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Email Marketing Insights
Ryan Deutsch
Director of Strategic Services
May 20, 2008
Enough of “Is email dead?”!
This afternoon, I was busy preparing for my panel at this week's MediaPost Email Insider Summit. Travel was confirmed, conference calls were rescheduled, and I took a look at the event agenda to plan my attendance at a variety of rock solid sessions to learn the latest developments in the email channel. I did not get very far. I stopped at the first morning’s keynote: "Next Generation: Does Email Have a Future?"
Come on. Am I the only one who thinks this is a bit over dramatic? I know that at the end of the day this session is going to be an excellent opportunity for all of us to get a view into the new media channels that are redefining integrated marketing programs online, but do we need to go as far as to suggest that email is dying?
In recent weeks, I have been fortunate enough to see some exciting new programs that leverage social networks and experiential marketing to drive compelling brand experiences. Of particular interest was Tim Collins’ presentation at the Canadian Marketing Association event in Toronto entitled "Navigating Toward Marketing Mastery; Guideposts for a New Marketing Era." Mr. Collins is Senior Vice President, Experiential Marketing and Social Media at Wells Fargo. Tim walked the audience through a variety of unique and exciting programs at Wells Fargo, from the online community StageCoach Island to blogs like The Student LoanDown. Instead of killing email, these innovative programs are actually creating additional mail streams that need to be designed, deployed and managed.
Sure, the role of email will change as it becomes less isolated and more integrated with the rest of the direct marketing mix, but I am confident that email has a real future. So please, enough with the death email. The channel is alive and well, albeit a tad less sexy than a decade ago!
Posted by: Ryan Deutsch at 3:01 PM
Categories: Industry News , Trends
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I agree - enough already with the death of email. I actually presented at the CMA National 8rade shows education series and my session was called "The Future of Email Delivery". A forward looking Future for email - vs the all to common doomsday scenario.
Email is continually growing year over year, and even social networks are relying on email for notifications and confirmations.
Comment by Matt Vernhout – May 20, 2008 7:34 PM
Sorry for the delayed response. Thanks for your kind words. And I wholeheartedly agree with you. A few years back we talked about life after the 30 second spot. Guess what, it's still here! It's pretty rare that a marketing channel simply goes away. More likely, it evolves. E-mail is no different.
Comment by Tim Collins – July 7, 2008 4:24 PM
I agree with the other comments here, it seems that email marketing is facing evolution more than extinction. I do, however, think it is now a relatively smaller component in a larger mechanism of marketing. The importance of things like new media are on the rise, but I would say the importance of the email hasn't diminished as a result. In fact, I think the growth of networks and blogging will make email ever more the private haven of the connected individual. And when it comes to transactional email... well I'm just not ready to receive an invoice over LinkedIn. The opportunity is changing, but the idea that it is vanishing does seem even more absurd now that I think of it. And I remember having the same conversation about billboards at one point in the relatively recent past, yet there are still appropriate uses for them today.
I am, however, still amazed at the number of companies that don't understand email marketing. Could we, perhaps, see a higher standard set for entering the world of email marketing?
Comment by Ben Little – July 16, 2008 9:07 AM
I'm not an email doomsday believer. But, I do have an issue with one of the common arguments proving email is alive and well.
The increase of transactional email doesn't indicate to me an overall increase in email as a communication channel. As people extend themselves online, we do need a way to verify and notify but that does not need to be email.
If marketers (and I am a marketer that uses email as a channel) want to make a viable future for email, we need to do more than just rely on transactional volume.
Also, just a quick comment to Ben -- There was a time when people didn't think that getting an invoice through email was a good idea either. Things will continue to change.
Comment by John Johansen – August 28, 2008 10:19 AM