Founded in 1766 and boasting several Nobel Prize winners, Rutgers is currently ranked #8 in the US for its business programmes, and #20 worldwide. With more than 50 years’ experience in developing leading management education courses, it provides bespoke programmes for a number of  major global brands, as well as highly-regarded programmes for individuals.

Richard Conyard, Red Ant CIO, says: ‘Our digital philosophy, based on robust strategy, leading edge technology and innovative execution, chimes perfectly with Rutgers’ aims for its  MBA. Sharing knowledge is a way of life at Red Ant, and we’re delighted to have this opportunity to work with such a prestigious organisation’.

http://cmd.rutgers.edu/

TMall as a sales channel

TMall now has over 70,000 brands in 50,000 stores and is attractive to brands for a variety of reasons:

• By using Taobao’s infrastructure and payment system Alipay, users are familiar with all services and trust the mechanism they have been using over the years.
• Unlike Taobao, TMall only accepts verified stores , so there’s a guarantee that products sold online are real, which builds consumers’ trust and, in turn, conversion rates.
• Taobao pushes TMall stores actively over and above other stores, which results in more and higher converting traffic.
• TMall launched a standalone iPhone app at the end of April and it has already received 1855 reviews with an average rating of 4.5 stars – Android and iPad versions are in the works.

The annual Singles Day sale (an event held on 11th November, celebrating people who are still living the single life) shows just how much TMall has grown in just three years, with sales amounting to RMB50 million, RMB936 million and RMB3.36 billion in the years 2009, 2010 and 2011 respectively.

Terms and fees

Besides having impressive sales figures, TMall is a straightforward way to reach out to consumers living far away from those tier one cities where foreign brands usually establish a physical presence on entering the market. However, setting up a TMall shop without understanding the Chinese language or having a trusted local partner can be challenging – here’s a breakdown of the main facts.

TMall has three different store formats:

1. Flagship Store – only brands with a trademark (either ® or ™) can open flagship stores. The owner of the store must be formal representative of the brand or hold exclusive authorization documents for setting up a TMall flagship store provided by the formal representative of the brand.
2. Specialty Store – merchants with brand authorization documents giving them distribution rights to sell products without geographical restrictions in the Greater China region are eligible to open this store format.
3. “Monopolized” Store – merchants with two or more brands within one of TMall’s product categories can open this type of store. Only one “monopolized” store can be held per merchant in one product category.

Costs depend on the type of shop you opt for, but within this there are other factors which define the cost structure. In general, TMall costs can be broken down in three categories: deposit, technical service fee and sales commission.

• Deposit – this is for reimbursing consumers after a TMall shop has breached the “Taobao Mall Service Agreement” and has sold counterfeit products. The deposit can be RMB50,000, RMB100,000 or RMB150,000 based on the chosen store format and the trademark status.
• Technical service fee – this is an annual fee that varies according to product category and either amounts to RMB30,000 or RMB60,000. The merchant has the chance to redeem either half or the full service fee, if they reach TMall’s predefined sales targets for the product.
• Sales commission – for every transaction made, TMall keeps 5% of the sales value as commission.

These key points should provide a good starting point for brands planning to enter the TMall sales platform. However, the dozens of product categories and sub-categories will require more in-depth planning to accurately assess the costs. Here’s a simple example, as a basic point of reference.

A men’s fashion brand aims to open a flagship store on TMall and has the ™ trademark. The set-up costs are:

• Deposit of RMB100,000 for a flagship store with a ™ trademark holder
• Technical service fee of RMB60,000 per year-  50% of the fee will be redeemed by reaching RMB360,000 in sales and 100% after reaching RMB1.2 million in sales
• Every transaction is subject to 5% sales commission, automatically deducted by TMall

Long-term planning over short-term testing

TMall has quickly developed to become a sales platform that consumers all over China refer to when researching and eventually buying branded products online. It provides an additional sales channel for brands that want to target consumers outside of the cities where they have a physical presence. With nationwide broadband coverage still developing with room for improvement, TMall should not be seen as a temporary addition, but rather as a long-term channel that needs a strategic approach to meet consumer demand and build a successful, long-term brand presence in the People’s Republic of China.

