Today I debuted a new monthly column on eM+C called Email Marketing Strategies and Tactics Exposed.  The goal of this column is to highlight exceptional email communications and, more importantly, to dissect the individual components that make them work so well. 

Why this column?  During my years heading up marketing and strategy for Bigfoot Interactive, I used to do quarterly meetings with some of our largest accounts.  These meetings often involved a review of marketplace trends, research findings and competitive/campaign assessments, including best practices collected from the hundreds of campaigns we tracked.  This last bit is what got clients leaning forward in their seats, and it wasn’t long before clients requested more “real life examples” to discuss and learn from. The next thing I knew, I was doing a client tour around the country highlighting the very best of the best in email marketing.  This tour became a franchise for our company because it took all the talk about industry best practices and what marketers should be doing, and made it tangible and actionable.  I’ve always thought it would make a great column, and so, with this opportunity from eM+C it has now come to life. 

Why Now?   In my mind – success in ’09 will be founded on two critical concepts.  1. Marketers must push themselves to do better.  If you don’t have a comprehensive strategy for lifecycle communications – you should, if your not integrating email with other marketing efforts – you must, if you not leveraging best practices and analytics to optimize results – your toast.  This column will help you do all that and more.  2.  Evolution and innovation – the market and consumers are changing and evolving.  To build on success and remain relevant, marketers must embrace the notion of marketing with customers rather than at them.  The Participatory Marketing Network (PMN) was founded on that principle and it is our hope we can use this association as a platform to help marketers build innovative marketing programs that engage the recipient in such a way that it extends the success and reach of your messaging across the social internet. 

It is my hope is that you will find eM+C series of evaluations beneficial as you think about your own email communications.  Over the course of the next 12 months we will highlighting the best of the best and by this time next year my hope is to have built the ultimate email communications playbook.  Enjoy the column and if you have or come across an email communications program worth writing about, drop me a line at info@thepmn.org. 

'Til Next Time

I've been working from home recently and have never been more annoyed.  You see, for the past several days I have been the recipient of numerous phone calls.  Unfortunately the calls were not from anyone I was interested in speaking to as few people have my home number and I am unlisted.  No, the calls were from a new group of friends - Politicians.  Yes, it was bound to happen.  As you may recall, political solicitations are exempt from the Do Not Call registry, since they are not included in its definition of "Telemarketing".  Really?  What is it called when you are asking me for my vote?  What it is - is annoying and a double standard.  Can Caroline count on your vote - maybe not now that you woke up my 3 year old.  Michael, Senator Hannon has been working hard for you - really?  Wait is this a recording?  Folks if there is no better example of push, not even permission marketing gone wrong I don't know what is.

It is time politicians re-think their approaches and, like the example set by the Obama campaign, wake up to the fact that great marketing is about participation.  Not to say that the Obama campaign has been perfect, but the overall success signals a new direction in marketing.  Yes we are in the midst of a paradigm shift.  The rise of the "semantic" and "social internet" is ushering in a new era in marketing defined by consumer participation and control.  I call this new era "Participatory Marketing".  Participatory Marketing is about marketing with your customers or in this case voters, not at them.  It is about getting people actively involved in promoting your brand.  It is about engaging your customers to help plot the future of your brand or product.  As I look at all the candidates running - only one comes close to exemplifying these qualities - the campaign that Barack Obama has run.  Politics aside you  have to admire the brilliance.  It is, on many fronts, Participatory Marketing at its finest.  A local grassroots effort by which politics has never seen before, record event turn out filled with active and passionate supporters whose presence can be seen and heard on facebook, YouTube and MySpace to name a few, text and email updates, and a record $600 million dollars raised for the cause from millions. 

Folks this is the power of Participatory Marketing supported by social media and the future of politics and great marketing as we know it.  This has been a historic campaign indeed and not just for the obvious reasons, but for what it has shown us about how marketing must change.  Congratulations to President elect Obama and congratulations to his team who helped show the world that marketing, creativity, innovation and the williness to change can teach us many lessons.  

Until Next Time