with a certain reverence within the industry.  For some time now, especially with the advent of digital media and the shift from traditional marketing channels to the exponential opportunities of the Internet, this has not been the case.

“As an agency which creates highly effective campaigns for our clients using a whole host of marketing channels, we welcome a ranking table that acknowledges design excellence within the context of all the other core disciplines we have mastered to make our business successful.”
RAR has been identifying the best agencies based on client feedback since 2004 and more than 6,000 ratings have been made by clients.  RT is already a RAR listed company and we were finalists in the awards for best in video production last year. All of the team are really proud to have achieved this status and it is the result of lots of hard work all round!

The table published in The Drum was created as the result of clients recommending agencies for their design excellence, despite not being specialist design agencies.  Ross concludes: “While RT Media ranked #62 of 100, the table was set out in terms of size of operation in the absence of other parameters, since this was a ‘first-of-a-kind’ listing, and does not reflect the size or scope of the campaigns we are capable of on a local, regional, national or international scale.”

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After a long history of Social Media attempts, and their more recent, albeit low radar, endeavours in the form of Google Wave and Google Buzz, has Google finally put forward a contender in the seemingly unattainable competition with Social networking giant, Facebook?

The ‘invitation-only’ launch of Google+ has been widely hyped as the most promising competitor to Facebook for some time. In some ways it seems to have ‘borrowed’ a lot of the key aspects and features of Facebook’s functionality, however, it is hitting out at Facebook’s weaknesses too.

With an estimated 500 million plus users, privacy is an area on which Facebook has been criticised in the past, and Google are grabbing this opportunity to differentiate themselves with both hands. Although this alone will not be enough to sway the dedicated Facebook fans, reviews from the chosen few that were invited to try it, shows that Google+ has potential to, compete with at least, Facebook.

Another of the key differences that could push Google+ is the depth of integration available. At the moment, Google+ is linked to all other aspects of Google; accounts and Gmail for example. This integration will undoubtedly allow users to go about their daily online business without leaving the site, meaning a much longer contact time with the user, attractive to both Google+ and marketers.

Comparisons with Facebook

Opportunities for brands

The main opportunity for brands on the new Google+ network, aside from wanting to be added to people’s circles, the equivalent of being ‘liked’ on Facebook or ‘followed’ on Twitter, is the ‘Sparks’ application. A user will list their likes and interests, and Google feeds them relevant information/products. The priority for brands will be to appear at the tops of these lists, whether this is through SEO linked to Google searches or interest optimization. This could give the opportunity for a new optimization market to develop, giving marketers another channel to consider.

Although business and ‘non-human’ pages are not currently part of Google+ being tested in the trial, it is something that they are looking to provide. Jeff Huber, Google VP of Local and Commerce, has indicated that Google+, at some point in the near future will include the option for business profile page. Here is his comment:
‘And pre-emptively answering a question — yes, we will have (smb) business profile pages on Google+. I can’t announce a launch date yet, but we want to make them *great*, and we’re coding as fast as we can.’
It is surprising that Google+ has not been more prepared for the wave of brands wanting to create profiles, as happened with Facebook and Twitter. Brands want to go where their customers are, and by not trailing the promised specialized business profiles, Google+ may have missed a trick.

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Ross Thornley, Creative Director of RT Media, regularly gives up his time free of charge to support young entrepreneurs; specifically assisting the Young Enterprise Group (Poole High School, meeting every week from September 2010) in the ways of business and inspiring them to achieve their business goals.

We are also looking forward to working with one of the companies from Young Enterprise to help them commercially take their idea to market. It is a great feeling to work with young people who are a constant source of inspiration.

In addition, RT Media have helped the students from Queen Elizabeth’s School in Wimborne and here is what one of the students had to say:
“My name is Fern Johnson and I attend Queen Elizabeth’s School in Wimborne. We are currently doing a unit called ‘Product Promotion’ which requires us to investigate advertising agencies. We had emailed loads of different businesses with no reply, until Mr Thornley kindly got back to our teacher advising her that he would be prepared to even do a meeting with us.”

