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 love the email campaign from the Tyler Place today that shares their decision to join the Facebook and Twitter revolution. The Tyler Place, a family vacation spot in Vermont that is incidentally an amazing time, shuns TV, electronics, mass... More

I love the email campaign from the Tyler Place today that shares their decision to join the Facebook and Twitter revolution. The Tyler Place, a family vacation spot in Vermont that is incidentally an amazing time, shuns TV, electronics, mass media, etc, but is fully embracing the world of Facebook and Twitter. Despite the skepticism of "Ted" one of the original owners...

And why not? If you are an amazing summer retreat, what better than to have a Facebook page where previous visitors can interact, share stories, share pictures, etc. I can also envision the Tweet regarding a sing-along by the campfire or climbing the rock wall...

Here's a real tweet from them:
"The osprey is back on her towering nest in Fairfield Swamp. Phoebes are trying to nest under the eaves. Swallows have returned. Spring!"

Last week Yesmail hosted a webinar on social media integration in your email program that was attended by over 150 of our clients - a turnout that was further affirming of the interest and desire to understand and embrace the social world we live in.

If a small business like the Tyler Place can take the leap - so can you!

And of course, if you need any help - give us a call.

In the meantime, check out the Tyler Place's great 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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It is hard to pass up Ben & Jerry's 'Free Cone Day' - this year held Tuesday, April 21st at a Ben & Jerry's near you. That being said the email creative below leaves a lot to be desired...A few... More

It is hard to pass up Ben & Jerry's 'Free Cone Day' - this year held Tuesday, April 21st at a Ben & Jerry's near you. That being said the email creative below leaves a lot to be desired...

A few small suggestions:

• Branding: The lack of Ben & Jerry's logo is appalling.
• Imagery: You would think a nice photo of an 'ice cream cone' for 'Free Cone Day' would have been very appealing.
• Template: Ben & Jerry's could easily invest in a nice re-usable creative template that would address branding, imagery, font sizes, etc vs. the current floating boxes of text.

What do you think?



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Kudos to the Yesmail Creative Services team for being a finalist in another set of awards, the 2009 ad:tech Awards.Yesmail is a finalist not once, but twice in the Interactive Campaigns - Best Performance Marketing Campaign category!INTERACTIVE CAMPAIGNS -- BEST... More

Kudos to the Yesmail Creative Services team for being a finalist in another set of awards, the 2009 ad:tech Awards.

Yesmail is a finalist not once, but twice in the Interactive Campaigns - Best Performance Marketing Campaign category!

INTERACTIVE CAMPAIGNS -- BEST PERFORMANCE MARKETING CAMPAIGN
eBay: eBay Partner Network Quality Campaign
Yesmail: HP Mini 1000: The Perfect Mobile Companion
Performics: Online Traffic Makes Instore Buyers
Yesmail: HP Voodoo Monthly Newsletter
Direct Agents Interactive: Accuquote Affiliate Program

Winners announced the week of 4/13 and our fingers are crossed!

I'm usually not one to gloat, but I find it especially rewarding that Yesmail is the *only* Email Service Provider who made the finalist round.

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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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I wanted to share with everyone a recent email creative design award winner from the Yesmail Creative Services team. Our creative team is by far the most experienced in the space at designing email creative, as proven by the team's... More

I wanted to share with everyone a recent email creative design award winner from the Yesmail Creative Services team. Our creative team is by far the most experienced in the space at designing email creative, as proven by the team's tenure and long list of creative awards.

The award is for the "Best Computer: Retailer Email message" and can be viewed here.

To view the creative go here.

Kudos to the team for another outstanding accomplishment! Less

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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