The use of email for cold acquisition campaigns often gets a bad press and it is easy to see why given the general preference to follow the path of least resistance when offering email as a solution.  More often than not media owners are guilty of providing a one size fits all approach to each and every client that comes their way.  Invariably this means that the overriding objective is to supply as much volume as possible in the hope that there is enough response to sustain a client relationship in the short term.  This type of approach neglects the need to understand a client’s acquisition objectives, the appropriate targeting of the right media to maximise response, and the right analysis of said response to ensure the client is getting the most out of their email marketing.

A media owner’s best intentions to deliver a targeted solution can easily be hamstrung by the underlying commercial demands of running databases that have to make money, it’s an inescapable fact.  It has never been more important to ensure that email is used in a responsible and intelligent fashion, ask those trying to get it delivered, yet it remains a bitter pill for some providers.   The current economic climate demands that any money spent on advertising, and particularly email, delivers solid and ideally quantifiable results.  It is no longer viable for a media owner to offset the poor quality of their media by dropping rates to account for the inevitable wastage and non responsive media that gets lumped into client campaigns.   Such an approach is not sustainable and will ultimately do the channel a huge disservice and scare off clients.

It is certainly not doom and gloom however, not by any means.  There finally seems to be a noticeable shift in how email is being used.  Media owners and clients alike are finding themselves more prepared to explore the real value that lies within their databases.   Effective segmentation and the leveraging of media owner brands are seeing exceptional results.  We recently ran a campaign for Champneys using 3rd party permissioned ASOS.com media.  The obvious synergy between the advertiser’s upmarket brand and that of the media owner meant that providing the right demographic based on the Champneys profile was likely to see very strong results.  Indeed, post campaign the ASOS data had recorded unique opens of 26.45% and unique clicks of 11.37%.  Both the media owner and advertiser were extremely pleased, one having delivered their customer base a relevant offer adding to the ASOS.com experience, the other having experienced a campaign conversion rate off the scale compared to other third party lists on the schedule.

Running relevant, targeted campaigns is extremely easy if tackled properly.  There is huge opportunity for media owners who want to embrace fundamental marketing principles and provide a media solution with real integrity.  Times are moving on and the commoditisation of email cannot be sustained.  Media owners need to seize the opportunity to provide more robust solutions, those that don’t will fail to be taken seriously and will fall by the wayside.

Simon Jeffs
Head of Data
TMN Media