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MarketingSherpa Email Awards 2011

Lead Editor
Adam T. Sutton, Senior Reporter

Judges
Adam T. Sutton, Senior Reporter
Todd W. Lebo, Senior Director of Content & Business Development
Daniel Burstein, Director of Editorial Content
Justin Bridegan, Marketing Manager

Production
Brad Bortone, Associate Editor
Sean Kinberger, Graphic Designer
Joelle Parra, Media Specialist

MarketingSherpa Email Awards 2011


ISBN: 978-1-936390-07-6
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MarketingSherpa 2011 Email Awards

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Table of Contents .................................................................................................................... ii

From the Lead Judge .............................................................................................................. 2

Best of Show - B2B ................................................................................................................. 3


Kodak i4000 Scanner Series Launch ................................................................................................ 3
Creative Samples from the Kodak i4000 Scanner Series Launch......................................................... 6

Best of Show - B2C ............................................................................................................... 10


2010 Susan G. Komen Global Race for the Cure ........................................................................... 10
Creative Samples for the Susan G. Komen Global Race for the Cure ................................................ 12

Best Email List Growth Campaign - Gold ........................................................................... 15


Dingo Join My Mailing List Campaign............................................................................................. 15
Creative Samples for the Dingo Join My Mailing List Campaign ......................................................... 17

Best Email List Growth Campaign - Silver ......................................................................... 19


ATOUT FRANCE and Avis, "Way to Nice" Competition ......................................................... 19
Creative Samples from the ATOUT FRANCE and Avis "Way To Nice" Campaign ............................. 21

Best Email List Growth Campaign – Honorable Mention.................................................. 25


Railey Mountain Lake Vacations Re-engagement .................................................................. 25
Creative Samples from Railey Mountain Lake Vacations Re-engagement ......................................... 26

Best Email Newsletter Designed for Marketing - Gold ...................................................... 28


Marriott Rewards eNewsletter.......................................................................................................... 28
Creative Sample from Marriott's Rewards eNewsletter ....................................................................... 30

Best Email Newsletter Designed for Marketing – Honorable Mention............................. 31


The Bing Member Newsletter ........................................................................................................... 31
Creative Samples from The Bing Member Newsletter ........................................................................ 33

Best Email Newsletter Designed for Marketing – Honorable Mention............................. 36


HP Promotions Newsletter ............................................................................................................... 36
Creative Samples from The HP Promotions Newsletter ..................................................................... 38

Best Email Innovation - Gold ............................................................................................... 42


IBM Impact 2010 Daily Newsletter ................................................................................................... 42

Best Email Innovation - Silver .............................................................................................. 44


Olympus E-5 Product Launch Email ............................................................................................... 44
Creative Samples from the Olympus E-5 Product Launch Email ........................................................ 47

Best Email Innovation – Honorable Mention ...................................................................... 51


IDG Germany Streamlined Subscription Management .................................................................. 51
Creative Sample from IDG Germany Streamlined Subscription Management .................................... 54

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Best Integration with Other Channels - Gold ..................................................................... 55


Kodak i4000 Scanner Series Launch .............................................................................................. 55

Best Integration with Other Channels - Silver .................................................................... 56


The University of Notre Dame MBA High Flyer Program............................................................... 56
Creative Samples from The University of Notre Dame's MBA High Flyer ........................................... 58

Best Integration with Other Channels – Honorable Mention ........................................... 61


Nürburgring Automotive Turns Offline Addresses into Qualified Subscribers ......................... 61
Creative Samples from Nürburgring Automotive ................................................................................. 64

Best Personalization/Segmentation Strategy - Gold ......................................................... 67


2010 Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure........................................................................................ 67

Best Personalization/Segmentation Strategy - Silver ....................................................... 68


American Progress Prioritize and Personalize............................................................................... 68
Creative Samples from The Center for American Progress ................................................................ 71

Best Personalization/Segmentation Strategy – Honorable Mention ................................ 74


ESC Boston 2010 Attendee Marketing Campaign .......................................................................... 74
Creative Samples from the ESC Boston 2010 Attendee Marketing Campaign ................................... 76

Best Triggered Email or Auto-Responder Series - Gold ................................................... 80


Lumension Automated Nurture Campaign ..................................................................................... 80
Creative Samples from the Lumension Automated Nurture Campaign ............................................... 83

Best Triggered Email or Auto-Responder Series – Honorable Mention.......................... 88


ATP World Tour Finals Triggered Welcome Message ................................................................... 88
Creative Samples from ATP World Tour Finals Triggered Welcome Message ................................... 90

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MarketingSherpa 2011 Email Awards

FROM THE LEAD JUDGE


Dear Email Marketer,

Email may be a mature marketing channel, but marketers are hardly through trying to improve its
results and discovering new ways it can support other areas.

