Wikipedia has a great recap of the history of sex in advertising. As an example, check out this image from a 1921 National Geographic magazine... a scantily clad woman pitching tire valve caps.Sex in advertising has certainly evolved, but many... More

Wikipedia has a great recap of the history of sex in advertising. As an example, check out this image from a 1921 National Geographic magazine... a scantily clad woman pitching tire valve caps.


Sex in advertising has certainly evolved, but many things still ring true.

For example, in today's Boston Proper email campaign the following items are asserted:

"Sexy Summer Catalog"
"Wear it like no one else"
"Summer heat" - next to the image below
"Lose yourself in the exotic"

It is safe to say that while things change, they often times also stay the same.

Below is the email:

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I really like today's Kodak email campaign highlighting their Mother's Day specials.A few subtle items that might not jump out at everyone, but really make this email effective:Offer Tag: By including a text offer tag at the very top of... More

I really like today's Kodak email campaign highlighting their Mother's Day specials.

A few subtle items that might not jump out at everyone, but really make this email effective:

Offer Tag: By including a text offer tag at the very top of the email Kodak is ensuring that everyone viewing the email on a non-HTML rendering mobile device first views the offer. Smart.

Viral 'Share This' Icon: By including 'Share This' functionality, Kodak is encouraging their subscribers to share the offer and actual email content via the social media community of their choice (e.g. Facebook, Twitter, Digg, etc).

Imagery: Great re-use of the 'mother' in the main image, the image in the picture frame, the image in the pocket video camera, and on the landing page you click-through to.

Overall a great email. See for yourself:


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If a picture is worth a thousand words, which incidentally comes from an old Chinese Proverb "A Picture's Meaning Can Express Ten Thousand Words", how many words is 14 pictures of the same product worth? 14,000?Regardless, Neiman Marcus did a... More

If a picture is worth a thousand words, which incidentally comes from an old Chinese Proverb "A Picture's Meaning Can Express Ten Thousand Words", how many words is 14 pictures of the same product worth? 14,000?

Regardless, Neiman Marcus did a great job with their email campaign today highlighting their $2,500 Women's Vince Shopping Spree.

I love the black and white vs. color contrast in the images.

See for yourself:


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I really liked Lowe's email campaign yesterday. It is nicely designed for the Spring and has several great elements including:Simple, clear, direct subject lineNice header treatment with text for those with images disabledGreat background color and the vine treatment makes... More

I really liked Lowe's email campaign yesterday. It is nicely designed for the Spring and has several great elements including:

• Simple, clear, direct subject line
• Nice header treatment with text for those with images disabled
• Great background color and the vine treatment makes the email feel less flat
• Clearly defined sections with easy to read text and clear action buttons
• Nice social media call out to Facebook
• Nice call to action to subscribe to other communications
• Simple footer providing easy to configure settings for future campaigns

Overall, a really, really nice job.

Take a look yourself:


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CompUSA sends out a daily email every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. The marketing strategy as far as I can tell is pretty simple... blast something every weekday and hope that something sticks.Last week I received my 5 emails... More

CompUSA sends out a daily email every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. The marketing strategy as far as I can tell is pretty simple... blast something every weekday and hope that something sticks.

Last week I received my 5 emails that had the following subject lines and deals:

Monday 3/30: One Day Left: Acer 22" LCD $149...OCZ 4gb DDR2 $14...First Ever 50" HDTV under $500

Tuesday 3/31: Exclusive HP Deals: Netbook from $299...Laptops from $379...LCDs from $79...PCs from $449

Wednesday 4/1: All-in-One PC $449...Seagate 1tb HD $89...Garmin GPS $99...more deals

Thursday 4/2: Madness: Toshiba 52" 1080p HDTV $999...Samsung Blu-ray Player $149...Acer Netbook $239 & More

Friday 4/3: DEALS: Acer 23" HDMI LCD $199...Sony 52" 1080p $1389...640gb Ext HD $49...17" Blu-ray XP Laptop $899

Each of these emails contain new promotions and are generally not tied to any previous offer. Further the subject lines generally do not match the content.

