• Summit Regulars Smith and Harmon Wear New Hats
    Aaron Smith and Lisa Harmon are regulars at MediaPost’s Email Insider Summit. But this week, they found themselves shaking a few more hands and receiving a few more huzzahs than usual. Less than two months ago, their agency specializing in email marketing was acquired by the well-established Responsys in an undisclosed cash-and-equity arrangement. Smith-Harmon, founded six years ago, has annual revenues of about $2 million. The deal gives Responsys, which has a focus on the technology backbone of email marketing, access to Smith-Harmon’s acclaimed creative and design capabilities. Both are expanding into cross-channel communications, looking to help clients …
  • Panel: Gain Control of Share-to-Social, Don't Punish 'Derek'
    On a panel titled “Trends for Email Marketers - 2009/2010,” Susan Tull -- vice president of marketing at BlueHornet -- said her company is working with marketers to try and help them gain more control of the share-to-social function in emails. In 2010, an aim is to “really optimize that share-to-social work flow, so marketers will be able to control the content that is actually being shared.” Some of that “control” involves content on landing pages. AAA email marketing head Lara Conn said the travel company is starting to use share-to-social functions in email, and local AAA clubs …
  • Silverpop CEO: Going Public Will Have to Wait
    Silverpop CEO Bill Nussey says the email marketing firm is frequently approached by investment banks urging it to go public. But while an IPO is the end game, he said there is still more time on the clock before. The Atlanta-based firm, which recently had its 10th anniversary, has been profitable for six years running and has ample cash on hand from venture-capital backers, Nussey said. Further, an IPO might force the company to manage for the short-term rather than be free to make investments that could take time to pay off, Nussey said during an interview in …
  • Facebook to Help Buils an Email List?
    As Summit attendees mull over how email and social media will ultimately interact, Facebook is quietly launching a program that could thrill an email marketer. It came to light Monday during the keynote address given by Merkle senior vice president Eric Kirby. Email marketers could begin to approach Facebook’s 100 million U.S. users to build their email lists. This month, Facebook says marketers will be able to begin asking its members for their primary Facebook email addresses. “It may turn out that Facebook becomes a key component of your email list growth strategy,” Kirby told the …
  • Multiple Questions on Multi-Channel
    Return Path's Stephanie Miller and three marketers offered five questions companies should ask when conducting an audit of their multi-channel marketing programs. 1) Have you clearly defined what multi-channel means to your business? Do you use a consistent language and terminology? 2) Are you open to the natural channel conflict? 3) Do you access to data? Can you manage the data? 4) Do you give customers a choice? 5) Have you optimized the synergy between media channels? Interested in learning more about these, contact Miller -- vice president, market development at Return Path -- …
  • Mr. CMO: Tear Down These Walls
    On a panel to discuss multi-channel marketing, Acxiom's Chris Marriott said companies are often not organized to run integrated campaigns effectively. "Often times, marketers are not structured for multi-channel marketing," he said, citing silos between various departments under the marketing umbrella. Those de facto walls can include the email, search, digital and mobile groups, which are all "battling for budget dollars." The divisions make it difficult to identify the tactics that are successful in a particular campaign -- to "understand what that customer saw before" making a purchase. Marriott said it's important to condition or incentivize …
  • Mixing Up Multi-Channel Marketing
    Email never works in a vacuum. For all of us struggling to blend a true multi channel program across channels, including email, my panel came up with a five question audit to help get us started. As we prepped for this session, we discovered that Multi Channel means something different to every marketer, even those in the same vertical. We are Sheryl Biesman, Pharmavite (producer of Nature Made vitamins), Matthew Kirsch, Walgreens, Chris Marriott, Acxiom, and myself. We first made an attempt to define "multi channel marketing." How does this sound to you?
    • "Inviting and empowering customer …
  • Marketers Should Look to Capture Data in Mobile
    Dylan Boyd, vice president of sales and strategy at eROI, said marketers are missing an opportunity to capture email addresses and other personal information through mobile Web sites and landing pages. Companies are not constructing mobile landing pages for email marketing campaigns, Boyd said. There are thousands of iPhone apps, but how many ask for an email address, Boyd asked rhetorically. A “missed opportunity,” he said. He also said Facebook Connect could be an important development.
  • Competition Among Handset Manufacturers Good For Consumers
    In the mobile marketing space, Turner Broadcasting’s David Bronson said there is important competition among device makers to facilitate mobile video. BlackBerry may have led the way, but now the iPhone and Droid are “raising the bar.” “There is healthy competition, which I think is really significant,” Turner’s lead engineer said. Bronson also said there are opportunities for Samsung and Nokia to offer different applications to compete. At Turner on the content side, Bronson said CNN’s iPhone app has been successful. Turner also has a multi-layered relationship with the NBA, which is committed to mobile marketing …
  • ESPN Looked For Winner With Email Test
    ESPN’s “top chef,” er, CRM and fan marketing executive Carolyn Ude presented some learnings from an email program the network tested last spring to promote a March Madness game. Two key insights: placing a person’s name in an email subject line increases open rates (by 20% in this case). And sending fewer emails appears to be more effective than a heavier load. The test centered on the “Tournament Challenge” on ESPN.com, where fans log-in to offer their predictions and fill out brackets for the NCAA hoops event. ESPN uses “Tournament Challenge” less as a revenue driver and …
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