“We then organised the event and on the day walked into Wimborne to go to visit RT Media. Mr Thornley very kindly gave us 2 hours of his time, which to us was a priceless experience, having never worked or needed to think about promotion of products beforehand; we could only use what we could find using the internet, our own ideas and a text book, but Mr Thornley gave us more than any text book example, we talked into depth about the pros and cons of different media types, their range, what they do in particular, how they have to create unique ideas.”

“I learnt a lot from the experience and found it very interesting, as well as informative, I then went home that evening to find myself write up about 5 pages extra on my assignment as well as set off creating my own promotional campaign, which was another assignment for the unit, without this trip I would not have had the motivation to do so, let alone be able to write in the amazing examples that I now have been able to write into my assignment. Thank you Mr Thornley at RT Media for making what I thought would be a difficult unit for me into something that I have enjoyed and taken a lot of time over now due to his enthusiasm of the business.”

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This morning I was ahead of schedule for a brand presentation to one of our technology clients in Westborne and I thought I would find a little coffee shop to have a quick drink before going in. I found a little place called crepes farm at the top end of Westborne. Very unassuming from the outside, but once in I was treated with a very pleasant surprise, a smile, well designed decor, menus and many little details that continued to surprise.
I ordered a green tea and got a fab yogi tea in a wicked tea pot (giraffe styled see my pic) and I couldn’t resist one of their crepes. It is nice to see a small company get things right, the way it should be, it is obvious that the couple who own and run this business truly care. All the ingredients are natural and organic, gluten free flour, and most ingredients are locally sourced from Dorset.

They create the crepes in full view and the chef was precise, clean and organised, just what i like to see in a kitchen! Plus they have free wifi, so a winner all round.

I am a big fan of specialist niche businesses who offer something different, something deeper than the coat of paint or menu selection. If you are ever in Westborne do drop in and take a look, you will be pleased you did!

Well done to a business that has only been open for a month.

I look forward to seeing their website go live soon I hope…

www.crepesfarm.co.uk

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University festival of design, last night I went to the open evening and I wanted to share my experience!
I arrived a little late to a packed lecture theatre with a still atmosphere as the first keynote speaker was introduced. He was a design engineer from mobile phone manufacturer, a 30 something who had been at the company since his first job as a tester, which he got whilst studying. During the following hour the audience were subjected to the most dry, boring and drab journey of this uninspiring, un-engaging individual. I often refrain from criticising others, especially when they are qualified individuals, respected within their profession.

This chap had all the qualifications, had some great experiences over his career and holds an influential role, but I have to tell you this was the worst presentation I have endured in my entire life. What was the point to the keynote… Your guess is as good as mine, I learn’t some trivial information about his early years, about where his office was, how many cars he has and all of his qualifications. Maybe I had missed the point, but speaking to everyone after it was a widely shared opinion that is was truly terrible. Had it not been for the second keynote speaker who totally got it I would have been asking for my time back! He showed passion, energy, told an engaging story and awakened an audience who had been left in a coma from the first guy.

This made me realise that despite good qualifications, experiences… and before you are fighting this mans battle he said he was an accomplished presenter around the world to teams and schools, this was a ‘keynote’ for this there are no excuses. He was unable to read or engage the audience, prepare a good presentation and deliver with any zest what so ever. To top it off, the most awful PowerPoint slides made this a memorable event for all the wrong reasons.  This becomes even funnier as the event was about celebrating design innovation! Shocking.

So, I was hoping that the student’s work would make up for this… I was drawn to the sustainable graphics and packaging course grads, in a small room was a dozen or so people from another Uni, and a mix of standards. Some good concepts and ideas with poor execution, and vice-versa.

Now sat in the gardens waiting before my next meeting I remember two individuals; One, a young chap who’s work was already at a commercial level, he talked with a clear drive and an understanding of the subject. I have no doubt he will find work and will be an asset to whom he joins. The other was a mature student, an ex designer in an advertising agency who had created an interesting concept, a working retreat for designers to escape. An environment to learn, reflect and design in a harmonious way. Aptly named ‘The tree house’. I would love to see this concept become a reality, so I can take my team for some ‘time out’ whilst still producing project work. I am compelled to help connect her to a few contacts that I think can help her pull this off.