This blog post was written by Tobias, Red Ant China

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Because of this, more and more organisations are recognising the need for their online presence to work well across these platforms and deliver the same level of user experience as they would expect on desktop or laptop computers – and who can blame them? Forecasts suggest that tablet sales are set to rise this year from 18m to 62.5m and in addition, rapid sales of smart TVs have been reported from Samsung, selling 2m in the first 3 months of their global launch.

An introduction to responsive web design

Responsive websites are sites which make use of simple bits of code called ‘CSS media queries’ which identify and then ‘respond’ to the browsing environment or device through which they are being viewed. In essence, this means that a single website (usually running off a single content management system, and serving the same content) can recognise the viewing environment and apply a defined set of styles to alter the layout and appearance.
For example, a responsive website viewed on a desktop computer may have a horizontally arranged navigation bar, but when the same site is viewed on a mobile device, the style of navigation changes to a vertically stacked set of links or buttons.  

This is not a separate mobile website, but a single website that adapts to its ‘surroundings’.

At face value, this seems like an instant solution to the problem of having to design separate websites for multiple devices – and it’s easy to see why. But is it a perfect solution?
Here are some pros and cons:

Pros:

• You only need to manage one set of content rather than multiple versions for different site versions.
• Time and money saved by not having to commission the design and development of separate sites.
• Site updates only have to be applied once, with usually only a short amount of time spent adjusting styles for the different environments. Responsive design techniques can easily turn a desktop site into a tablet site, but replacing a few formatting rules (styles) and providing alternative images.

Cons:

• A responsive website is only really an application of an alternate stylesheet (a file which holds a set of formatting styles that can be applied to elements on the page – CSS for short), which is essentially hiding off and changing elements that are not suitable for viewing in certain environments (mobile, tablet, smart TV etc). All of the markup (the HTML code that places elements on the page), JavaScript and content is still downloaded. This means, for example, that download times when browsing over a mobile network can be quite long. However, some mobile browsers are addressing this problem and workarounds are starting to become available (although not widely supported yet).
• Whereas the very information architecture of a website is often (quite rightly) re-planned for mobile and tablet sites to maximise conversions in what are often very different browsing environments, responsive sites are more of a streamlined version of a desktop site with the same user journey. For example, a desktop eCommerce site may focus on promotional content, images and branding in equal (or slightly lesser) measure to shopping functionality, whereas a mobile site should place much more emphasis on a simple quick route to sale as screen real estate is at a premium and typically, users viewing on a mobile are on the move and need to get to what they want quickly. A user logging onto an online store on a mobile is far more likely to have a product in mind that they wish to (quickly) purchase over a desktop user who is more likely to have a browse around the site at multiple products and content before purchasing.  
• Whilst the majority of modern mobile and tablet browsers support CSS3 (The version of CSS code needed for reliably dealing with media queries and therefore making responsive design work), some devices are further behind and rely on the older CSS2, which does not have full support for media queries. This means that currently, some devices would still be served with the ‘normal’ desktop website.

Pros and cons notwithstanding, responsive design is a very powerful strategy in certain situations, but it is, at least in its current guise, not an ultimate solution. Therefore, organisations should not instantly drop plans for a mobile website in favour of the responsive design route.

Every website has particular, defined objectives and it is important to approach the issue of multi-device experience from a strategic standpoint to ensure these are fulfilled. It’s worth getting expert advice before embarking on a course of action – carrying out some research into what devices people are using or consulting with trusted developers is a solid first step.

This blog post was written by Nick

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Pinterest has established itself as an outlet for women to focus on their passions, hopes and dreams and create boards by curating content which means something to them, every pin providing inspiration or sentiment. This is why women were Pinterest’s early adopters; they have an emotional connection with the imagery they choose and the boards they create. Couple this with the fact that the strongest and most long-term relationships are made when individuals engage with a brand emotionally, and you can see why Pinterest is the perfect place for brands to be if they are wishing to build lasting relationships with the female demographic.