This year's MarketingSherpa Email Awards showcase the work of marketers who are at the top of
their field, designing email campaigns and strategies to increase relevance and boost results.

In these awards, you will find useful examples to apply to your own email programs, complete
with sample emails and results metrics. This year, entries poured in from around the world, from
companies large and small, which is reflected in our list of winners.

Judging MarketingSherpa's Email Awards is a collaborative multi-step process that involves


identifying the best entries, debating their merits and, finally, issuing awards. This year, we're
featuring analysis from the lead judge in each category to better underline why we selected each
winner.

But, of course, the bulk of the insight in this book comes from the award-winning marketers from
across the world, who were kind enough to take the time and effort to share their
groundbreaking work. So, we’ve included, and only slightly edited, these submissions to give you
a sense of what we saw. And, most importantly, so you can learn from your high-performing
peers.

Many thanks to all of our entrants – winners and non-winners alike – for making this year's Email
Awards so difficult to judge.

Sincerely,

Adam T. Sutton
Senior Reporter
MarketingSherpa, a MECLABS Company

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BEST OF SHOW - B2B


Kodak i4000 Scanner Series Launch

Entrant: Robyn Federman, Catalyst


Audience: B2B

Why They Won:

Marketers frequently test how email – an effective marketing channel on its own – can achieve
stronger results by incorporating other assets. Kodak's marketers took this concept and ran with it
to launch their new i4000 Series Scanners.

The campaign included an email message with personalized URLs, as well as follow-up emails to
non-responders, direct mail, a microsite, triggered emails and other tactics. The campaign
achieved an astounding 23% lead rate and showed how a comprehensive marketing strategy with
a large email component can drive fantastic results.

- Lead Judge: Adam T. Sutton, Senior Reporter, MECLABS Primary Research

From Their Nomination Form:

Challenge: Launching Kodak’s groundbreaking i4000 Series Scanners

- Generate excitement pre-launch and create awareness in the marketplace


- Present the value proposition and engage prospects pre- and post- launch
- Create a disruption in the marketplace
- Competitively differentiate the product
- Present compelling offers to drive response
- Identify near-term sales opportunities and distribute to the channel immediately
- Nurture prospects without immediate needs through the sales cycle

Target Audience: Document/content management, IT and purchasing in paper-intensive


industries, including finance/banking/insurance, healthcare, government, legal.

Solution: Integrated multi-channel program focusing on business benefits and plug-and-play ease
of use, branded as innovative and "smart."

 Teaser pre-launch and launch emails with PURLs


 Reminder emails to non-responders
 Full-color mail
 Content-rich microsite with third party industry news, educational material, product
offers, video, and a free, downloadable independent report
 Triggered emails to microsite registrants

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 Mobile -friendly microsite and opt-in for mobile updates


 Share links to social media, including Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter
 Online banners
 Reseller "campaign in a box" with email and mail templates and website bug
 Customer-centric lead nurturing program:
 Monthly e-based and mail-based communications to prospects not currently in the
market (unique versions based on type and level of engagement)
 Continuous fresh, relevant microsite content, including third-party research
 Streamlined, database-driven process to push leads along sales pipeline
 Lead scoring

This campaign is an outstanding example of how to properly integrate email with other channels
to successfully launch a new product. The program synched email with direct mail, a microsite,
social media and lead nurturing. The creative was integrated, the strategy was integrated, and
most importantly, the results were phenomenal by any metrics – not just opens and
clickthroughs, but site engagement and sales leads generated.

Results:

 23% lead rate


 Extremely high site engagement:
o 1 in 2 mail direct mail respondents who visited the site filled out a form
o 1 in 3 email respondents who visited the site filled out a form
o Average page views - 5.7 out of 6
o Average time on site - more than three minutes
o Less than 1% bounce rate

Clickthrough rate outperformed industry benchmark for purchased offer-based: 3.7%


clickthrough vs. industry benchmark of 2.5%.