It’s a great idea, and I am sure many design teams would love to spend a day or two to re ignite their passion for their craft, which is often lost in the hubbub of the working environment. The 4 hour event soon flew by and had filled me with excitement, knowing there is good talent coming through. With the lasting bonus, experiencing how not to present! Something I hope I will never be responsible for inflicting to an audience in the future! Sorry Mobile phone man, but please, please,  ’step it up’ or stop presenting!

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Believe it or not, us human beings are programmed to respond to emotion and we often make many important decisions based on how easily we are influenced by feelings and emotive language around us. For example, making purchases in a shop or from a website based on emotion is quite normal. Just like the age old head over heart argument, we know what we should do; the logical, sensible and often safe option, but the most successful marketers understand that successful products appeal to the heart, not the mind. Going by our emotions is usually what creates the action, and this is where the magic happens!

The RT Media Brand Love Mix and effect

If we take this philosophy and apply it to marketing, it could translate as: be inspiring, be adventurous and bold, or why bother? It’s entirely possible that if you are not inspiring or causing people to feel emotions, then your brand is just ‘existing’. Emotive branding is about taking everything you do today and creating a focus. These intentions can only be realised when everyone working for the brand is reading from the same page and embrace the brand’s emotive center.

However, there is a difference between using emotion in advertising and having an emotive brand that builds meaningful connections from the foundations of everything that you do. While using emotion in advertising can help consumers buy into your concept you will need to keep this ‘promise’ as it were so that it runs seamlessly into all aspects of the customer experience from creation all the way through to implementation.

Emotive brands engage their entire organisations so that every message induces a similar set of thoughts and feelings – consumer’s thoughts about brands are made up of groups of associations: feelings, sounds, memories and images as well as facts. Studies on how the brain processes and stores everyday messages and associations suggest that knowledge, experience and emotions are the three things called upon first to make up our representation of a brand.

If these are positive connotations, the recalls should bond the customer (and the employees) to the brand. Think of the infamous Coco-cola, ‘Holidays are coming’ adverts shown on the run up to Christmas- the resulting brand harmony means brand loyalty. The idea is to genuinely bond with your target audience through  shared values, attitudes and behaviour which needs to be a long term creation not just a 30 second fling.

However, don’t lose sight of your realistic and rational benefits and values, the backbone for a ‘right decision’ is based on reason and marketing should highlight both the rational and emotional components of the brand promise to create a balance.

Ultimately, it’s the difference between indulging in meaningless marketing activity and striving for meaningful connections.

It’s a choice every brand can make.

If you would like help with creating brand love then please do get in touch. ross@rtmedia.com

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Ross Thornley, Creative Director

Actively taking an interest in the environment makes business sense, according to a Dorset-based firm of brand consultants.

RT Media is supporting a new awards initiative launched by DECISION Business Magazine to recognise companies that believe setting and implementing environmental best practice is mission critical, not just for their businesses, stakeholders, and the community, but for the future of the planet.

RT Media managing director, Ross Thornley said: “The purpose of The Business & The Environment Best Practice Awards is to demonstrate that taking a lead environmentally will give companies a competitive edge and that it is not something which should be driven by compliance.  The process needs to be proactive and embracing, not reactive and box-ticking. These Awards will identify and recognise companies which demonstrate such credentials.”

“These Awards differ in two key ways.  First, unlike most award schemes, businesses and organisations do not pay an entry fee, or even submit an entry themselves – they are identified by an independent panel and selected from a range of categories relating to business process, and the market sectors that have most influence on the region’s economy.  These include retail, construction, built environment, logistics, manufacturing, leisure and tourism, print and packaging, food, and business services.

“Second, the independent panel comprises academics, experts from industry bodies, government representatives, industry bodies, and environmental and sustainability consultants to advise on both the categories and criterion for the awards, as well as judging, to ensure that the interrogation process is robust and the winners are indeed deserving. The idea is to get right under the skin of organisations that are working positively for the environment and recognise those who have not just embraced environmental policy, but who are actively involved in doing something about it at every level.”

Thornley adds: “How a company addresses the environment has an influence that flows beyond its business. If employees sense that its attitude is cosmetic, then that can condition their behavioural response to the environment.  On the other hand, a brand that embraces environmental responsibility will not just improve corporate credibility, but also performance. Taking care will be a mantra which influences not just environmental considerations, but customer service and an understanding on the part of employees of business process efficiency.”

