Sep 14

Turning Email into See-Mail

By Michael Goldberg Advertisers, Email Delivery, Email Marketing, Industry Research 1 Comment »

Computers are starting to look more and more like televisions.  The rise of online video has created a whole new way for users to engage with content.  The mouse has effectively become a remote control, providing the power to watch what we want when we want.  It’s no wonder online video is one of the fastest-growing channels in digital marketing.  Now, marketers are confident that video will prove beneficial to their email efforts as well, according to “The 2010 Video Email Marketing Survey and Industry Trends Report” from the Web Video Marketing Council.

According to the study, email marketers are excited to start using video in email.  73% of respondents thought video would raise clickthrough rates for their email programs, and the same number believed video made email recipients more likely to convert.  However, unlike posting a video on a Web site, there are some challenges with getting video to work in email.

Besides needing the right technology in place, video email requires an ISP that can successfully deliver the “see-mail.”  Therefore, marketers believed the most effective way to integrate video with their email campaigns was to link recipients to a video landing page, closely followed by embedding video players directly in email messages.

We’ve actually seen some success using embedded streaming video first hand.  Last year, leveraging technology from Goodmail, Datran Media helped deliver live embedded streaming video within the body of the email for PGATour.com  Not only did the campaign win multiple awards, it helped PGATour.com see a staggering 142% increase in clickthrough rates.   I guess it’s true what they say, seeing is believing.

Jul 27

As Lead Gen Generates Buzz, Customer Centricity is Crucial

By Michael Goldberg Advertisers, Consumers, Email Marketing, Executive Insight, General, Industry Research, Online Marketing No Comments »

For the first time since the recession reared its ugly head, marketers are once again making new customer acquisition a top priority.  According to the “2010 Lead Generation Optimization Key Trends Analysis” from CSO Insights and reported in eMarketer, more than 91% of companies worldwide reported increasing new customer acquisition was one of their top strategic marketing objectives for 2010.  And of all the marketing channels used to generate a steady quantity and quality of leads, companies said email was their best lead generation program.

As marketers rev up their new acquisition programs, it’s important to think about the customer as more than just a number in a database.  Customers are savvy and are clearly in control more than ever before.  So to truly be able to penetrate a new audience, you must treat them like you would a close friend.

Every great relationship, be it with a friend, co-working or customer, is dependent on good communications and a continuous fair value exchange.   Without that, someone always feels left out, abused and taken advantage of.  If you don’t understand how to listen and value your friends and relationships you’ll have limited success in your personal and business endeavors.   How often do you hear of people or groups of people being referred to as Readers, Customers or Consumers?   Those names are a bit impersonal, but not as bad as Aggregators, Data, Leads or Screamers.   How a company refers to its prospects and customers tells you lot about how those people are treated and valued.   How do you like it when “that friend” (and you all have one) call you or stops by only when they want something but are never interested in returning the favor or bringing some sort of value to the table…beyond what you’d expect from an acquaintance.

We’re all somewhat dependent on each other and while developing a competitive advantage is important in business, it’s much more important to building trusting, efficient, scalable and sustainable relationships.    If we pick a few important common goals, we’ll be much more aligned with our partners and that’s one of the most important competitive advantages you can have.

Remember, if you put the customer’s needs and wants first, you will generate not just a lead, but a loyal customer.

Jun 09

Digital Ad Spend to Surge. Good News – If You’re Prepared

By Michael Goldberg Advertisers, Executive Insight, General, Industry Research, Online Marketing No Comments »

According to a new report from IPG’s Mediabrands’ Magna Global, online advertising will climb

The Shift to Digital according to Datran Media's 4th Annual Marketing Survey. In 2010, what percentage of your company's overall multi-channel advertising campaign will be allocated to digital marketing channels?*

12.4% in 2010 to $61.0 billion. Plus, it will grow 64% from there to over $100 billion in five years.  That’s certainly good news for the industry as a whole, especially considering the gloomy forecasts that were being predicted just over a year ago.  So what does this mean for you?  It means the online marketplace is going to get increasingly crowded with your competitors; and unless you have smart plan to reach your ideal audience, you’re going to get lost in the crowd.

As more and more advertisers move their media budgets online, consumers are going to be inundated with more choices from more brands.  That means you’re going to need to tailor your messages to be relevant to your perfect audience.  The problem most marketers are unsure who their ideal customer really is.  Do you know the composition of your audience?  DO you know who is really engaging with your campaigns?  What metrics or key performance indicators (KPIs) matter most to you when measuring campaigns?

More than ever, measurement is going to be crucial part of your success in the digital space. Audience measurement may be a nebulous term, especially in digital media where there is both linear and non-linear communication with your audience, and the ability for that audience to receive and reciprocate communication through multiple channel lines at once. As a result, there are a variety of dimensions that can be measured as it pertains to the audience; composition, awareness, engagement, social influence, and path preference to name a few. But regardless of the definition, what you measure needs to provide the opportunity for insight while furthering the quest to understand the value that is delivered for both you and your audience.