Recognition:

Person Recognized Organization Job Title

Frank Magnera Catalyst Account Team Leader

Damir Saracevic Catalyst Director, Digital Marketing

Chris Zirbel Catalyst Senior Account Manager

Justin Morelli Catalyst Digital Analyst – UX

Kathy Levine Catalyst Copywriter

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Tony Lang Catalyst Marketing Analyst

David Laney Catalyst Search Analyst

Rui Da Costa Catalyst Digital Specialist

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CREATIVE SAMPLES FROM THE KODAK I4000 SCANNER SERIES LAUNCH

Email

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Landing Page 2

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Email Performance Chart

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Print ad

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BEST OF SHOW - B2C


2010 Susan G. Komen Global Race for the Cure

Entrant: Jillian Schranz, Event360


Audience: B2C

Why They Won:

Of all the submissions, this entry demonstrated the best overall personalization and segmentation
strategy. By using data analysis from previous years they gained a keen understanding of their
audience which helped them segment messages based on affiliation, attitude and behavior.

The results were astounding, even with fewer participants from the previous year the Susan G.
Komen foundation was able to raise more money. This challenges the old adage that more
participants should lead to higher fundraising dollars.

- Lead Judge: Justin Bridegan, Marketing Manager, MECLABS Primary Research

From Their Nomination Form:

The goal of the email campaign was to motivate the Susan G. Komen Global Race for the Cure®
participants to solicit donations on behalf of Susan G. Komen for the Cure. While Komen Global
Race participants pay a nominal registration fee, they have no fundraising minimum for
participation. Therefore, one of the main functions of the email campaign is not only to remind
participants that it is a fundraising event, but also to demonstrate how their fundraising will
literally "make an impact" in the National Capital area and around the world. The overall
fundraising goal for the event was $3.5 million.

What makes the email campaign for the Susan G. Komen Global Race for the Cure® special is that
the segmentation and personalization reflect a thorough understanding of the audience, which
was informed by a deliberative and exhaustive analysis of past years’ fundraising data. As
mentioned above, the large audience of event participants was segmented according to team
affiliation, attitude (responses to questions regarding a willingness to fund-raise), behavior
(interaction with the website) and current fundraising performance.

Results:

Remarkably, the 2010 Susan G. Komen Global Race for the Cure® raised more money with fewer
total participants than in 2009. This outcome challenges the assumption that the total number of
event participants is the most important predictor of fundraising success.

Segmentation: Fundraising Performance


The examination of the previous years’ fundraising performance led to the discovery of a plateau
or clustering of individual fundraising performance at around $275, which supported the tiered

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segmentation based on fundraising performance: those who have raised between $1 and $274
and those so-called "Power Fundraisers" who have raised over $275. There was a third
fundraising group that comprised participants who had yet to start their fundraising. The
messaging to each of the groups was, therefore, tailored to acknowledge their fundraising efforts
and motivate them to raise more money for the cause.

Segmentation: Behavior
The prior year’s data also told us that participants who utilized their online Participant Centers
raised more funds than their counterparts who did not. Consequently, we created content for this
campaign that was conditional based on whether or not participants had made use of their
Participant Center. Those that had not used their Participant Centers received messaging that
gently encouraged them to make use of the Participant Center. For those that had used the
Participant Center, they received messaging that acknowledged their active use of the Participant
Center and highlighted certain fundraising tools that could further enhance their fundraising
performance.

Segmentation: Attitude
The very simple question on the registration form asked registrants if they were willing to
fundraise for the event. They were give three choices: yes, no and maybe. By using the segments
based on these responses, we were able to create blended groups, such as those who said "yes"
to fundraising, but had a zero or low fundraising balance. Such a group would receive messaging
that was calibrated to reflect their willingness to fundraise, but also their reluctance on how to go
about it. Such a group would be offered simpler, more achievable steps or methods than
someone who has already had some fundraising success.

Segmentation: Team Affiliation


One of the things that we look for in fundraising data is the indicator or predictor of fundraising
performance. Through our data analysis, we found a strong correlation between team
membership and increased fundraising. We found an even greater correlation between team
captains and fundraising. Thus, we created a completely separate track of email communication
catering just to team captains. Captains received their own team captain updates that gave them
the motivation and tools necessary to create a cohesive fundraising unit. This communication also
acknowledged and recognized their enthusiasm and willingness to take on a leadership role.

Results:

Remarkably, the 2010 Susan G. Komen Global Race for the Cure® raised more money with fewer
total participants than in 2009. This outcome challenges the assumption that the total number of
event participants is the most important predictor of fundraising success.