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iPad TripleO Website

Branding experts RT Media, has created a brand and launched the web site for a revolutionary product, tripleO, on behalf of client, ooops!

Ross Thornley explains: “We have worked with Paul Booker and his team at ooops! for more than 2 years on the side of the business which specialises in repair, painting, maintenance and ‘detailing’ of all types of transportation.  When we learnt that they had acquired the licence to commercially market a unique and specialist ‘nano-technology’ high performance cleaning and protective surface coating pioneered by the US military, we knew that this would be a special project.”

The product – tripleO – has heritage as a surface protectant for the US military and has been proven in some of the most challenging applications, for some of the world’s most demanding military organisations over three decades.  It was re-engineered in 2000 to incorporate innovative nano-technology into the solution to enhance its performance and ‘cross link and bond’ to any surface, which means it can be used on any fleet of aircraft, trucks, boats and helicopters, or even wind farms in exposed locations, and wherever reducing costs and increasing operational efficiency is mission critical.

Paul Booker, Managing Director at ooops!  comments: “While tripleO is an unrivalled product which has many benefits, how we chose to bring it to market would be critical to its success.  After months of work, we gained accreditation from some of the biggest names in aviation such as Airbus, Boeing, Douglas and Raytheon and we needed a brand and web presence that would not only reflect this pedigree, but the many scientific benefits and bottom line Return on Investment to our clients.”

He continues: “Having worked with the team at RT Media and experienced their integrity, creativity and passion for putting us first, I know they would provide us with the exact solution, and I was right.  Working with RT Media is akin to working with an ‘honest coach’ and ‘mentor’, whose strategic vision and ability to see beyond the horizon, means that we don’t waste money now, in order to save for the opportunities that will give the greatest return on investment in future.

“The web site was orchestrated to launch just as tv coverage about tripleO aired across Europe and on the BBC in the UK, and we’ve been very busy ever since – having received great feedback from clients and potential clients all around the world.  I am very proud of how the site performs – the aesthetics and branding are superb and most importantly, it is funnelling sales enquiries through its various options and giving us business. The web site really is our shop window to the world, and we feel we have not just had real value for money, also a format that will give our web site longevity.  I’m now looking forward to further investment to make it multi-lingual.”

Ross Thornley, creative director at RT Media, concludes: “For us, this project was about creating a business-to-business brand primarily for the web, which had to reflect its core values – experience, expertise and tested durability, whilst bringing them together in a format which also had to convey key scientific information and study research quickly and simply, provide media information and case study video footage, whilst also channelling those all -important sales enquiries.  We are really pleased with the results, but most of all we have evidence from Paul and his team that this web site is performing on a business level and that is what we are all about.”

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RT Media Red Nose Day

The RT Media Brand Champions raised £361 for Red Nose Day on Friday the 18th March 2011.
The whole team took part in silly challenges in order to raise money for Comic Relief.

Ross, the Creative Director, painted his entire face bright red to become a walking, talking Red Nose. Sam, the Senior Designer, wore a spikey, red wig for the day. Ali stuck with the hair theme and sprayed her hair red! While Corli, the office chatterbox and warbler, did a sponsored silence (excluding necessary phone calls) for a day of peace and quiet. And that is just mentioning a few of the RT Team members.

Ross Thornley said: “RT Media was proud to raise money for the Red Nose Day’s ‘Do something funny for money’ campaign and help transform lives across the UK and Africa.”

As a special thank you for the kind support of this great cause, Ross Thornley will be donating an entire day of his design skills to New Driver Schools, the company who gave the highest single donation.

For more information about or fundraising campaign, please see http://my.rednoseday.com/rtbrandchampions. For more information about RT Media go to our website www.rtmedia.com or follow us on either http://twitter.com/RT_MEDIA or http://www.facebook.com/pages/RT-Media/39137908894

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What can we learn from the “big boys” in the B2B arena? One thing that has implemented itself firmly is lead nurturing emails, way beyond personalisation and basic segmentation. You are not doing it? Well you are wasting marketing budget! Email lead nurturing has proven to have a significant impact on the lead nurturing process.

But what is “email lead nurturing”? It means that regardless of the stage that your prospect is at in the buying cycle you have regular, relationship building, meaningful email communication with them. Therefore when they are ready to buy, your company is on top of their evaluation list. A trusted relationship with the right people is the key in this process.