Measurement is ineffective unless it provides insight into delivered value. Therefore, advertisers have to define the value they seek to create before determining effectiveness.  Those that do it correctly will prosper; those that do not will have little to show other than wasted media budgets.

Jan 06

Voice YOUR Opinion! Annual Marketing Survey is Open

By Michael Goldberg Executive Insight, Industry Research, Online Marketing No Comments »

It’ss that time of year; time to look back on the year that was and look forward to what the future holds in store for digital marketing. The industry is gearing up for the dawning of a new digital decade. The experts have made their predictions, but what do you think are the most important strategies and channels for 2010 and beyond? It’s your turn to weigh in on the future of digital marketing. Let your voice be heard in our 4th annual marketing and media survey.

This survey is intended to provide the marketing community with a better understanding of how online marketing plans will impact what we all do in 2010 and beyond. We appreciate your time and feedback. The survey was designed to take you less than five minutes to complete!

In exchange for your time, Datran Media will select 20 lucky winners at random to send a $10 iTunes gift card. They survey will be open until Jan. 22. Thank you in advance for your time!

Click here to launch the survey.

Dec 01

Holiday Shopping Off to a Jolly Start – Tips to Ensure a Happy Holiday

By Michael Goldberg Advertisers, Email Marketing, Executive Insight, Industry Research, Online Marketing No Comments »

Cyber Monday may be over, but it will certainly be memorable for many online retailers. Early reports indicate online sales were up 13.7% versus last year. Additional data from Coremetrics suggests the average shopper spent $180.03 this year, up a whopping 38% from last year’s $130.04. In fact, according to ComScore, with over $900 million in sales, 2009 could easily set a record as the biggest grossing day in the short lived history of the shopping holiday, originally coined by Shop.org in 2005.

So how are retailers reaching out to customers this holiday? They are sticking to the basics; using tried-and-true marketing channels like email and search. According to BDO Seidman, in its Retail Compass Survey, email promotions were at the top of retailers online marketing strategies. A focus on free shipping offers just edged out search marketing for second place. Not surprisingly Shop.org found that 100% of online retailers surveyed planned email marketing efforts to house lists this holiday season.

Despite the fantastic numbers being reported for Cyber Monday, the busiest online shopping day tends to be later in December, usually the Saturday before Christmas, and is the last day that gifts can be shipped to guarantee delivery by Christmas Day. So retailers can expect another boost to what was a challenging year revenue wise.

The beautiful thing about email is that campaigns can be produced in a relatively short amount of time, which means you can still take advantage of the upcoming holiday shopping surge. Just be sure to employ these crucial email strategies with this email marketing holiday checklist.

Nov 11

IAB Releases Guidelines for Email Monetization

By Michael Goldberg Advertisers, Email Marketing, Executive Insight, Industry Research, Online Marketing, Publishers No Comments »

More than 500 years after Gutenberg unveiled the printing press and helped spread the written word by establishing a new medium for freely distributing information, the Internet has quickly put the future of print in jeopardy. As print readership and circulation levels continue to decrease, and ad pages dwindle, publishers have learned to embrace the Web for content distribution. However, despite the rapid increase in online readership, publishers continue to struggle with effective ways to monetize their online content.

Selling ad space in email newsletters is proving to be the bright spot of the acquisition market — especially in the media/news industry. The Magazine Publishers of America stated that in the first quarter of 2008, email was a central driver behind 70 million unique consumer visits to online magazine sites.

To provide a comprehensive resource for publishers and marketers, the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) today announced the release of Email Monetization Strategies, the next step in the IAB’s ongoing efforts to establish a solid foundation of guidance and tools for the email marketplace. It provides publishers, agencies and marketers with recommendations and best practices for the successful execution of email marketing campaigns.

The recommendations outlined in this document offer best practices and advice for:
Advertisers
o Leveraging email newsletters to reach a valuable audience
o Using the email channel to test offers and promotions
o Driving sales and site registration through stand alone email advertising
o Criteria for choosing a email publisher
o Emerging trend of video in email campaigns

Publishers
o Revenue opportunities through sponsorship and ad units in email newsletters
o Pricing models for email monetization
o Inventory management
o Data collection
o Developing a video email campaign

“The email channel offers a unique opportunity to reach consumers with relevant, differentiated and personalized content and messaging,” said Sherrill Mane, SVP, Industry Services, IAB. “Email Monetization Strategies provides an in-depth assessment and guide to maximizing the success of email marketing.”

“Email is one of the most effective direct and brand marketing mediums,” said Sean O’Neal, Chief Revenue Officer, Datran Media, and co-chair of the IAB’s Email Committee. “These best practices provide the latest information and strategies to marketers and publishers so that they can maximize their email communications with their customers.”

