• by October 24, 2002

CRMCan Email Brand?by Amy Corr, amyc@mediapost.com The big question used to be, "Can the Web brand?" The answer is, of course, yes. But the industry has moved on and now the burning question is, "Can email brand?"

"Email tends to be seen as a direct response mechanism. Email is very effective at branding, but it is not sold that way," says Nick Nyhan, president of Dynamic Logic, a research firm that has taken it upon itself to prove email’s branding powers to the world.

New York–based Dynamic Logic has already made a name for itself with several comprehensive research reports that unequivocally proved the branding effectiveness of the Internet.

Now it’s building upon its flagship product, AdIndex — which measures the impact of online advertisements — with AdIndex Email. Results soon to be produced by this tool might just be the missing puzzle piece. Simply stated, AdIndex Email will measure the brand awareness created by email campaigns. According to Nyhan, it is the first product of its kind, and it has the potential to draw more traditional advertisers to online by providing them with familiar metrics.

According to the plans, the research will be done mostly in what researchers call a "control/exposed" format. That’s when two groups of consumers participating in the study are divided into two categories: The control group are study participants who have not seen the ad campaign in question, and the exposed group are those who have.

Naturally, AdIndex Email will work only with HTML emails (so that users can be cookied). Using a variety of metrics, such as brand awareness, ad recall, purchase intent, and message association, AdIndex Email will be able to determine whether a person’s loyalty to a brand was affected by the email campaign. AdIndex Email will also measure how a company’s CRM programs are faring with consumers.

For example, are consumers more or less likely to use additional products or services you offer, are you likely to lose current customers to competitors, and are consumers more aware of your brand and what it stands for as a result of your email blasts?

Nyhan said the company's alliance with DoubleClick will likely extend to AdIndex Email. Late last year, DoubleClick sold Dynamic Logic its competing Ad Effectiveness unit and named the firm its exclusive survey research provider. Now DoubleClick is expected to resell AdIndex Email to its clients as well.

WirelessWild About Wi-Fi by Amy Corr, amyc@mediapost.com The term wireless fidelity may not mean much to the average consumer, but it is quickly gaining interest among wireless aficionados.

For those unfamiliar with Wi-Fi — or 802.11b, as techies call it — it’s a technology that provides high-speed Internet access to devices like handhelds and laptops that are equipped with special cards in select locations.

A recent Gartner study estimates that 2 million people are already using Wi-Fi (IBM has even begun shipping ThinkPads with Wi-Fi already built in), and that number is predicted to double by next year.

Wi-Fi is available only at designated "hot spots," small areas where this type of wireless Internet access is provided by a low-power radio signal (similar to a low-range cell phone network or a walkie-talkie). There are currently 3,000 of these hot spots across the country (mostly Starbucks stores, hotels, and airports), and International Data Corp. estimates that number will jump to 40,000 by 2006.

Many top wireless companies have already begun to offer Wi-Fi services, and some have even invested in the Wi-Fi future. Call it a case of "If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em." Here’s a look at some recent wireless/Wi-Fi partnerings.

Nokia is selling PC cards called Nokia D211, which enable laptops to access Wi-Fi networks as well as wireless networks expected soon from Cingular and AT&T.

Another contender, Boingo Wireless, is using Wi-Fi to connect customers to the Web and has (even in this day of stingy post-dot-com VCs) received funding from such VC firms as Evercore and Sternhill Partners. Sprint PCS also chipped in to help Boingo develop the technology. Earlier this year, another wireless giant, Voicestream, bought the assets of a bankrupt Wi-Fi network called Mobilestar Network, and gave it a new name: T-Mobile Wireless Broadband. Through the acquisition, Voicestream now provides Wi-Fi service to 650 hot spots around the country. Voicestream is on pace to have Wi-Fi PC data cards, along with other handheld devices, in the hands of customers early next year. Not bad for a company whose CEO, John Stanton, has called Wi-Fi "both a threat and an opportunity."