• by Jess Nelson , March 14, 2016

Alaska Airlines and Cordial.io received top accolades as email marketers of the year, the Email Experience Council (eec) and the Direct Marketing Association (DMA) announced on Thursday. 

Jeanne Jones, director of customer communications at Alaska Airlines, was awarded the 2016 eec Stefen Pollard Email Marketer of the Year Award, while David Baker, cofounder and COO of Cordial.io, was awarded the eec Email Marketer Thought Leader of the Year Award.

“Email continues to be a vital channel for marketers, with 72% of customers preferring to be contacted by email according to DMA’s Statistical Fact Book,” states Lisa Brown Shosteck, managing director at eec. “These awards strive to honor the innovators who are advancing email excellence and delivering better experiences for consumers. Jeanne and David are leading the charge to deliver new ideas and drive returns for their businesses.”

The eec also introduces a series of Email Program Awards this year to showcase the impact of email marketing to achieve business goals.

Justine Jordan, vice president of marketing at Litmus, was awarded the prize for Best or Most Innovative Integration with Another Channel. The email testing company recently received a $49 million investment to help marketers optimize their email marketing campaigns for any inbox.

Additional Email Program Award winners include Easemytrip, Hallmark Baby, Detroit Pistons, Wyndham Resorts & Hotels, Plow & Hearth, and JibJab.

Founded in 1917, the Direct Marketing Association is the largest marketing trade association devoted to advancing responsible data-driven marketing. The Email Experience Council is the email marketing branch of the Direct Marketing Association.

The awards will be presented at the Email Evolution Conference in New Orleans at the end of the month.