Friday, December 20, 2013

Digital Transformation 2014



Words that best describe important business developments at Rocktime
Words that best describe important business developments at Rocktime

The Rocktime Team and Rocktime Clients have compiled an informed group of words that best describe our perceptions about important business developments currently affecting us in 2013 and that will continue to have a direct impact on us going optimistically into 2014.


  • Innovation
  • Responsive design
  • Social ROI
  • Digital Transformation
  • Conversions
  • Social Workplace
  • Mobile
We have some really great clients and we appreciate the challenges to remain innovative.

You know where we are if you want to chat about your marketing and development plans; we are all 'hands on' and 'consultants', so you are in good hands, whoever you work with at Rocktime!

Here's to plenty more great integrated digital strategies in 2014!

Author: Fiona Anderson

Friday, November 29, 2013

Team Event: Aim Direct Target - Clay Pigeon Shooting


Image credit rjwhetton.co.uk
Image credit rjwhetton.co.uk

Clay pigeon shooting, also known as clay target shooting, and formally known as Inanimate Bird Shooting, is the art of shooting a firearm at special flying targets, known as clay pigeons or clay targets...well that is the definition, the reality was less of an art and more of an attempt..
We all managed to hit the target, largely thanks to the impressive and cheeky training skills of Ralph at Challenge Leisure.

Robert Whetton Photographer is the RocktimeSocial Guest Blogger this month and joined us on our Team Event to capture our endeavours...we are certainly in no position to give Rob any tips on shooting; guns or cameras.
Check out his event photos and blog and on the Robert Whetton Photographer Facebook Page.

rjwhetton guest blog and images form the Rocktime team clay shoot
rjwhetton guest blog and images form the Rocktime team clay shoot


The weather was fresh and clear, the team all learnt a lot and had a great laugh; mostly at each other in a lighthearted banter because Ralph was such a funny, ex-army tell-em-straight kind of guy, which the team photos also clearly show!


rjwhetton blog images
rjwhetton blog images

Well done to Paul, Krishna and Guy for being our champion clay shooting team. Paul was not only team winner, solo winner but also our photographer in residence! Busy man!


winner prize and medal went to Paul
winner prize and medal went to Paul


Would we go again...very likely, especially, as we have already been challenged by another digital agency.

It has been a good year for Rocktime social activities:Bowling, Paint Balling, Go Ape Tree top Adventure, RIB speed boat ride and the ever popular pint at the pub with a game of pool.

Author: Fiona Anderson

Monday, October 28, 2013

Useful Introduction to Google Analytics Custom Reports

Analytics custom reports

A custom report is a report that you create in Google Analytics. Custom Reports can be incredible time savers if you have the right ones. Instead of spending time digging around for important metrics, you can find what you need separated neatly into columns for some analysis that will lead to some actionable insight.

You manage your existing custom reports from the Custom Reports Overview page. Click the Customisation tab, and then click Overview in the left navigation.

Create your own custom reports

To create a custom report, click the Customisation tab and then click Overview under Custom Reports in the left navigation. Click + New Custom Report to create a new report.

To build a custom report, you'll need to specify at least one dimension and one metric. Dimensions are ways of describing visits, visitors, pages, products and events.

You pick the dimensions (Visitor Type, for example) and metrics (quantifiable - Visits, Bounce Rate and Goal Conversion Rate, for example) and decide how they should be displayed.

You can also apply filters for each custom report to narrow down your findings.

If you would like a “how to” guide that shows you how to create one, Google Analytics help section explains how you can create a “Custom Report” in Analytics.

Download custom reports

You can also download already created custom reports. Below I have listed a couple of custom SEO reports we mostly use.

If you're signed in to the Google Analytics account of your choosing, you can click on the links below. They will be automatically saved into your Analytics account and can easily be found in the custom reports section inside your profile.

·         Customer Behaviour

·         Referring Pages

·         Link Analysis

·         Conversions

·         Top Converting Landing Pages

Moreover, you can also visit Google Analytics solutions gallery and filter custom reports to download based on your business objectives and marketing function.

