• by Laurie Sullivan  @lauriesullivan, July 1, 2010

Marketers should consider email the staple that holds together marketing campaign strategies. Responsys, which provides email and cross-channel marketing platforms, made a move into the Australian market Thursday by taking a majority stake -- 51% -- in Eservices Group Pty Ltd.

Long-term, Responsys will acquire Eservices, which supports clients like News Digital Media, Vodafone Hutchison, and AFL Bigpond. As the fifth acquisition since the company's inception, Responsys Chief Executive Officer Dan Springer says it will give the U.S. company a strong foothold in the Asia-Pacific market. Springer has no news to announce today about a move into China, but admits the entrance remains on the map down the road.

The new company, EservicesResponsys, will focus on integrating the Australian and the New Zealand markets during the next two years. Only then will Responsys make a move into China and India. The plan will keep the company "following the sun," allowing customers who go global to receive "seamless support."

Customers will have an option to migrate to Responsys Interact, along with receiving full support for products and services. They also will get help integrating campaigns across multiple channels such as email, mobile and social sites. "If you're running campaigns on your Facebook page talking about a July 4 sale, you want to make sure your email communication is consistent with that to make sure you don't have competing offers that might confuse consumers," Springer says.

Email programs that integrate social media strategies drive more email consumption and show better return on investments (ROI), appeal to the most valuable subscribers through promotions, and can drive the growth of the list and expand the campaign's reach, according to a report from Forrester Research Principal Analyst Shar VanBoskirk.

Marketers can do this by promoting email registration within social media campaigns, invite social sharing, use social content to make emails more relevant, and expand multichannel efforts to include social sites, according to the report.