While Pinterest is still in its infancy, how do brands make that connection with the female demographic, encouraging them to interact, share their passions and maybe even purchase? Here are our top tips for hitting the ‘P spot’ (excuse the pun)!

1. Know your pinners - Search for what your audience are already pinning about your brand and use this to work out which topics/content they are interested in. This is the best way to discover what will resonate with them, and you can build these key areas into your content plan.
2. Tap into key Pinterest themes - The Kotex campaign for Women's Inspiration Day is a great example of connecting with the female audience. It really played to what makes Pinterest special for women - ‘self-expression’ - and rewarded them for being inspirational. This recent infographic also cites crafts amongst the top 5 pinned topics - Pinterest users are naturally creative and love to discover new ideas, so build boards and campaigns based around creative ways to use your product, or lifestyle aspects related to it. Giving them ideas should naturally provide them with an incentive to buy your product, without them even knowing it!
3. Don’t just pin - Pinterest might be image focused, but it’s not just about pinning. Don’t miss the opportunity to engage with your followers when you pin. Comment and interact with them, just as you do on Twitter or Facebook.
4. Invite your pinners to pin - One of the most under-utilized features of Pinterest is the ability to create collaborative boards with your followers.  Create a list of the people who have regularly re-pinned or commented and create a board dedicated to these brand ambassadors.  The board will not only appear on your profile but also on the profiles of all contributors- it’s a win-win situation!
5. Build lifestyle boards – Build boards based on the lifestyle philosophy that Pinterest promotes. Focus on the personal - ‘who’ is your brand? Encourage sharing of interests and tap into the feeling of ‘this brand knows who I am’, or even better, ‘this brand is like me’.
6. Take advantage of search - Pinterest is driving as much referral traffic as Twitter and Google, and in fact has surpassed YouTube, Reddit and Google Plus (Shareaholic). And until they start adding ‘no follow’ links, brands have a great opportunity to make the most of the referral links. Ensure you use good keyword text to describe your pins, and accurate URLS.
7. Keep up with trends – With any evolving channel, it’s important to be aware of key trends/changes as they emerge and ensure your brand is well positioned to take advantage of them quickly and efficiently. One such trend has emerged in the US, where pinners have taken the concept out of the digital world and into real life, with the creation of ‘Pinterest Parties’. Women get together and build a party based on Pinterest inspiration, sharing creative activities, craft ideas or recipes. This is currently more popular in America, but will no doubt be a UK trend soon enough - one to watch.
8. Start a contest – Everyone loves a contest, and they are fairly easy to set up and run.  ‘Best Pinboard’ contests are the most popular, allowing users to create pin boards under the contest guidelines, from which the brand selects the best one.  Modcloth recently ran a ‘Best Pinboard’ contest where the pinners had to follow @ModCloth, and pins had to include specific hashtags (#modcloth and #wedding).

What's next for Pinterest?

Recent articles have mentioned a waning interest in Pinterest, which is only to be expected after all the hype, but with the announcement that users can now pin Vimeo videos, the move to new platforms (we are excited to see the iPad version), and the mention of an API release, we believe Pinterest will only continue to grow in 2012.
Many feel that it is inevitably going to turn into a social eCommerce platform with companies setting up shop, allowing users to buy their products without ever having to leave Pinterest, but it focuses on something not many other social sites do - the external currency, which is priceless for brands: ‘Driving traffic out is really fundamental for us. The mission of Pinterest is not to keep people on the site forever. It’s to get people out and to find those objects.' Pinterest CEO Ben Silbermann

Being able to condense something of magnitude into a single image is a powerful thing and something that might just make Pinterest the Queen - or even King - of all things social in the years to come.

The future of Pinterest is yet to be defined, but we believe it is bound to be big - watch this space!

This blog post was written by Gemma and Amy

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Launched today, Facebook’s organ donation initiative, which encourages users to list their donor status on their timelines in a bid to reduce waiting times for organ transplants, is the latest in a growing – and heartening - line of web-based philanthropic gestures, from big business and individuals alike.

