Company founder and Creative Director, Ross Thornley talks about building a successful – and balanced – creative business, and his predictions for the future.

This month, RT Media celebrates a decade of creative campaigns, branding and web marketing for a client base spanning international, national and regional clients of all shapes and sizes.

Company founder and Creative Director, Ross Thornley, attributes the company’s success to a clear vision, a clear definition of success, a focussed drive to achieve it, and good timing – launching a creative agency at the start of the new media revolution.

Ross explains: “When I started the company I was 21, I worked from a bedroom armed with an Apple Mac, support from my family and a desire to prove myself.  Ten years on, RT Media has grown organically to a 10 strong team with all the skills required to fully service 21^st century campaigns.  All this has happened against perhaps the biggest ever change for marketeers; the advent of broadband into our homes.”

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The day at the CONFEX exhibition (http://www.international-confex.com/) at the end of February was quite a shock for a Wimborne girl! It was a huge hive of activity, ideas and experience. The exhibition was all about creatively engaging with clients/prospective clients. That was the crux of it – creative engagement.

We are bombarded by so many messages each day, most of which are blotted out by our tired brains or just ignored. That is why it is so important to forge meaningful connections, relevant to the target and encouraging participation. The flexibility to respond when you sense that the market is moving in a different way is essential, instead of bobbing along with the flotsam.

A very interesting speaker, Phil Crowther, explained that events (be it a concert, a public show or a party), which are high risk, were also high opportunity. Why? Because they creatively engaged with the target audience, encouraged participation and were voluntary. That does not mean there is no strategic direction, on the contrary it is as structured as all the other marketing routes. A good event is designed with objectives and evaluation in mind, however, that is often where the problems arise.

An event needs to be integrated into an existing marketing and branding strategy, not isolated, but included in the strategic direction. When that is successfully accomplished the risk is reduced, without reducing the opportunity.

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If I told you that we were going to play a game of Chinese whispers I’m sure you would join in.
If I told you we were playing for money, I would be doubly sure that you would join in. So, here is the deal:

- Firstly, the message must not be altered
- Secondly, if the message arrives at the final person unaltered, you win cash

Sounds easy? What if I tell you that if the message isn’t letter-perfect when it arrives, you owe me cash? Not sounding so good? Sadly though it is a common scenario. So many designers and agencies don’t communicate job statuses or latest progress accurately to each other… or the client. Communication is the key. That, and knowing what levels of communication to give to which people. Some people want an email to acknowledge their email, some people want to be left alone and told when the job is done. Some people need to be told about each change that is made, some people find out themselves.

The point is this: we are constantly passing ‘messages’ to each other, status updates on projects or latest files for a job. Keeping on top of these things is crucial, one day the message might not arrive intact, and you might not win the cash!

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One of the main points that has stuck in my head over a week on from the TFM&A exhibition is the line The Future of Online marketing is….Offline Marketing. I certainly didn’t expect to hear that at an online, technology based event, and especially not from one of the most influential figures in the UK digital marketing sector. How refreshing. Finally i have found someone who thinks a bit like me, perhaps it’s our age.
He explained that there was originally traditional offline marketing; you remember the old fashioned printed way, print, newspapers, direct mail etc. Then came this huge bang of digital marketing and the world went mad for it, but like all things now the fuss has died down slightly people are realising “you can learn from the good old tried and tested ways”.
Successful marketing comes from integrating the two forms, online and offline. By sharing data, strategies, success stories and failures the marketeer can now have a more informed and proven successful multi-channel approach to base their marketing strategy. Harmony of old and new.
Food for thought…

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After reading a study of more than 150 taglines that debuted in 2009 this morning from an agency who solely focus on the development of taglines I felt I should share some of the insights found. What we can learn and what I think.
According to Eric Swartz, president of Tagline Guru, “The goal of the survey was to discover the most frequently used words in this year’s taglines, and whether they reveal how companies are strategically recasting their brand message to forge a closer connection with their customers.”

The most commonly used words or concepts (alphabetically):
1. believe
2. far/further
3. future
4. imagine/see
5. innovate/innovation
6. more
7. new
8. save/savings
9. together
10. you

Are these 10 words that matter most to consumers?

“Whereas one tagline offers telling insights into a company’s brand strategy, a whole bushel of taglines reveals a brand lexicon that speaks volumes about what’s important in the minds of consumers,” says Swartz.
“This year’s tagline harvest is all about working harder and smarter, communicating greater value, and creating lasting brand affinity, which, in today’s tough economy, is crucial for cementing relationships and building customer loyalty,” Swartz notes.