Save time and contact us 

Google Custom Reports ultimately save you a lot of time and help you make actionable decisions that will help you improve your website's performance. If you would like to take advantage of the Google Analytics Custom Reports to pull out very valuable and actionable search marketing insights, but are finding it difficult to understand how to measure your KPIs effectively, feel free to give our Sales team a call to see how we can help

Author: Aysegul Yigitbasi

Monday, October 14, 2013

Geek Video of the Month



Celluon Magic Cube has been chosen as 'Geek Video of the Month'.  We like the product and the video is a good example of what a product video should deliver: facts, facts and more facts. 
The Celluon Magic Cube is a full-size laser projection keyboard and touchpad which connects to any BlueTooth HID device and is small enough to fit in your pocket.  The virtual keyboard is made possible through the incorporation of the 3D Electronic Perception Technology (EPT).  EPT enables everyday devices to “see” the world around them, so that they can perceive and interact with it.  

EPT systems send out pulses of light and then time how long it takes for the reflection to return to the sensor, this enables the system to determine depth.   The uses of this technology are vast, Celluon give an overview of possibilities for future applications of EPT and how the Celluon Magic Cube works.
Celluon’s strapline is: “A World Of Possibilities At Your Fingertips”. Great work!  Looking forward to hearing about your future applications using EPT, maybe in automating manufacturing processes or transportation.

Thursday, October 03, 2013

Digital Strategy versus Bowling Technique


Team Event:
Bowling Experience
At Rocktime, it is customary to donate one day a month to leisurely pastimes that sees the entire workforce (when available) partake in activities that range from rafting and tree climbing, right through to paintballing and other adrenaline based high octaneactivities.

Groups of two employees are picked to decide the activity for the following month. This month Ed and Aysegul picked bowling as the venue of choice. With a bottle of (extremely) well matured wine as the prize and the pride of all involved at stake, it was time to see who would be crowned Rocktime Bowling Champion.

It was 2:30 pm on a pale grey Monday afternoon. The clouds hung thick, low and menacing. They threatened to shower us at any moment, there was a drop in pressure; it may have been the weather outside but deep down we all knew it was time for the fun to begin. We shut down our stations, packed up our stuff and headed to the Bowlplex.

The Rocktime Bowling Championship (RBC) is a highly coveted title. Guy decided to warm up by cycling to the venue in as short a time as possible. Mark, Dave and I decided to talk tactics. Kieron and Ed felt that the best way to warm up was a cheeky game of table hockey to get the motion going in the arms. Krishna and Aysegul felt that the best technique was to work on their accuracy by perfecting their basketball shot at the arcade hoops. Paul decided that quiet meditation followed by humming his favourite songs would swing the title in his favour; and just as the game was getting underway, Alex made a tactically late appearance, designed to confuse and bewilder the opposition in to forfeiting the title before it had begun!

Tactics aside, we were broken into teams of two with an individual winner and a team winner as possible outcomes. The teams were as follows:
The first team: ‘Solid shot’ - Dave, ‘Mr Inconsistent – Guy, Aysegul – ‘The spinner’, Krishna – ‘The “Rookie” ’, ‘Gutter ball’ – Jay(me), ‘Slippery’ –Fiona.
The Second team: ‘Mr Consistency’ – Kieron, Mark – ‘The marksman’, ‘A beer will help’ – Ed, ‘Performance enhancing’ – Paul, Alex – ‘The striker’.


Round one
Finding our feet
The first round got off to a shaky start for all competitors as we warmed into the game, Ed hadn’t used his trump card yet and was struggling to get into form. Krishna the (apparent) rookie was hitting a lot of pins which saw him head to head with Alex for first place. Kieron cranked up the pressure on the front runners with his consistent form of 9’s.

As we entered the twilight of the first round our team was in the lead. But suddenly a late flurry of strikes from Alex, Mark and Kieron turned the game on its head. The first round went to the second team. With Alex as the individual winner on overall points.