Recognition:

Person Recognized Organization Job Title


Jennifer Segall Susan G. Komen for the Cure Manager, Events

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CREATIVE SAMPLES FOR THE SUSAN G. KOMEN GLOBAL RACE FOR THE CURE

Email #1

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Email #2

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Team Captain Email

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BEST EMAIL LIST GROWTH CAMPAIGN - GOLD


Dingo Join My Mailing List Campaign

Entrant: Jenny Viscarolasa, Constant Contact


Audience: B2C

Why They Won:

You don’t need to be a dog lover to love this email campaign. We liked that this campaign used
social media in a fun but highly effective way to grow their opt-in email list. How did they do it?
Dingo promised that the first 5,000 Facebook followers to join their group would receive a $20
coupon redeemable at DingoBrand.com. However, no one would receive the coupon until the
Facebook "Like" totals reached 5,000.

In just three days the goal was met. Better yet, monthly sales increased 22%, with roughly half of
that number attributed to new customers. The rollout of this campaign resulted in a 48% list
growth in six months.

We also liked that the email was clean, easy to scan and the Facebook logo was strategically
placed to pull you into the details of the program. Plus, who can resist the cute dog at the top of
the email?

- Lead Judge: Todd W. Lebo, Senior Director of Content & Business Development,
MECLABS Primary Research

From Their Nomination Form:

Dingo Brand’s 2010 Join My Mailing List Campaign was directed towards an audience of both
current and prospective customers. With this campaign, the company wanted to engage current
customers and encourage them to sign up for its email promotions, while also spreading its brand
message to a larger community of dog lovers.

The immediate goals were two-fold. First, through the use of Constant Contact's Join My Mailing
List Facebook Application, Dingo hoped to garner a significant amount of new subscribers to their
already sizeable email list.

Secondly, Dingo enticed current customers and Facebook followers to share information about
the campaign with their own networks in an attempt to make the brand go viral. With research
showing that once a customer buys, they almost always buy again, this campaign was a low-cost
effort to engage these new prospects to become first-time buyers.

As a means to entice current and prospective customers to join its mailing list, Dingo promised
that the first 5,000 Facebook followers to join would receive a $20 coupon redeemable at
DingoBrand.com. The catch? No one would receive the coupon until Dingo Brand’s Facebook

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"Like" reached 5,000 (they started with only 330 "Likes"). Once the 5,000 number was reached,
the coupon would be emailed to customers (hence the need to provide an email address). This
caveat is similar to those employed by group discount sites such as Groupon, which makes daily
deals contingent upon a minimum number of buyers.

Results:

Dingo’s Facebook page went form a mere 330 "Likes" to more than 5,000 "Likes" in just three
days. What impact did this have on the company's bottom line? Dingo’s monthly sales increased
22%, with roughly half of that number attributed to new customers.

Perhaps the most impressive take away from this campaign was the tremendous list growth that
Dingo Brand was able to achieve. When the organization began its campaign in July, it had a
subscriber count of a little more than 14,000. In a six-month time period, the number of email
contacts grew by approximately 48%, and Dingo currently holds the record for the largest number
of Join My Mailing List adds via Constant Contact’s Facebook application.

Lastly, Dingo Brand’s integration of social media and email marketing produced an email
subscriber list with an extremely low attrition. As a result, Dingo Brand has been able to increase
its brand awareness and retain a large audience of interested email subscribers who continue to
produce a steady 27% email campaign open rate.

Recognition:

Person Recognized Organization Job Title


Mike Halloran Dingo Brand Online Marketing Manager

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CREATIVE SAMPLES FOR THE DINGO JOIN MY MAILING LIST CAMPAIGN

Newsletter

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Opt-in Page

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BEST EMAIL LIST GROWTH CAMPAIGN - SILVER


ATOUT FRANCE and Avis, "Way to Nice" Competition

Entrant: Tim Wiengarten, rabbit eMarketing, Sinn von Graeve GmbH


Audience: B2C

Why They Won:

Avis and ATOUT FRANCE wanted to drive list growth (sorry, couldn’t resist the pun) and came up
with a clever and effective campaign to increase subscribers by having participants compete on a
virtual road trip from Germany to France. To move from town to town on this virtual trip, you
needed to recruit new players to help you.

One month after the campaign launch, Avis grew their list by 2% and ATOUT FRANCE by 4%. We
liked the clean email design and how the fun creative was so closely tied to the services provided
by Avis and ATOUT FRANCE.