Take the Friday 4/3 campaign with the subject line listed above.

You tell me, does the creative below match the subject line?

I think not.

All this being said, having an everyday mailing strategy can work if you follow a few simple guidelines:

• Allow subscribers to opt-in to this level of frequency
• Maintain a consistent branding strategy (e.g. "The CompUSA Daily Deal")
• Utilize a consistent creative look and feel

If CompUSA followed these guidelines the performance of these campaigns would change dramatically.
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I love the fact that Warner Bros. sent a timely email to their email subscribers the day after ER aired its last episode. The email includes great promotions for individual or all box sets from seasons 1-11. Additionally, they have... More

I love the fact that Warner Bros. sent a timely email to their email subscribers the day after ER aired its last episode. The email includes great promotions for individual or all box sets from seasons 1-11. Additionally, they have a great option for those users simply wanting to download a single episode.

This email more than anything is a great example of a well-timed offer and promotion to a major, well-publicized event - the last airing of ER.

Take a moment and think about your program and how you can introduce the concept of a well-timed email campaign. These campaigns often times drive much higher response and conversion rates.

Great job Warner Bros.

Here's a copy of the creative:


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Another example of a solid marketer failing to test the Preview Pane... Marketers: It is not hard to test - take an extra few minutes and see what your email looks like in different email clients and browsers. This example... More

Another example of a solid marketer failing to test the Preview Pane... Marketers: It is not hard to test - take an extra few minutes and see what your email looks like in different email clients and browsers. This example could have easily been fixed with the proper oversight and skill set.

Take a look at the email below in the Preview Pane:


And when opened:


I think it is safe to say that they would have preferred a version without this issue.     Less

A really great example today from Bahama Breeze Island Grille, a great restaurant for Caribbean cuisine, of a company utilizing email and Facebook together to drive a deeper level of overall subscriber engagement.The email below is a wonderful follow-up from... More

A really great example today from Bahama Breeze Island Grille, a great restaurant for Caribbean cuisine, of a company utilizing email and Facebook together to drive a deeper level of overall subscriber engagement.

The email below is a wonderful follow-up from a recent local event where pictures from the event can now be viewed via Facebook - thus encouraging the subscribers to follow Bahama Breeze as a Fan.

Love it.




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I noticed today that Nintendo has a simple link for those wanting a French version of their email within their English email campaign. The fact that they included a link to a hosted language version was not necessarily surprising, what... More

I noticed today that Nintendo has a simple link for those wanting a French version of their email within their English email campaign. The fact that they included a link to a hosted language version was not necessarily surprising, what was more surprising was that it was for a French version vs. a Spanish version, which seems more commonplace.

The English version is below (look for the French link in the upper right corner):



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HP Home and Home Office sent a GREAT email today with a truly 'out-of-the-box' creative design. The email jointly features a 'monster sale' (50% off and free shipping) and Dreamworks Monsters vs. Aliens movie. The design features an appropriately 'monster'... More

HP Home and Home Office sent a GREAT email today with a truly 'out-of-the-box' creative design.

The email jointly features a 'monster sale' (50% off and free shipping) and Dreamworks Monsters vs. Aliens movie. The design features an appropriately 'monster' character highlighting the monster sale.

Great design.




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Steep and Cheap had an incredibly smart, clever, and creative promotion yesterday encouraging their subscribers to follow them on Facebook. More interestingly they are actively promoting an online chat with "the people who put up the deals" - e.g. their... More

Steep and Cheap had an incredibly smart, clever, and creative promotion yesterday encouraging their subscribers to follow them on Facebook. More interestingly they are actively promoting an online chat with "the people who put up the deals" - e.g. their marketing team.

Love the idea and I even more love creative.

