Social Media Agency Feature: Runtime Solutions

Who are we?

Runtime Solutions, a social media agency, started on February 5th 2010.

Being different (umm...Ok, crazy!!) is something we are extremely proud of.. We begin with an undying belief in the power of ideas, the importance of alternate thinking and the determination to break new grounds where no one has gone before.

We harvest insights, build relationships, brainstorm like crazy, find solutions, re-work the solution and then we keep doing it all over again. We keep at it until we get it right

We think, ideate, create,

We +1, pin and twitterberate

Post, host, boast, coast and roast ...

But killing it IS what we like doing most.

How or why is irrelevant.

When is usually the key to the moment

Who and What fade away

Going live is the only way

The first thing We would like to tell about ourselves is that we are not an agency or an organisation but a bunch of digital enthusiasts who like to grasp the ideas even before you would think and deliver even before you settle down.

With over 25 years of collective experience in various digital endeavors and stints, We have been actively working with some of the coolest and biggest brands in the country and some of the funkiest start-ups which soon will be. We understand our clients and their needs even before they bring it to the table and that is why they love us ( "assured-delivery", they say!)

Though our forte lies in designing and developing websites, we have been equally busy in getting some cool Facebook, Youtube and Mobile (Android and Apple) Apps, Developing strong digital strategies and getting brands going with interesting Social Media Campaigns.

What's in the name?

The founder Arjun Chatterjee is a great marathon enthusiast, running the Mumbai Marathon for the last 5 years and other marathons in Bangalore, Delhi. (New York is up next ;). Also running against time is a way of life for the entire team. We are passionate about what we do and constantly hungry to do more and be more..

Over the years, the term “runtime” has acquired a life of its own, summing up the unique style in which things happen in this place. Though we are based out of Aram Nagar, “aram” is the last thing on our minds. Since lot of decisions, work and otherwise are taken on the fly with not a lot of time or scope for planning, we call it doing things “runtime”.

What we do?

At Runtime, we socialize in the following ways:

1) Page Management

2) Creating original and interesting Content for the Pages

3) Propagating the Pages and Organically driving people there (sigh! Sometimes we need to bonk people in the head and drag them there)

4) Handling Media campaigns (Screaming from Tree-tops, Page-tops, Roof-tops.. you get the idea)

5) Cross-Platforms (Yup, we can take you on Instagram , Pinterest and Google +)

6) Social Media Evangelists (Makes us feel important :)

Additionally, we handle all other aspects of Digital marketing. We cover the broad areas of websites, applications, web banner creatives, SEO and media ads. We are actually building a social networking platform from scratch, but we can’t tell you any more yet.. Watch this space or send us expensive gifts and we can spill some of the beans.

Why we do it?

Well, social media happened to us, rather than the other way around. In 2010, the sleeping giant awoke and suddenly was hungry for attention, likes, comments, retweets and little boys called Jack. We took out our magic beans and grew ourselves a beanstalk, nimbly jumping from branch to branch and delivering client campaigns in the process. In a nutshell, we do it cause we are a young team who are in the midst of this maze and say, “Hey, if we can try figuring this out for ourselves, we can sure as hell, do it for our clients.”

How we evolve?

It is a rapidly changing environment out there with new social media platforms mushrooming all around us. We keep the basics simple.. Focus on the brand and the product that we are promoting - work on it and absorb the brand essence. Keep churning ideas on existing and new platforms as they come up on the horizon. Not everything works for all brands – So we don’t believe in the machine gun approach, sniper on the roof is more our style.

Evolution is a way of life and learning one new thing every day is how we believe we are keeping ourselves relevant.

Social responsibility in social media

Being accountable for a brand and being its voice is a huge responsibility so we are careful in terms of what we put up on Official pages. Since everything is so transparent and accessible these days, (given the Ford fiasco that happened), we work doubly hard to get the tonality and the context right. Wherever gray areas exist in terms of creativity and humor going slightly off-center, we do make sure to bounce ideas off clients before going to town with them.

Need of the hour

Not sure whether draconian legislation or laws as proposed by some governments is the way to go as it may end up stifling the social media scenario since its very essence is based on free thought and speech - of the people, by the people and for the people.

However, like every other aspect of human life, there are the do-gooders and the troublemakers and we need to have clearly drafted laws and effective implementation to make sure we can weed out the troublemakers instead of subverting the cause of free speech by unnecessary harassment and singling out vulnerable individuals.