Of course, charitable donations and acts of altruism have been going on behind the scenes for many years (the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has donated billions of dollars to global causes since its foundation in 1994, for example). But the advent of multinational, multi-platform digital social networks means that anyone with a charitable cause now has unprecedented opportunities to reach, inspire and secure involvement from millions of like-minded people worldwide.

Playing to the strengths of the social paradigm

Philanthropy online works because the concept of ‘giving’ plays to the nature and culture of social networks - ‘sharing’ is an integral part of user behaviour, and spreading the word about worthy causes is second nature to an already socially switched-on audience. Just last month, news of the tragic death of Claire Squires while she was taking part in the London Marathon inspired JustGiving donations for the Samaritans, her chosen cause, from around the world which amount to around £1m – something which could not have been achieved without the reach and responsiveness of the social web.

And this is what fuels JustGiving itself – it’s a simple interface for fundraising which can be posted to the user’s choice of social platform. Key to its success is that its setup makes it easy to give, and its reach makes small donations count. With more than 21 million users raising more than £1billion, it has arguably changed the face of charitable giving in the UK. A world away from the occasionally aggressive approaches of ‘chuggers’ in the street and the emotive TV advertising of the global charities, through gentle peer pressure and positive reinforcement, it is encouraging people who may never have given in the past to step up and take part.

Corporate concerns

As Facebook proved today, it’s not just individuals who are getting involved in this new age of philanthropy – businesses which take their corporate social responsibilities seriously have also tapped in to the opportunities afforded by the internet. Virgin Unite was set up by Richard Branson to tackle world issues and encourage entrepreneurial involvement, and is very open about using the power of the internet to promote ‘business as a force for good’. And Google has an entire arm – google.org – dedicated to developing technologies which will address world challenges.

Sometimes small>big

However, while all this activity from the corporates is admirable and will undoubtedly make a significant contribution to major charitable causes worldwide, the beauty of the internet is that any business, big or small, can make charity a part of their ethos. Much like the individuals getting involved through JustGiving, smaller enterprises can harness the power of online engagement to promote their own causes. This has the benefit of giving ‘airtime’ to local and personal concerns which may otherwise be neglected in favour of more celebrated causes. It’s as simple as posting an article on your website, tweeting a message of support or taking a leaf out of Mark Zuckerberg’s book and adding something to your brand’s Facebook timeline.

It appears that, despite straitened economic circumstances and a global outlook which is currently less than sunny, the proliferation of ‘giving’ initiatives online has awakened in us a desire to do our best to help those who need it, and a feeling that our contributions, no matter how insignificant, matter. As the Dalai Lama said, ‘If you think you are too small to make a difference, try sleeping with a mosquito.’

This blog post was written by Steph

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Needless to say, we’re delighted - the winners will be announced on 19th June, so watch this space!

Sarah is Chairperson of Help Us Give Smiles (HUGS), a charity which works with Terry Child Support and Youth Centre to provide community-based aid to orphaned and other children who desperately need practical assistance with food, shelter and education.

Every Easter, Sarah and a group of volunteers take a ten day trip to Machakos, spending their entire visit working on projects which will improve the lives and long-term prospects of the children who live there.

This year’s visit was especially successful.

Sarah says: ‘We added 50 chickens and 2,000 fish to the farm we’ve set up. We bought six months of food for 120 children, paid school fees for 27 of them, started the build on a new nursery school and almost completed a computer school as part of a sustainable development project.  It was a fantastic achievement - thanks to the volunteers who gave their time and worked so hard to make a real difference!’

Of course, to continue its vital work for the children of Machakos, HUGS relies on the generosity of its supporters – with both time and donations. Sarah says: ‘There’s an open invitation to anyone who wants to get involved, whether you’d like to help us fundraise, make a donation or join us on our next Easter trip – if you think you’re up for the challenge of working as a ‘hugger’, let us know. We welcome all offers of help – big or small, they all contribute towards changing children’s lives.’

As you can see from the photos, it’s a real opportunity to put a smile on someone’s face. If you’d like to volunteer time, money or practical help, visit HUGS for the details.

This blog post was written by Steph

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Welcome tab

Brands will no longer be able to set a default welcome/landing tab on brand pages – the only way to drive users directly to tabbed content is through running a targeted Facebook advertising campaign, which means more attention and focus needs to be placed on the top post listings on the Timeline wall.  