Check it out:


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Another example of a leading marketer who sends a lot of email failing to test the visual appearance of their message... It seems like every day I see 1-3 of these types of examples. Lately I've been wondering why there... More

Another example of a leading marketer who sends a lot of email failing to test the visual appearance of their message... It seems like every day I see 1-3 of these types of examples. Lately I've been wondering why there is such an uptick.

Is it because marketers are lean and cutting corners?
Is it because marketers have forgotten the simple best practices related to testing?
Is it because marketers don't realize they need to view their email in different email clients and browsers?

Regardless, the experience left with the end consumer is one of shock and awe... If I received a direct mail piece with this type of creative error, I would assume heads would roll. I know they would in any organization I've worked for.

Here's the creative...


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I love today's Timberland creative and the use of handwriting and 'red marker' to take an otherwise stale image and make it come alive. This type of creative treatment - taking a flat image and treating it in a way... More

I love today's Timberland creative and the use of handwriting and 'red marker' to take an otherwise stale image and make it come alive. This type of creative treatment - taking a flat image and treating it in a way that it can pop off the page and at some level feel three-dimensional is a simple, great way to help drive incremental activity on the message.

My favorite part of the design?

The blue marker with the arrow pointing off the page - as if to say - "go now, click, buy" - all of course in a subtle, not bang you over the head way.

Way to go Timberland!

Take a look at the creative:


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It has been proven over and over again that automated, targeted, and relevant email communications drive the highest ROI for marketers. Kayak.com had a nice email today announcing new capabilities with their fare alerts including options related to selecting non-stop... More

It has been proven over and over again that automated, targeted, and relevant email communications drive the highest ROI for marketers. Kayak.com had a nice email today announcing new capabilities with their fare alerts including options related to selecting non-stop flights, one way flights, and filtering by cabin. I also like the fact that you can sign for an alert based on a generic time (e.g. a month) vs. a specific time period.

Overall these types of email communications that drive incremental, automated, targeted, and timely communications are wonderful. More marketers should evaluate their own programs for where these types of campaigns could exist.

For example, other marketers could implement "alerts" tied to...

• Promotion Expiration (e.g. hours before)
• Availability for out of stock merchandise
• Availability of new merchandise in a specific product category or brand

The email creative is below:



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Sears sent a nice email today that looks great when it is opened.See below:However, when you view it in the Preview Pane in Outlook 2007 it appears quite different. See below:Let's say it together... test, test, test... There are some... More

Sears sent a nice email today that looks great when it is opened.

See below:

However, when you view it in the Preview Pane in Outlook 2007 it appears quite different. See below:


Let's say it together... test, test, test...

There are some simple things that Sears could have done to prevent this formatting snafu in the coding of the message. Further, they could have tested the email's delivery into Outlook to first see how it would appear and if it's overall appearance met the brand guidelines.

I would assume "choppy" would have failed... Less

Ah the need to test... Another example of a solid brand, in this case People Magazine, sending out an email with a glaring mistake. The mistake? Missing images...The basics of email testing:Always test that links and images resolveAlways test that... More

Ah the need to test...

Another example of a solid brand, in this case People Magazine, sending out an email with a glaring mistake.

The mistake? Missing images...

The basics of email testing:

• Always test that links and images resolve
• Always test that links actually go the destination you want vs. any destination
• Always test the appearance and functionality of the message in different email clients and browsers
• Always test variations of the message if personalization or dynamic targeting is involved

There is a lot more to email testing; however, many marketers skip the basics listed above.

Unfortunately when you cut corners you end up with results like the one below...



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I love personalization.I love triggered campaigns.I love short, time-sensitive promotions.However...If you are going to run campaigns of this type, you need to make sure that you are targeting people correctly...Alas, I don't live in Buffalo, Hartford, Burlington, Manchester, or Portland,... More

I love personalization.

I love triggered campaigns.

I love short, time-sensitive promotions.

However...

If you are going to run campaigns of this type, you need to make sure that you are targeting people correctly...