We learned the hard way

Like everyone else, we have made mistakes along the way. Experimenting across Facebook, Twitter and Google +, Google Maps, we have reached the point of feeling like social veterans. Also, we eat our own dog-food so we experiment on our own and with the Runtime pages and entities before we unleash our learnings on the brand pages. However, we know that the moment you feel that you are on the summit of the Social Media hill, the ground itself shifts and you have to start all over again, so we keep on our toes and remain nimble.

Did we just share that?

1. Swayamvar

Facebook Page management – While managing the social media pages for ImagineTV’s TV show, Ratan ka Swayamvar, We had an opportunity to work closely with the show host, Hiten Tejwani. All it took was one phone call and Hiten used to often drop by at our office for a cup of chai, some giggles and ofcourse some serious video shoots for Social Media.

2. Anusha – Better than Your Ex

We planned to shoot some fun videos for Anusha’s Better than your EX music video promotion on social media. One of the videos required bytes from Raghu ram, rajiv and Rannvijay, soon as we started shooting, everybody realized these boys did not require any script and we followed on their hilarious take on Anusha’s video (with some dance moves), the outcome was 3 splendid behind the scene fun videos.

They work with us

1. Your clients - Being a startup, winning the trust of larger brands is the key challenge. However, the fact that Runtime has been running with clients like Viacom18, ImagineTV, Mastek Ltd, VCCircle, Obopay, Wizcraft, Samsung, Nokia and Microsoft, UTV Movies amongst others shows that we have been successful in acquiring our most coveted asset: Our Clients’ Trust

a. Fashion @ Big Bazaar – RJ Style o Meter

• This was the 2nd instalment of the RJ Styleometer in which the most stylish RJs across 4 cities – Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore and Kolkata and across 5 Stations ( Oye FM, Big FM, Radio City, RED FM and Fever 104 FM) were chosen. It was a unique On-ground, On Air with the Voting and propagation online through Facebook. (http://www.facebook.com/fbbonline)
• Total Votes: 25,000 + Votes logged

b. Monster TV

• This is India’s first Career Channel on Youtube assisting job-seekers to “Find Better” and one of the first Indian gadgets we have created for Youtube.
• Monster TV was launched in June 2012 and has got 300,000+ Views and almost 2000 Subscribers to date.

c. Anusha’s Better than your EX – Debut International Single – Online Launch

• Gplus – 200,000 fans
• Facebook – 55,000 fans
• Twitter – 1,50,000 fans
• Youtube – 1,00,000 channel views
• Microsite – 200,000 page views

Social media Campaigns

• Meethi Chhoorii No.1 - ImagineTV
• Swayamvar 3 – ImagineTV
• Nickelodeon India
• Attano
• Anusha Dandekar
• Ratan Rajpoot
• Fashion@BigBazaar
• Viari
• Sea Dream Yacht Club

Social Applications

Sony Ericsson VH1 Rock Rules

Vh1 Getwithit Trivia

UTV Movies Bollywood Unending Quiz

UTV Movies Bolllywood Crossword

The Genomusic Project

Other Apps/Voting Engines:

MonsterTV - Youtube Gadget - Online 

iifa 2013

Some of the Websites and Microsites:

Obopay (US-based Mobile payment company)

Waterfield - HNI wealth management firm

The New Constructs

IIFA ( Renowned Leaders in the Film Awards from Wizcraft)

http://www.vccircle.com/ - (Authoritative thought-leader for the VC, Private Equity ecosystem)

Airtel Lifestage

Asianpaints

Industry as we foresee

There will be a significant churn and the future belongs to niche social networks clustered around a common cause – professional benefit, hobbies, social causes, upliftment, etc

Also spends will significantly increase as brands will recognize that their TG is increasingly spending more times on smart phones and internet “Socializing” rather than watching TV and reading print ads.

A day without Internet

It would be a restless, fidgety day where we would constantly feel that we are missing out on the action and hopefully (!) being missed.

Our Motto: "We can, We will"

The future is digital and we believe in digital.

* No one was harmed in the writing and conceptualization of this Introduction. Nevertheless, do not try at home since it was done with expert supervision.

Lastly, are you hiring?

3 months – Summmer Internship for Social Media & Digital Marketing