I was pleased to hear that the IAB had just announced Email Data Management Best Practices, but after reading the document, I was somewhat disappointed disappointed with what I found regarding data-sharing. The sharing of email addresses with multiple marketing companies for the purpose of sending multiple email messages from different senders is simply not a best practice.

If you're a digital marketer working in the world of online advertising, you know that the majority of an operations team's efforts go into ad trafficking, which involves campaign execution , setup, optimization and reporting. In fact, an average of two-thirds of the employees on a given account team are responsible for this aspect of the work, while just one third handle the higher-level tasks of a campaign's strategy and creative. With so many employees needed to support a relatively low-level function, digital marketers often find it difficult to maximize ROI and scale their business efficiently.

Given limited budgets and a universal desire to be more green, virtual events are getting a lot of buzz as of late. But, do they offer the same lead generation potential as in-person events? The answer is yes and no. Yes, they can generate significant leads and no, they don't deliver the same marketing potential as in-person events - they deliver MORE. For example, Quest Software reports its first virtual event generated $23 per lead in return on investment (ROI), which is significantly less than its previous in-person events. As a professional marketer, you know that $23 per lead …

Although energy prices have slightly decreased recently, consumer concern about the economy is still on the rise - as well as their increased usage of coupons. In June, the Wall Street Journal ran a MarketWatch article, "Surfing the Web to Save on Food." The article discussed a recent Hitwise study which found visits to coupon Web sites increased 56% for the week ended June 6, in comparison to the same week in 2007. This study was done when gas prices hit the seemingly astronomical $4 mark. The Energy Information Administration now states that the average U.S. retail gasoline price is …