Alas, I don't live in Buffalo, Hartford, Burlington, Manchester, or Portland, Maine.

I live in Portland, Oregon!

Perhaps Expedia in their endeavor to target those closest to the above pre-mentioned cities simply chose "Portland" - not realizing that there are many "Portland's" in the United States. Including...

{via Wikipedia}
Portland, Arkansas
Portland, Colorado, a defunct city
Portland, Connecticut
Portland, a proposed city adjacent to Blue Island, Illinois and later incorporated into it
Portland, a former name for Fountain, Indiana
Portland, Indiana
Portland, Kentucky
Portland, Louisville, a neighborhood and former town in Louisville, Kentucky
Portland, Maine
Portland-South Portland-Biddeford metropolitan area
New Portland, Maine
South Portland, Maine, adjoining Portland, Maine
Portland, Michigan
Portland, Missouri
Portland, New York
Portland, North Dakota
Portland, Ohio
Portland, Oregon
Portland metropolitan area
Portland, Pennsylvania
Portland, Tennessee
Portland, Texas
Portland, Dodge County, Wisconsin
Portland, Monroe County, Wisconsin

Here's the creative:

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Not to rant on the lack of testing in today's emails, but here's another classic example...Subject LineMicroStrategy Direct, Nov. 2009:  MicroStrategy 9 is the most significant release in a decadeBody ContentIssue 1 | March 2009Funny... I didn't realize it was... More

Not to rant on the lack of testing in today's emails, but here's another classic example...

Subject Line
MicroStrategy Direct, Nov. 2009:  MicroStrategy 9 is the most significant release in a decade

Body Content
Issue 1 | March 2009

Funny... I didn't realize it was November 2009 already...

Marketers! Test your emails - please!


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As an email strategist we can often be heard educating our clients on the value of automated, triggered messages. These types of messages can be as simple as a "Welcome" message, to as complex as a "Lapsed, Multi-buyer, Web-only Purchaser"... More

As an email strategist we can often be heard educating our clients on the value of automated, triggered messages. These types of messages can be as simple as a "Welcome" message, to as complex as a "Lapsed, Multi-buyer, Web-only Purchaser" message. Regardless, each automated message has the opportunity to be highly targeted to a subscriber based on a specific state they have reached in respect to how they are interacting with you.

From a results standpoint, these types of messages often have the highest results and return.

We also tend to have a "set-up and forget it" mentality with these messages, which can be problematic if, as an example, images included in the message are removed or expired.

West Paw Design, an online retailer of dog apparel, beds and toys, has a really nice automated "Thank you for updating your profile" message that unfortunately succumbed to this error.

Take a look below and you will see several product images that are no longer working.

The Lesson: Set-up as many automated messages as you can that make sense; however, also setup an ongoing process to test and validate that these messages that you've 'set-up and forgot' are still performing as expected.

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I received a GREAT survey from Timberland today. In addition to gathering some additional customer data, they specifically are soliciting feedback on new, not yet available, women's footwear. How many brands have you known that engage in very expensive, very... More

I received a GREAT survey from Timberland today. In addition to gathering some additional customer data, they specifically are soliciting feedback on new, not yet available, women's footwear. How many brands have you known that engage in very expensive, very time-intensive, and very resource intensive efforts to conduct customer research?

Many.

Don't get me wrong, at times this level of engagement is absolutely appropriate; however, other times it's not...

Overall, Timberland is taking advantage of the power of email and web to solicit some initial feedback on several new products. The feedback they'll receive will be cheap (the cost of an email and a web survey), fast (they'll have it in minutes), and not that intensive (a few days vs. weeks to months).

As a subscriber I'm then left with the impression that Timberland cares about my input - thus building a much stronger affinity to their brand. Further, they incented me to participate by offering me a token promotion - 10% off my next online purchase; thus making it more likely for me to participate vs. simply deleting the message.

Are you soliciting customer feedback? If not, you should.

Here's a glance at their creative:


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