But will RSS feeds kill e-mail marketing?

Imagine a world where you no longer had to battle the problems created by spam--a world without delivery issues, whitelists, blacklists, bulk mailboxes, graphic blocking, shrinking open rates, and e-mail verification messages. Ah...sounds like heaven, doesn't it?

It's not heaven--it's the world of Really Simple Syndication (RSS). Some marketers are finding that RSS is all that e-mail isn't. But what does that say about e-mail marketing? Is it headed for extinction--destined for the dustbin along with dot-com flameouts?

The short answer is no, but RSS definitely has benefits that e-mail doesn't. The biggest benefit of RSS? "No worries about delivery and being considered spam," says Anna Papadopoulos, interactive media director at Euro RSCG. "It's opt-in. There are no security concerns. There's no graphic blocking, and typically [security issues] tend to be in areas that are considered the [digital] home base and that people are going to visit frequently, like MyYahoo." In addition, Papadopoulos says, open rates are higher than for e-mail newsletters and promotional e-mails, but that's mainly because there's less clutter in the RSS space--at least for now.

RSS is a great way to "engage a potential prospect at the early stages of interest without making them feel that you're invading their privacy," says Jeanniey Mullen, senior director and partner of e-mail marketing, OgilvyOne Worldwide, who uses RSS for both consumer and b2b clients. "It allows them to take more time to get to know the company and go at their own pace." Mullen also notes that companies are doing a better job of creating a centralized brand image in RSS, while e-mail messages from multiple divisions of a single company remain heavily siloed. In fact, she says, engagement is a key measurement tactic.

Cost is another benefit. RSS is much less expensive than e-mail on a cost per thousand (CPM) basis, Papadopoulos says, because it's generally part of a bigger campaign package. And while the gap will shrink over time, she feels it will never fully go away.

Not all milk and honey

But there are as many drawbacks to RSS as benefits. Although it enjoys 100 percent delivery rates, RSS lacks the targeting, personalization, and ability for deep tracking that e-mail offers, and the jury is still out on whether the positives outweigh the negatives. In addition, while both e-mail and RSS require customer registration and opt-in, customers have to take an additional step with RSS--downloading it to their computer--which could deter some people.

Creative and messaging are both limited with RSS. "It's questionable how visible your sponsorship and advertising can be," says Papadopoulos. "A lot of the same problems we had with sponsoring blogs, we have with RSS. The question is always, How much advertising do we want to put around it? Typically, sites want you to have your logo and about two lines of text--your tag line, for instance, and a call to action."

Also, Mullen notes, "E-mail was designed as an ongoing conversation vehicle. It's not meant to be a one-time message or promotion, but something that encourages you to respond, whereas RSS is about sharing quick hits of information and knowledge and doesn't allow for a response. I think the response aspect is much more powerful than a newsfeed." How long people stay engaged with RSS, Mullen believes, will be critical to its long-term success.

Measurability remains in the early stages. "With RSS feeds, we have no idea whether people are interacting for a week, a month, overwhelming themselves with messages and not looking at all, or choosing a select a number of feeds and looking at them religiously and reading things that impact their daily life," Mullen maintains.

Jela Trivunovic, vice president and director of digital strategy at Draft Worldwide, says, "You can put hotlinks and response devices into an RSS feed, but I think the question is, to what extent is it being tracked? I don't think tracking can be done through the RSS feed itself. I think there needs to be a third party that plugs the tracking capabilities into the back-end from a data perspective." In addition, Papadopoulos notes that there are no robust reports for RSS similar to what you would get from a third-party ad-serving system or a Web analytics firm.

Making room for RSS

But choosing between e-mail and RSS isn't an either/or decision. Although e-mail still holds the majority of the online budget and will continue to do so, increasingly RSS is being considered part of an integrated media buy when marketers sit down at the planning table.

"For ongoing regular information that companies want to ensure is delivered to clients in a timely fashion, RSS is perfect," says Trivunovic. "That's where the niche is right now...for publishers to push content out, rather than people feeling they have to go to a company's site to pull it down." If content is timely, newsworthy, and important enough to push out daily, "then we look at the benefits of RSS versus e-mail against the goals they're trying to achieve," she says, adding that, "If you're not looking for robust personalization and don't want an ongoing exchange or dialogue, then we think RSS could be a nice fit."

Ogilvy's high-tech b2b and consumer travel clients like RSS, Mullen says, because they think it extends the reach of their Web sites without putting any barriers up. "It's very popular for wireless security products," she notes. Over the past 12 to 18 months, the number of Ogilvy clients using RSS has grown anywhere from 30 to 200 percent.

Volvo, a Euro RSCG client, uses RSS feeds as a part of a sponsorship package on Autoblog.com. Sign-ups have doubled since the program began, and that growth, Papadopoulos says, changes the ball game: "From a hand-raiser perspective, it shows that people are genuinely interested in it." Volvo is also getting the benefit of viral marketing, as some recipients are forwarding the feeds to friends and family.

OgilvyOne is exploring "branded" readers, or free RSS readers that users can download to their desktops that include a brand sponsorship in the design and provide more reach and frequency than sponsorship of a generic reader would. "Think IBM," Mullen says. "If you're an IBM client and you downloaded its branded RSS reader, every time you log on, it's going to have a branded IBM logo. You can download competitive information, say, from hp, but you'll always be reminded of IBM. We're hoping that branded readers will eventually push more loyalty than generic readers."

Branded readers provide more feedback, as well. "You have a lot of control, including visibility into the type of competitive feeds somebody is putting into your branded reader, because they're using your tool," Mullen explains. For instance, "You'd be able to see that 60 percent of your users are downloading competitive information. You can't necessarily see who's doing it or what specific information they're downloading, but you can still get an idea. You also have control over the way the feeds are packaged. You can force the content you want to be seen first so that it's always at the top."

Two are better than one

As RSS becomes more popular and usage grows as well as the supply of content, marketers will be faced with the same challenges they have faced with other channels: the risk of delivering content that isn't relevant, clutter, consumer pushback, and privacy issues. But as with other media, experts are confident the kinks will be worked out and that RSS has a solid place in the media lineup along with e-mail.

"RSS is not going to replace e-mail," says Trivunovic. "Each of these tools and channels will find its way to service the audience it needs to service, and marketers will figure out how RSS compliments their e-mail marketing efforts." As RSS adoption grows and more marketers get into the game, she says we can expect to see more personalization, interaction, and metrics. "I think all of these have to align: adoption, content, exchange, interaction, personalization, and measurement. Within five years, I believe we're going to see that start to happen."

Papadopoulos says to look for RSS feeds on mobile devices, while Mullen says it will evolve to become fully integrated into digital messaging programs.