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.

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.

This means they got our brand treatment, that’s our language, tone, style and everything that is important to us here at RT. We feel they help to convey more about us, which all helps to build the context of what makes us as people and a team tick.

If you have also missed ‘branding’ your error pages perhaps we can help create them in your brand style? Here to help as always. The RT Team.

Take a look at our error page designs here:

See RT Brand Communications Agency – error pages image

If you want to see more of our error pages follow these links!

ErrorDocument 400 http://www.rtmedia.com/errors/error_400.htm
ErrorDocument 401 http://www.rtmedia.com/errors/error_401.htm
ErrorDocument 403 http://www.rtmedia.com/errors/error_403.htm
ErrorDocument 404 http://www.rtmedia.com/errors/error_404.htm
ErrorDocument 408 http://www.rtmedia.com/errors/error_408.htm
ErrorDocument 500 http://www.rtmedia.com/errors/error_500.htm
ErrorDocument 501 http://www.rtmedia.com/errors/error_501.htm
ErrorDocument 502 http://www.rtmedia.com/errors/error_502.htm
ErrorDocument 503 http://www.rtmedia.com/errors/error_503.htm

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.”

Ross continues:  “As a result we have grown up with the Internet, which has given us a very holistic approach to our clients’ work. To facilitate the increasing demands from clients for digital and social media campaigns, we recently launched GetShaking to maximise how social media can be monetised, and a return on investment can be tracked.  But while we know that the web can never be underestimated or ignored, we still believe every business plan and set of objectives requires a mix of communication channels.”

Today, RT Media can be aptly described as a ‘small, but well-heeled creative agency’, due to its deliberately contained growth, which centres on seeking the ‘right fit’ within the team, as well as its clients.  It also takes its impact as a business very seriously, applying for, and achieving Energy Efficiency in Business (EEIB) 2020 accreditation earlier this year.

Ross explains:  “It may sound like we are aiming to achieve some kind of Nirvana, but for me, creating the right balance between what our team needs in order to provide the highest level of service, is what business in the 21^st century is all about.  Every member of staff has input into the type of company we are on the inside, which means that we perform better for our clients on the outside.”

Ross adds: “I have worked very hard to reach a point where my vision of how a business can be balanced for the good of the whole, can be realised.  By working smartly, and with those people we actually enjoy working with, we can, and do, achieve so much more.  Over 40% of our current client base has been with us for over 5 years.”

Client retention is certainly a priority at RT Media and its high rate can be attributed to the company’s ‘client filter’, which gives the team clear criteria for doing business, and ensures that while they actively seek clients who fit, they also decline those who don’t.

So, what’s next in marketing?  Looking to the future, Ross predicts:  “Video and YouTube are effective and exciting communication channels, but their application for businesses is really very new, and will reach impact we have not seen to date.  I can also see that community delivery, through managed crowd sourcing, will also change marketing boundaries of scope and timescales.”

And the future for RT Media?  Ross adds: “We have now reached a point where we have the firm foundation, staff and resource to continue to build a strong and progressive business. Meanwhile, I plan to construct and build our own office environment, which will be ethically and ecologically sound.  It will give the business a breath-taking environment to cultivate creativity and become the hub of innovation I envisage.”

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.

- 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!

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.

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.

Server and Domain

Server and domain processes and configuration will mainly be of use to if you are running marketing software on your own server.

There are a few things to consider when taking the step to set up your own email-marketing server, starting with the IP address. Having a static IP address to send email from your server is a great way to build your reputation as a trusted sender. The closer you keep to rules, the better your reputation. The better your reputation, the better your deliverability. It’s as simple as that.

In addition to your IP address, there are a couple of processes and frameworks that can be utilized to help your emails along the way.

The first, and probably most popular of these, is an Open Source project called the Sender Policy Framework (SPF). SPF allows the owner of a domain to specify their mail sending policy. The information is published to their Domain Name Server (DNS) in the form of an SPF Record which contains specific instructions for the receiving server, telling it which mail servers can send outgoing mail on it’s behalf.

When the inbound server receives the mail, the SPF Record is checked against the senders mail server for consistency. This speeds up the process of receiving and decreases the load on the server, allowing more mail to be processed in a shorter amount of time. If the records match, it is put through a less stringent spam-check process and then passed onto the recipient. Conversely, if the records do not match and the email is being sent from an unauthorized source, it will be put through a more rigorous checking process and will more than likely be trashed.

Another similar process is the Sender ID framework, a project initially spearheaded by Microsoft. While similar in action to SPF, the fundamental difference was that Sender ID could verify the IP address of the server that has sent the mail, compares it to the Sender ID record, and then deals with it appropriately. (Currently, both frameworks now support this.)

The final authorization process is known as Domain Keys Identified Mail (DKIM), which uses public-key cryptography to digitally sign all emails. The inbound server then checks this public-key for verification.  This process is of particular importance when sending email to GMail accounts, and is recommended if a large amount of GMail addresses are present in your recipient database.  To use Domain keys, a third party software package or proxy must be implemented on your mail server.

All of the above methods do require either a working knowledge of DNS records or server changes, and care should always be taken when making changes to such settings – as it’s very easy to break something if you don’t know what you’re doing (best to get a professional to do it for you). It’s also worth noting that currently, not all domain registrars support SPF or Sender ID but they are quickly gaining in popularity and in the future the option to have them will surely be offered as default. If you are not sure if your domain supports it, check with your registrar’s technical support.

That’s it from me this week. Check back soon where I will cover off how to keep your database clean, relevant and minty fresh!

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.