This obviously requires not only good segmentation (making sure your database is up to scratch etc.) but also some careful content planning. You will need relevant content for all stages of the decision making process, from “We haven’t even entered any process” to “Interest”, “Learn”, Evaluate”, “Justify” and “Buy”.

Your safest bet is to get together with your Sales team – yes, Sales and Marketing can work together! You can then come up with a content plan that matches the typical customer journey, so that any prospect is supported at any stage of the decision making process. Here are just a few best practise ideas:

• 3rd party articles
• Case studies
• Invitations to webcasts
• Link to Podcasts
• E-newsletters
• Relevant white papers and eBooks
• Free reports
• Invite to events
• Company information

The result? Experience has shown that if you do it properly, not only the number of sales-ready leads will increase but so will the quality of those leads. Because you have built the relationship with your prospect, you are already considered a trustworthy partner with the necessary expertise – a great starting point for Sales to pick up the opportunity.

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Ways in which businesses speak to their target audience online are constantly evolving and expanding. Instead of dull static windows of text and information, consumers are much more likely to expect creativity, interactivity and originality, meaning brands are using their online space in new ways to fiercely differentiate themselves from competitors. The drive towards this new look social web is down to social network sites like Facebook, Youtube, Flickr and Twitter changing our expectations of how we would like to interact with a brand or business before we buy into it.

Initiating ‘social’ behaviour on a website can give visitors a chance to interact, contribute and share their thoughts and feelings, meaning that businesses can finally tap into the desires of their target audience and assess trends in the market. The ability to develop messages, and new products and services can also come from this new insight. Whether it’s by allowing users to give feedback, offer opinions, share links or generate their own content there are many positive reasons to move towards making your website a social environment or joining a social network. It’s all about conveying your brands personality to potential customers!

However, even though taking advantage of the new rules of the ‘social-web’ and building them into your marketing campaigns could lead to an increase in traffic, where do you go from there? This should be just the beginning of your marketing strategy.

The number of ‘fans’ or ‘likes’ a brand or business has on Facebook for example, can be used as a measure of popularity but should not be relied on as an effective measure of consumers engagement with your brand: David Parfect, agency sales group head at Facebook spoke recently during the keynote discussion on ‘Socialisation of the Internet’ at Social Media World Forum Europe, in London and encouraged businesses to look beyond the simple number of connections:

He said: “Just because a brand has 17,000 fans on Facebook, that does not mean these fans are engaged with them. That is just where the marketing should start.”

It’s important that before venturing into the world of social media and online marketing, that you have the resources to deal with the new insight and information gained from it. It is crucial for brands to be able to follow through their efforts and ensure they engage with the target audiences in order to turn ‘Friends’ and ‘fans’ into business and brand loyalty.

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RT Media, the marketing & branding agency in Wimborne, proudly took part in the ‘Those who plant trees, plant hope’ event on the 3rd February 2011 at Potterne Park, a local community recreation area in Verwood. The event was organised by Rock recruitment in association with The Bournemouth Echo and East Dorset District Council and RT Media planted a 6ft Oak tree together with a variety of whip trees.

The event consisted of various tree related activities with the Education Rangers from East Dorset Countryside Management Services, including crafts, bird box building and even a Wellington boot competition. The bird boxes made as part of the day will be dispersed in gardens around the area and will give birds somewhere safe to nest in the spring.

Mr Ross Thornley, RT Media Creative Director, “We are aware of our impact on the environment and aim to reduce our emissions with the goal of becoming carbon neutral within the next 10 years. It was nice that we could get involved as we didn’t get to see the tree eForests planted for us last year; a single tree can offset 1 tonne of carbon emissions in its lifetime.”

As a business RT Media has always endeavoured to work with suppliers and customers who share the same environmental values and together look for solutions to decrease our carbon footprint.

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The term mobile device, while propagating quite quickly through our current cultural zeitgeist, is almost a misnomer. If we take the phrase, in context, at its most literal it would essentially mean any operating platform, which we can carry around with us. Laptops have been around for decades now, and yet they are lumped in with the personal computer market and not the mobile device market. Ultra portable might be closer to the mark, but even that is not quite there yet.