Alex winning the Rocktime Bowling Championship

Alex performing his low bowling technique.

Round one winner: Team two
Individual winner: Alex


Round two
The competition heats up
By the second game everyone was warmed up and a lot more pins were being knocked down. Aysegul’s spinning shots continued to frustrate her as they defied the laws of physics and span away from potential strikes right at the last meter of the bowling alley. Guy, Dave, Mark and Paul were all putting in solid bowls which saw the score count creep into the hundreds. However Kieron, Krishna and Alex were setting the pace with solid hits from all three.
Ed had had enough and decided it was time to use his trump card. Throughout the first game he was bowling off to the sides. He postulated that the best way to counter this accuracy flaw was to use a pint of beer. The equation (known as Ed’s theory of relativity) went something like this:
Natural Accuracy = negative + Beer Accuracy = Negative, Combined (double negative) = positive accuracy.
It was a stroke of genius which saw him rise up into contention with the front runners for a spot on the podium.
For me, the bowling ball seemed to be magnetically drawn to the gutters on every swing. I decided to invest in Ed’s theory of relativity, this paid off and my score crept back up with the contenders.

RocktimeSocial Team working out a bowling strategy

Me - looking flustered after getting another gutter ball!

Guy was having some consistency issues which saw him hit 1 pin, and then spare, throughout the round. However his occasional spares and strikes insured that he kept up pace and challenged for a podium finish.
Towards the end as the pressure for first place mounted, Krishna just crept over the foul line and saw crucial points lost as the game came down to crunch time. Paul was sneaking into first place with some consistent and powerful strikes, however Alex had hit several strikes in a row and as the round came to a close he finished as the clear winner.

Round two winners: Team two
Individual winner: Alex

Round three
The controversial round
The atmosphere was merry as the third round got underway, the lane that team one were playing on had taken a beating from Krishna’s controversial bowling techniques that had made him an RBC title contender in the first couple of rounds. Now, some members of the team were adamant that a small crater had formed. I concurred, especially with my gutter ball shot count suddenly rocketing!
Solid bowling performances from Fiona, Paul and Dave saw them mingling with the front runners, the pressure was on. Paul was in the lead with consistent and masterful strikes, pars and high pin counts.
Some people were calling foul as they believed Paul had taken something to enhance his athletic ability. His score was high and he was singing to himself a lot more than usual. However, no one could prove this to be true.
Fiona decided that this round she would switch up her tactics to try and find one that was suited to her, this achieved mixed results with some spares and strikes but the scoring was the same across the board.
Just as the teams were getting into the swing of things, lane one began to creak and moan at the impact of shots. (Krishna!)  Eventually it ceased to work which resulted in some down time.
When the game got back under way the break had caught Fiona and her new bowling technique by surprise. As she swung the bowling ball low and hard she stepped over the foul line and on to the neatly polished bowling alley. As she quickly attempted to prevent a foul call from the computer she jerked her leg back transferring her balance onto the foot in the bowling alley causing a fall that would be difficult to replicate!!
The lane was back on now and it was incredibly temperamental. This was a good thing for me as it gave me another go every time I got a gutter ball. Krishna also made the most of it, getting a free strike without even having to bowl! This change of luck saw my team quickly snatch the lead from team two. Paul had tampered with one of the arcade machines and somehow managed to upload his music onto it. Little did he know it would have detrimental effects for his team mate Alex, who found the music a struggle causing his high strike percentage to dip just enough for Krishna to snatch away the lead at the last minute. Giving Krishna and team one the round by only 20 points!
Round three winner: Team one
Individual winner: Krishna

ROCKTIME BOWLING CHAMPIONSHIPS INDIVIDUAL WINNER: Alex
ROCKTIME BOWLING CHAMPIONSHIPS INDIVIDUAL RUNNERUP: Krishna
ROCKTIME BOWLING CHAMPIONSHIPS WINNER: Team two

RocktimeSocial Team unite behind Alex the bowling champion

The Rocktime team after the bowling event.

Author: Jay (Web Developer)