Some of the taglines that echo this include:

• Airbus New standards. Together.
• Baker & Taylor The future delivered.
• Buick The new class of world class.
• Chrysler Come and see what we are building.
• Dentsu Good innovation.
• Home Depot More saving. More doing.
• NBC More colorful.
• Sony Make. Believe.
• Syfy Imagine greater.
• Wells Fargo Together, we’ll go far.
• Yahoo It’s you!

Although the impact of “innovation” has been diminished from overuse, and words like “new” and “more” are typical sales jargon, concepts such as “together,” “you,” “imagine,” and “future” paint a picture that is decidedly more intimate, inclusive, and optimistic.

“Money is tight, consumers are worried, and corporations aren’t content to rest on their laurels,” says Swartz. “The overall message is that we’re all in this together so we need to set the bar higher, do more, and deliver greater value.”

Swartz continues: “Essentially, this tagline-generated brand lexicon tells us that big business wants to be perceived as a neighborly partner that is industrious, accountable, and forward-thinking. Consumers are tired of being talked at and misled. They’re looking for better ideas, better results, and, ultimately, a better relationship.”
Knowing this is really important as it indicates shifts in the market, and highlights what to avoid. To me these examples show not just a shift in the market but how easy it is to get lost and diluted in the nose as we follow like sheep: for example,

• Target’s “Expect More. Pay Less.”
• Wal-Mart’s “Save Money. Live Better”
• Home Depot’s “More Saving. More Doing.”

Sure, consumers are looking for ways to save, but what in these taglines truly drives differentiation? And is that important? I think it is. I think this lack of distinctiveness show lack of creativity and becomes background noise.

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Getting the highest percentage of your messages to your subscribers’ Inbox is one of the primary goals from an email marketing perspective. At the same time, it is also the main hurdle to overcome. Innumerable little things can effect whether or not your communications end up in the inbox, or in the junk mail folder of your recipients. The job is made even more difficult as different Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and email clients have very different rules, filters, procedures and policies on bulk email.

The success of any campaign is influenced by all areas of the process, requiring the close co-operation of everyone from the IT/Server guys to the designers and database handlers.

One of the main contributing factors to the failure of a campaign can be the number of hard bounces and complaint rates. AOL, one of the world’s largest ISPs, recommends maintaining a <0.1% complaint rate. That’s a threshold of 1 in every 1,000 emails that you send out. That may sound harsh, but by adhering to some rules it’s entirely possible.

Even if you beat the spam filter there is no guarantee that your mail will ever be read. Finicky recipients who are unhappy at having received your mail may just click that “Report as spam” button. On local email clients the effect is minimal, but on web-based services like Hotmail or Google Mail, this can have a serious knock on effect for other recipients on the same service as these are tracked, recorded and taken into consideration in future (as if you didn’t have enough to worry about already).

Over the next few weeks I will cover some of the specific problems that the aspiring email marketer would encounter during the course of a campaign, from set up through to the post-send fallout. For this first part we will look at where it all begins: your server and domain.

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Last year we worked on the UK launch of a new profiling tool called the Hartman Index. After initial research showed little extra benefit of the founder’s name in the UK market, we recognised that this challenger brand needed as much penetration as possible. It therefore required a re-think of the name and a new brand strategy for the UK launch.

We created a new, more functional focused name to aid the initial awareness campaign which bred success. We re-branded the service to ‘The Judgement Index’ as the primary indicator and measure is on an individual’s judgement and values.

This has proven to be so well received that the American company behind the unique set of algorithms and interpretation manuals requested that we apply the same brand image, language and style across the world.
We are delighted to say that this has now been rolled out across the US with the small Americanism to remove the ‘e’ from the spelling of Judgement!
We have produced training packs, folders, online videos and many kinds of marketing support materials. Take a look at the UK site here http://www.judgementindex.co.uk and the American one here: http://www.judgmentindex.com

The Judgement Index Branding

If you need help launching a new service, product or brand get in touch and we’ll see if we can help.

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Following years of working together on a variety of digital projects Sony have been working with RT in the management of their European e-marketing activities.

Over the last 18 months we have been tailoring a bespoke workflow which includes the setup, build, distribution and reporting for their European email marketing campaigns.

Now as an integral part of the Sony process we are very excited to be growing this department as a world class resource for other leading brands to unlock the potential of effective, well planned email strategies.

We offer design, build, distribution and complete strategic campaign management to companies who are serious about developing truly engaging relationships with their customers.

Sony Digital Marketing: “We have now been working with RT Media for over seven years – longer than any other agency – and we enjoy a close relationship with them. RT have been responsible for many of the banners and microsites on Sonybiz.net and played a key part in ensuring we were able to launch our new site to schedule in January 2007. RT have also been responsible for some of our most successful eCommunication campaigns, driving forward both awareness and sales of our products. More recently, we have entered into a new partnership with RT for them to take on management for a big part of our eCommunication activities, including the set-up, distribution and reporting of the more than five million EDMs and eNewsletters we send out every year. We look forward to working closely with RT for a long time to come.”