Sep 22

Social, Search, and Email are Top Channels to Acquire and Retain

By Michael Goldberg Advertisers, Email Marketing, Executive Insight, Industry Research, Online Marketing No Comments »

Not surprisingly, marketers are making customer acquisition and retention top priorities for 2010. According to a survey released by Unisfair, six out of 10 marketers said acquiring new customers would be critical in 2010, while 48 percent will focus on retaining current customers—a particularly important effort in the recession and a topic we recently explored in a very informative webinar.

Of the marketing channels available to them, social media was the top marketing tactic with 75 percent of respondents planning to increase use of the emerging channel as a way to acquire and retain customers. Search (51 percent) and email (48 percent) were right behind, while only 3 percent planned to increase spending on print advertising.

While search and email have proven to be excellent channels for driving customer acquisition and retention, it is still too early to understand what kind of impact social media will have on a marketer’s bottom line. With close to 300 million users on Facebook alone, there is no questioning the reach social media offers marketers, but will it deliver meaningful results? Like email, if done right, I believe social media will be effective. There are many parallels between social media and the email channel when it first became popular. The main thing to understand is that they are not exactly exclusive. Yes, consumers are communicating in social media, but that does not mean they have given up on email, and neither should marketers. Datran Media’s Nicholas Einstein penned a great article on this topic almost a year ago that I believe is still a relevant read today.

Sep 17

Digital Remains Strong

By Michael Goldberg Advertisers, Email Marketing, Industry Research, Online Marketing No Comments »

There seems to finally be a glimmer of hope that the economy will be heading out of the recession in the next few months. This is great news for consumers and marketers alike. In the meantime, we are all still facing many challenges and trying to come out of this unscathed. Unfortunately, for some long-established marketing mediums, it may be too late.

The digital revolution coupled with the recession has left traditional mediums like print and radio in dire straits. While times are tough for older media channels, not every channel is bleeding. Earlier this year Zenith Optimedia predicted the Internet would be the only channel to see growth. As we head towards the end of the year, their forecast seems to be spot on. According to a survey by Round2, a majority of respondents said they would up their investments in email marketing, search and interactive.

As reported in eMarketer, they survey found that email marketing was the channel most likely to see an increase in spending in 2009, and print was the biggest loser. Again, it is no surprise that more cost-effective channels like email are leveraged more often when budgets are tight. But when we finally come out of this, will advertisers flee these digital channels? Not likely.

Sep 14

Paying for Performance, Not for Potential

By Michael Goldberg Advertisers, Industry Research, Performance Marketing Comments Off

According to the results of a new study, marketers are leveraging performance pricing models – paying only when a customer takes a specific action – more frequently than paying for impressions. Of all the types of pay for performance models, Cost-per-Lead (CPL) advertising has gained significant traction across several verticals. Paying for proven actions such as a lead versus hoping someone clicks on your ad helps marketers cost-effectively build their audience without worrying about wasted media spend. What’s more, CPL is helping direct response marketers build email newsletter lists and direct mail lists to generate revenue from future marketing campaigns.

Performance-based marketing is quickly emerging as the ideal method of conducting business. Marketers have realized the benefits of performance-based marketing techniques at a time when more and more companies demand proven, quantitative results. Paying for performance has proved to be an effective way of maximizing return on investment for both broad reach and niche marketers. However, simply opting for a performance-based campaign doesn’t guarantee success. Datran Media has been employing successful performance marketing campaigns for years. Contact us if you’d like to start a performance campaign of your own.

Sep 08

Shoppers a Bit Merrier About Holiday Spending

By Michael Goldberg Advertisers, CRM, Datran Events, Email Marketing, Industry Research, Online Marketing No Comments »

With Labor Day behind us, the countdown to the holiday season has officially begun; and it’s just not marketers thinking about holiday promotions and sales. Consumers are already planning their holiday shopping budgets. According to new research from Information Resources, Inc. consumers will take a more strategic approach to holiday shopping this year and are heading into stores with shopping lists and a budget in mind. The good news for marketers is the average holiday wish list will be less affected by economic factors than last year. The report states “… last year’s dismal holiday retail results are being left behind as consumers are slightly more optimistic about the economy and are much more savvy about how they attack their holiday gift and meal list.”

Despite this encouraging news, marketers need to be extremely strategic in their holiday promotions. Understanding how an audience shops and making sure to appeal to a shopper’s budgetary concerns needs to be a top priority. One of the best ways to successfully leverage this approach is to simply look at your past customers. You’ve already done business with them and know a little about them. This is the perfect opportunity to reengage the conversation and highlight holiday sales. There will be a terrific webinar about employing customer win back strategies next week. Be sure to check it out if you want to escalate your sales this holiday season.

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