When the conversation turns to ‘mobile devices’, most people are probably talking about things like mobile phones such as the HTC Desire or iPhone and tablet devices like the iPad and Samsung Galaxy Tab. It’s these devices we are concerned with. Current phones and tablets, while advanced, are still behind when compared to your typical laptops and netbooks; limitations are generally processing power, RAM, storage space, compatibility with things Flash and Silverlight and, as with the iPhone, the lack of a transparent and accessible file system. When developing for these platforms a lot of stuff has to be taken into consideration, and on top of that you also have a decision to make:

Do I need an app, or a web application?

This is something an awful lot of people will be asking themselves right about now. A mobile optimised interface for connecting with visitors and customers is becoming more and more important as the platform evolves. A mobile presence can build value for your brand in the eyes of the consumer and put you a step above the competition, if it’s done right. The difference between the two may not seem obvious; below you can find a list of the features and relative benefits of each approach.

Mobile Web

• Instant access: Mobile websites use less imagery and scripting that may increase page loading times and eat up valuable resources. Those that are used are generally extremely lightweight and optimised for browsing on the devices over data networks.
• Improved SEO: Search engines like websites that have been built with mobile in mind. Search providers like Google and Yahoo keep a directory of mobile optimised websites, and it’s the only way to get on them. This positively affects the search rating of your mother-site as a bonus.
• Anywhere, anytime access: Sites that can be accessed via a URL can be loaded on a whim, wherever and whenever the visitor requires without the need to download software and store it on their phone. This is important for visitors who may not need ongoing access to the information.
• Offline media: Web addresses printed on billboards, QR codes in magazines that take a person directly to specific landing pages. There are numerous possibilities for getting your site out into the offline universe.
• Flexible and cost effective: A less restrictive, one size fits all approach across as many platforms as possible. In a shorter time, a less fragmented design can be pushed to production.
• Mobile advertising: A cost effective mobile advertising campaign, partnered with an optimised website, boosts traffic and awareness. For more information on mobile advertising, see my previous blog post.
• Deep linking: Redirecting traffic from the full version of your site to the optimised version of your website.

Native Mobile Applications

• More functional: Mobile applications have the ability to utilise device hardware such as front and rear facing cameras, speakers and G-Sensors, and are also capable of repurposing buttons on Android and Windows Phone 7 devices.
• Ditch the browser: Browser limitations such as the inability to display some in-line media and large image overlays can be circumvented. Content can be included in the initial download, or cached later, so an internet connection may not always be required to use the application.
• Immediate market reach: Distribution through central content delivery pillars such as the App Store or Android Market provides an immediate connection to a base of potential users. User ratings can lift your app in popularity, downloads and usage. Or kill it completely if it fails to deliver. Either way, this gives you a very clear picture of whether your application is performing. Receiving feedback on your app is crucial, and so is reacting to the demands for features and fixes. The respective app stores can also push fixes and features with minimal user interaction.
• Push content: Using push features that are now available on most smart phones, new content can appear automagically on devices with your applications installed. This reminds your users that you are there with them at all times, ready to deliver the content they want to see.
• Paid for content: If your app is worth paying for, people will buy it from you. A low priced app that provides value for money can sky rocket in a very short space of time, providing you with an easy revenue stream and keeping costs down. The app store provider takes a small slice (normally this hovers around the 30% mark), but bears the brunt of bandwidth and server costs on your behalf. Free updates can keep them coming back for more, and attract additional purchasers.
• Fully brandable: Running full screen is a huge boon of mobile apps. These pull your users out of their phone interface and into your own full branded and customised experience.

What you shouldn’t do.

Do not be tempted to distribute a web app in disguise. A growing trend among individuals and business is to use off-the-shelf web application builders to generate apps for their devices. These can be distributed through the app stores, but are little more than mobile websites running under the cloak of an application. While they are lightweight, cheap and easy to develop, they are easy to identify and have almost all of the drawbacks and none of the benefits. Applications such as these are usually interpreted as lazy rush jobs in an attempt to get into the market as quickly as possible. Do not be taken in. Pick the platform that is right for you and stick to it. The time, effort and money involved may be many times more by the time you are finished, but as long as you do not lose sight of your ultimate goal (ie. what you want your mobile website or app to accomplish) the potential pay off will be much more satisfying.

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