We will be putting together a Case Study later next month so we will keep you informed.

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Last year we gave away a FREE brand audit to one lucky entry at the BowShot e-Den.2 series. The winners were New Driver, the South’s most prolific driving school with some 280+ franchise instructors across the south.

We are now delighted to announce that we will be supporting New Driver through a new phase of positioning and market share growth. The work has involved strategic planning and forecast modeling for the next 5 years, along with the development of completely ground breaking suite of package offerings to the driving instructors market.

The new brand and communications program will roll-out over the next 2 years and form the platform for stability and increased visibility.

Working with such a passionate team has been great fun, there is so much we can do to build on the success New Driver have had over the last 20 years.

New Driver - Re-Brand Outcome

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Every touch point you have with your audience influences their view of how easy you are:

1. Give them what they want-Find out what it is, ask them, listen and respond with products and services they want.

2. Know what’s coming-If you can address concerns and questions before they happen you will win over your audience.

3. More of the same-In a world of ever-growing choice, consistency builds familiarity. Look, feel and communications; find something that works and stick to it.

4. Do what you say-If you don’t you’re disappointing somebody.

5. Be clear-Clarity enables your audience to find what they are looking for; give it to them ‘Clear Loud And Precise’.

6. Excite & inspire-If you can do this, making difficult decisions or taking complex actions seems a whole lot easier.

7. Be intentional in your actions-Your focussed planning and direction will make it easy for your audience.

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Creating an enviroment that is considered a great place to do work is a win win situation. We all know that we do our best work when we are happy. If we feel miserable, only firing on 2 cylinders chances are we will under perform. Finding a balance between meeting deadlines and having fun is notoriously hard in a creative company. It has been proven that happy staff work better, take less time off for stress and sickness and, as a result, benefit the company they work for.

So what makes a great company? A top payer? One that gives staff plenty of time off? Or is a great company one that incentivises staff with regular Friday night drinks?

While all those help, they’re not, perhaps surprisingly enough, the key factors that make one company great and another one not so great. The true signs of a great company are, on the whole, much more subjective.

Experts say we need to look again at how we work and learn to work smarter.

Five tips to find the right one…

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“if you wish in this world to advance
And your merits you’re bound to enhance.
You must stir it and sump it,
And blow your trumpet,
Or trust me, you haven’t a chance.”
Gilbert & Sullivan.

I read this quote today that made me think… and although I have always found it crass to blow your own trumpet, why not get others to blow it for you! Now that is something I am more comfortable with.

I see the fine line between confidence and arrogance, between a show off and a reserved professional. I have always believed in the quiet soft approach to business. I have never sold, never gone for the deal… never pushed an opportunity. I guess that’s because I love doing what I do and measuring success for me is not just about pound notes. Is this the best way to build a business though? I was comfortable with sitting back and empowering the customer to buy.

Should we be more aggressive in a competitive market?

In the last 6 months I have recognised the power of others talking for you, on your behalf, a good testimonial positions the trumpet – great stuff. So I will stay who I am and surround myself with good people who are damn good trumpeters and prepare for advance…

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Quite simply it’s focus, focus, focus. Try to catch 5 balls that are thrown at you and chances are you’ll drop them all. Imagine now being told that one ball is about to be thrown, with your name on it, targeted straight at you. Chances are you’ll catch it. Your communications are much the same, trying to squeeze all your benefits, features and values will only dilute your impact. Keep it clear and precise and you stand the best chance of being remembered – influencing your customers perception and ultimately their behavior.

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Having reached 20 years of marriage I certainly understand that Men are from Mars and Women are from Venus, and in particular there’s something about being shut out that drives women crazy…Business/ client realtionships are like a marriage and clients are no different when they feel shut out. If you want your clients to communicate differently with you then you must become someone they want to communicate with, show them that you want to listen. Don’t interupt them with solutions, criticisms & opinions or too many questions just listen!

The way to fix any communication problem is to start with yourself; whether it’s a silent friend, a critical boss or a forgotten client – change what you do and they’ll change what they do – not easy sometimes but simple!

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I was sent this image from one of our clients who served in Afghanistan. It was outside the base camp shower. It struck a chord with me about targeting your message to your audience. How do we get the desired action; incentives, offers and testimonials are all used but do we write them for us to feel good or for those who will actually read them.

I love this sign and thought it got straight to the point and no doubt got remarked about too. Hey, it ended up here on my blog! Make sure you communicate for the reader and not for your own board members.

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