Cover photo

Facebook wants brands to concentrate on the aesthetics of their page rather than using this space for promotion. There are a number of restrictions on the cover photo - Facebook advises that it should not contain the following:

• Price or purchase information, such as ‘40% off’ or ‘Download it at our website’
• Contact information, such as web addresses, email, mailing address or other information intended for your page’s ‘about’ section.
• References to user interface elements, such as 'Like' or 'Share', or any other Facebook site features
• Calls to action, such as ‘Get it now’ or ‘Tell your friends’
• The use of arrows to direct followers to other areas of the page are also frowned upon

Apps

Previously called ‘Tabs’, apps will now feature below your cover photo on the right-hand side of the page. Only four apps (including the photos app) are now visible above the fold, the rest are located in a drop-down. Brands need to use signposting in the form of pins and clear app images to drive users to take notice of the new location. Here are a few useful things to note when maintaining this area:

• The photos app cannot be deleted or moved from its current position
• The ‘Likes’ tab cannot be deleted, but can be repositioned within your other apps
• Custom thumbnails can be added to all tabs

Pinning

Certain posts can be pinned for up to seven days, so the post will feature at the top of the timeline on the left-hand side, giving it prime exposure. This function is great for offers or ‘new news’ and could also be used to signpost apps.

Highlight Posts

As well as pinning, brands will also be able to highlight content. This could be useful for bringing important updates to fans’ attention, such as product launches or events.

Admin panel

The new admin section can be expanded by clicking the button in the top right of the page. Updates include:

• Improved log of recent fan activity
• Page performance figures
• Private messages

Messaging

The private messaging process can only be initiated by fans. Messages can be located in the admin panel above the cover photo. The private messaging function will allow for deeper consumer interaction and the chance to take conversations offline – great for customer service enquiries.

Likes

Facebook now allows users to view a snapshot of brand insights, including:

• The number of people talking about the brand
• Total number of likes
• Most popular week, city and age group

Opportunities

The new Timeline layout presents a number of opportunities for brands, including:

• Greater control of content
• The opportunity to tell a story – the Timeline is equal parts archive and scrapbook, capturing the rich history of brands and surfacing it for discovery and sharing
• The Timeline layout can make it easier to create content that shows up in users’ news feeds
• The Timeline should encourage sharing rather than keep fans on the page for long amounts of time - a distribution point rather than a destination
• The cover image can be changed at any time and is valuable real estate for raising awareness and showing creativity

10 top tips

1. Check back through past posts to ensure any outdated links are closed down.
2. With images appearing more predominantly on pages, it’s important to use them when engaging with your followers. Use image/video posts over just text based updates.
3. If your brand has a rich and compelling history, add milestones to your timeline to enhance the user’s navigational experience.  Milestones can be backdated as far as 1000 AD!
4. Running a competition or launching a new promotion? You can pin a post of importance to the top of your page for seven days - especially useful for returning users.
5. Spam and negative feedback can be a thing of the past by using the new post visibility controls.
6. Use the new message function to respond to your followers privately - useful for negative user comments.
7. On average, people visit and engage with pages most regularly between 9pm and 10pm, so consider posting around this time.
8. Highlight posts – they will appear across the full width of your page.
9. Keep an eye on the admin panel and 'Like' insights to gauge how your page is performing.
10. Treat your new brand page like a book - engage your audience and become a storyteller.

This blog post was written by Rachel and Noah

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We’re delighted to announce that we’ve won a Silver IVCA award for our work with SMART.

In a dazzling ceremony which took place at the luxurious Grosvenor Hotel, Park Lane, the Red Ant team spent the evening rubbing shoulders with the likes of Google, BP, Warner Brothers and Channel 4, then took to the stage to collect their trophy from the BBC’s Kate Silverton.

We’re very proud of this achievement – congratulations to everyone involved at SMART and Red Ant!

For a look behind the scenes and an insight into how we made our award-winning videos for Smart, have a look at our pdf The Kids are Alright