• by David Goetzl , May 4, 2009

Somewhat shockingly considering Bear Stearns had collapsed months before, the impact of the economy on email marketing was barely discussed at this event a year ago. On Monday, it was the subject of a dedicated panel discussion. Some tidbits:

-Nationwide’s Brian Jaffe said email has replaced 90% of the direct-marketing campaigns â€" which are more expensive â€" for at least some of the company’s initiatives. Still, on the property management portion of the business, there are challenges with using email, so it is not a company-wide rule.

-On whether the economy is leading to more email being sent out, Jackie Zlatanovski of MGM Mirage said the company has been moving in that direction seeking to boost visitors to Las Vegas. One reason (whether true or not), the email function has been taken in-house, so her marketing team views it as free to manage.

-On whether frequency of mailing has decreased due to costs, Verizon Wireless’ John Edwards said the focus is on the quality of the content not the quantity â€" the same as it was, or should have been, without a recession.

-Nationwide's Jaffe said the company does monitor what competitors such as Geico are doing regarding frequency, messaging and strategy -- though it doesn’t necessarily follow suit.

-On moving into Twitter, Jaffe said Nationwide is “walking” and experimenting in the space. It does have an initiative, where during Nationwide-sponsored NASCAR races, the company posts live updates and photos.