I just returned from two days at the Canadian Marketing Association’s annual conference, CMA Next 2010, where I was tweeting from the event in conjunction with The Email Guide. The event programming covered a broad swath of topics from branding, traditional advertising and product marketing to web analytics and social media. The presenters were some of the best and brightest minds in Canadian marketing who over the course of two days, challenged our assumptions and made us think, talk and laugh out loud. The hard work of programming co-chairs Mitch Joel of Twist Image (@mitchjoel) and Sandy Perlman of Microsoft Canada paid off and I left feeling enriched and informed. I have recapped some of the best takeaways from the event for you below.

1. Don’t Suck. That pearl of wisdom came from Avinash Kaushik (@avinashkaushik), Analytics Evangelist for Google and author of Web Analytics 2.0. According to Kaushik, if you suck, nothing else matters. “Sucking” is obviously a relative term, which he defines in terms of engagement. How are people interacting with your content? Are they engaging with your website or are they visiting your site and leaving after looking at the first page? If they “came, puked and left”, you need to stop worrying about everything else and fix it. He also stressed that speed and access to information should be the #1 feature of your website. Don't sacrifice functionality for sexiness. If your website isn’t fast, you will die.

2. We Live in an Age of Conversation Marketing. Participate and Empower. Kaushik also reminded us that marketing today has to be conversational – it’s time to stop broadcasting messages to our audiences. We need to use engagement metrics to analyze effectiveness in today’s marketing world. It’s no longer about reach metrics like fans, followers and hits (which he defined as “How Idiots Track Success”.) The new age of marketing is customer-centric. Abandon your comfortable metrics and start leveraging engagement metrics like your website bounce rate, clicks, email opens, social media sharing rates, re-tweets and Twitter lists. Once you have these metrics identified, optimize your marketing strategy, creative and technology choices to support improvements in those areas.

3. Challenge Everything You Know About Marketing. Ken Wong (@kbw2009) of Queen's School of Business and CMA Hall of Fame inductee dropped a bomb on the audience when he told us that the C-Suite tends to view marketers as “margin sucking maggots.” Most companies know that they need to market their way out of a recession and yet the first thing that the executives cut when tough time hit is marketing. Why? Because marketing doesn’t appear to have a direct effect on profitability, the #1 factor affecting the success of a company.

The NYSE 2010 CEO Report ranked Marketing/Advertising Initiatives dead last in Profitability Impact for 2007. In the same survey, only one marketing variable entered into the equation as mattering to shareholders – brand strength – and it ranked second to last. It gets worse. According to Wong, only 18% of 545 executives in UK firms rated their firm’s marketing effectiveness as better than good and 36% rated it fair/poor. In fact, you are 2X more likely to get a marketing job in the UK if you have a finance background than if you have a marketing background. Ouch!

Why do executives view marketing as wasteful and expendable? Because we’re not communicating our value in terms that they understand. Marketing needs to stop focusing on market share and volume and return to building brand value because when the value is clear, you don’t need to slash prices. Price is the #1 factor in contributing towards profitability. Help your executives get there and your budget won’t be the first thing slashed during a recession.

4. Great Brands are Simple and Clear. Canadian design guru and television celebrity Debbie Travis (@debbie_travis) reminded us to keep to basics when building your brand. The best brands know what they do well and focus on that. When you try and take on too many ancillary things, you dilute your brand and loose strength and meaning. There are two aspects to every brand: brand character and brand value. Character is how you make a first impression. Brand value is about loyalty. You should develop a clear strategy for both sides of the brand equation. Do you provide enough value to keep your audience coming back for more?

5. Your Company Can Make A Difference for the Next Generation. One of the more surprising and inspiring keynotes was a joint presentation from the Ontario Power Authority, the World Wildlife Federation (WWF) and Airmiles, a Canadian frequent flier company that has penetration into 70% of the homes in Canada. This unlikely partnership was the result of three very different entities uniting for a common cause: to reduce carbon emissions while meeting distinct goals that benefitted each company.

