Our use of Huddle has traditionally been as an extranet with document management and to this extent it has been superb. However, we have done the product a disservice as it offers so much more.”

1. Letting the customer do the talking
Rufus Leonard
Exploit your foresight with hindsight.
About Graham
Graham has over 10 years of marketing experience, working on all aspects
of the marketing mix. Having worked client side, in the music and corporate
entertainment industries, he moved over agency side and joined Rufus
Leonard’s Sales & Marketing team in 2006.
As Marketing Manager, Graham works on all aspects of sales and market-
ing, from the management of our digital communications and social media
strategy through to internal communications and brand development
Since my return to The Drill Hall, home of Rufus Leonard, I have been bombarded by numerous
tweets, e-newsletters and RSS feeds describing what the next best thing is going to be in 2011. From “Our use of Huddle has traditionally been
the public launch of Quora, primed as the new Twitter, to the statement that location-based services as an extranet with document manage-
will lead the way in 2011. I could have sworn I read an article describing the lack of take up of the very ment and to this extent it has been
same technology just before Christmas?! superb. However, we have done the
product a disservice as it offers so much
These trend predictions are all very well and good but the majority appear to be nothing more than a more.”
finger in the air or just a bit of fun. The problem is that they distract people from the tools and systems - Graham Cox, Marketing Manager
that truly can deliver. By highlighting the next big fad, more and more businesses feel pressured into
keeping up to date and covering all number of new platforms, scared that in this switched on world
they may be left behind or overtaken by their competitors. Brands are constantly being told that they
must ensure a strong presence online to promote and defend their business. But in spreading
ourselves thin we are all at risk of missing the benefits that are right under our noses.
We are far more likely to find the winning formula by running an audit of our current systems and
tools, those that are proven, successful and continually evolving. By looking with a fresh pair of eyes
at the challenges we face and the existing tools around us, we can find the solution has been with us
from the beginning. It would be true to say that this only works if such services have kept up to date
themselves and are continually adapting and progressing. Huddle achieves this through the regular
introduction of new aspects to their product; from the new more intuitive tasks through to one of my
favourites, the media viewer.
At Rufus Leonard, we ensure that we are at the forefront of innovation. However, we also continue
looking at ways to use proven new media and social networking tools to improve internal communica-
tions and the way that we work together. Our use of Huddle has traditionally been as an extranet with
document management and to this extent it has been superb. However, we have done the product a
disservice as it offers so much more. To overcome new challenges faced by our clients and the drive
to improve our own working practices we have gone back to Huddle to adopt more and more
features. From online image libraries to the bespoke use of the Huddle API, we are finding new and
exciting ways to develop our ways of working and ways of communicating with one another.
It would be quite easy to throw a new flash tool at the problems we face on a day to day basis, but
would that be the right answer? I very much doubt it. 2011 is the year of adopting the platforms and
services that were being heralded as ‘the next best thing’ in 2007/08. Those that have proven
themselves, matured and evolved to be the real heroes of digital in 2011.
www.huddle.com UK & EU: +44 08709 772 212 USA: +1 (415) 376 0870 sales@huddle.com