The Ontario Power Authority needed to find alternative sources of fuel to avoid the rolling brownouts that have been plaguing the province and ensure continuous, clean power for future generations. They partnered with the WWF to develop a program that will eliminate Ontario’s reliance on coal by 2013. Simultaneously, Airmiles greened their company and became the largest rooftop solar energy producer in Canada. Now you can also redeem your miles for a transit pass, a scooter, bicycle, or other low carbon options instead of airfare. Their inspiring message was that transformative companies should use their influence beyond their four walls to change the world. Think about what influence you have beyond your own life and talk to your company about your environmental footprint. You can help change the world as well.

6. Surprise is the Key to Successful Relationships. Andy Nulman (@andynulman) reminded us in his own unique and creative way that the element of surprise is what keeps human nature moving forward. We tend to fall into comfortable patterns and are doing ourselves (and our marketing programs) a disservice by lulling our audience into complacency. Put in the time to think different and be creative each time you want to make an impression. It’s the only way to ensure a healthy, engaging ongoing relationship with your audience.

7. Friction is a Powerful Tool of Persuasion. Ad veteran Terry O’Reilly (@ageofpersuasion) had a slightly different theory about what the surprise ingredient in everyone’s marketing programs should be… friction. According to O’Reilly, friction is a powerful tool of persuasion. Only the smartest and most insightful marketers use friction to make a sale. For example, Johnson & Johnson invented a cream that healed without pain, but people didn’t believe they were being healed unless they felt a sting. J&J put a little alcohol in the cream and sales went through the roof. Marketers are social anthropologists and it’s product marketing’s job to find the right combination of ease of use with a just a touch of friction to make people want what we’re trying to sell.

8. Use Checklists. O’Reilly also referenced a study that was performed to reduce the number of accidental deaths that occurred due to human errors during surgeries. They analyzed how pilots prevented mistakes and found that they used checklists. A test group of surgeons adopted checklists and their mistakes plunged by 80%. I think everyone can learn from that one.

9. Be Open to Opportunity and Change. Howie Mandel’s (@howiemmandel) closing keynote had everyone roaring with laughter, and yet his key message was an important one. You have to be open to opportunities as they arise and be willing to adapt and change. Over the years, he has “re-branded” himself from a carpet salesman to a comedian to an actor to a game show host and television producer, but none of that evolution would have happened if he had given in to fear and doubt and not been open to change.

Similarly, we learned that Indigo Books & Music is transforming their brand, product offerings and fulfillment mechanisms in real-time to adapt to the changes in how people are consuming media. Instead of clinging to traditional books as adoption of digital readers skyrockets, they are embracing change and adapting to become a leader in this new method of consumption.

10. Never Underestimate the Power of Alcohol in Building Relationships. And finally, this oh so true statement came from the advertising veteran “war stories” panel and was the most tweeted and re-tweeted phrases from the event. I’m not sure if Mad Men’s constant drinking reflects the era or the industry… but one thing is certain. Marketers love our booze.

For a complete play-by-play of the event, I invite you to read my full Twitter Transcript posted on StrongMail’s website. If you would like to follow my coverage of future marketing events, you can find me on Twitter (@kristinhersant).

Yesterday, Yahoo announced its new social, extensible email Inbox, almost a year after Founder Jerry Wang unveiled it during his keynote address at CES. This new destination blends social media with smart inbox functionality to filter “important” emails and present those towards the top of your Inbox, pushing newsletters and other commercial communications down towards the bottom.

Because this functionality is linked to Yahoo’s social media functionality – you have to befriend someone in order for their emails to take priority – this will initially spell bad news for email marketers. It is unclear whether or not they will allow individuals to befriend a brand, like they can on Facebook or MySpace. And if they do, how will they determine who has the right to send priority email on behalf of that brand?

If you haven’t tested it yet, this might be a good time to look at StrongMail partner Goodmail. Their Certified Email product is a paid service that can ensure priority Inbox delivery to Yahoo though this period of uncertainty.

With 275 million users worldwide, Yahoo represents approximately half of the world’s webmail accounts. These changes will pose significant challenges to email marketers unless Yahoo offers them a way to engage with their recipients. But for now, we’ll have to wait and see how unpredictable inbox placement will affect our powerful marketing channel.

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!