- Lead Judge: Todd W. Lebo, Senior Director of Content & Business Development,
MECLABS Primary Research

From Their Nomination Form:

The aim of the campaign organizers Avis and ATOUT FRANCE was to add to the email distribution
list in each case. Within the framework of the cooperation, both partners wanted to benefit from
the potentials of the address distribution list of the other. In addition, the competition was also
intended to gain new newsletter subscribers that had never been on either of the two distribution
lists before. To motivate people to take part, Avis Germany and ATOUT FRANCE provided trips to
all five destination towns as competition prizes.

The campaign stands out because its main objective – generating addresses – was not tackled
within the framework of the competition. On the contrary, addresses were generated almost
incidentally when participants recruited "passengers" from their circle of friends and
acquaintances, who in turn became newsletter recipients through their participation.

After its launch, more than 1,500 people registered to take part in the competition within the first
week. After a month, registrations numbered 1,931. During this time, participants sent 543
further recommendations by email (28 % of the participants sent emails); the competition
cropped up in 301 Facebook profiles and was posted on Facebook by 16 % of the participants.

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Recognition:

Person Recognized Organization Job Title

rabbit eMarketing Sinn von


Katrin Forster Senior Customer Advisor
Graeve GmbH

rabbit eMarketing Sinn von


Alexander Kobler Graphic Designer
Graeve GmbH

rabbit eMarketing Sinn von


Torsten Burgmaier Copy and Concept
Graeve GmbH

Avis Autovermientung GmbH &


Anna Kraher E-Commerce Specialist
Co KG

Avis Autovermientung GmbH &


Klaus Tusche Director of Marketing
Co KG

Karine LoberKlause ATOUT FRANCE - French Tourism


Head of Marketing
Tusche Development Agency

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CREATIVE SAMPLES FROM THE ATOUT FRANCE AND AVIS "WAY TO NICE" CAMPAIGN

Homepage

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Invitation

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Commendation

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Email

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BEST EMAIL LIST GROWTH CAMPAIGN – HONORABLE MENTION


Railey Mountain Lake Vacations Re-engagement

Entrant: Eric Taylor, Blue Tent Marketing


Audience: B2C

Why They Won:

Maybe the best way to describe the strategy in this campaign comes for Monty Python and "I’m
not quite dead yet."

The goal of the Railey Mountain marketing team was to find out if the inactive subscribers on
their list were dead wood or did they just need a friendly reminder about their company. We liked
the "We’ve Missed You" headline, the incentive to re-engage, and the clear call to action. It is also
refreshing to see the notice at the bottom that tells the recipient that if they take no action, they
will be removed from the list.

The results: Unique open rates have increased 35%, unique clickthrough rates have raised 60%,
and they were able to track $50,000 in revenue. As a bonus, expenses were cut $160 per month.
This shows that creative thinking is "not quite dead yet" in email marketing!

- Lead Judge: Todd W. Lebo, Senior Director of Content & Business Development,
MECLABS Primary Research

From Their Nomination Form:

Our goal was to re-engage inactive subscribers and trimming deadwood for an overall healthy list.
In addition to keeping the email list healthy by trimming the deadwood, we increased unique
open and clickthrough rates while improving ROI... all while cutting monthly costs.

Results:

[Since launch] our unique open rates have increased 35% and unique clickthrough rates have
raised 60%. We were able to track $50,000 in revenue from Google Analytics tags. By cutting
inactive subscribers, we cut $160 per month.

Recognition:

Person Recognized Organization Job Title


Eric Taylor Blue Tent Marketing Email Project Manager
Jennifer Durben Railey Mountain Lake Vacations Marketing Coordinator

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CREATIVE SAMPLES FROM RAILEY MOUNTAIN LAKE VACATIONS RE-ENGAGEMENT

Approach Email

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Results

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BEST EMAIL NEWSLETTER DESIGNED FOR MARKETING - GOLD


Marriott Rewards eNewsletter

Entrant: Soren Schneider, Epsilon


Audience: B2C

Why They Won:

A well-designed email newsletter keeps its audience interested and engaged so readers are more
responsive to advertising and marketing offers. Marriott's marketers win this year's gold by
ensuring its new Rewards eNewsletter would meet these goals by working hard to get it right
before launch.

The team used focus groups, surveys and analysis to guide its efforts and crafted a design with 12
sections of personalized content. The strategy helped ensure the team's newsletter would be
highly relevant to its audience and ultimately resulted in 25% more revenue per email delivered.

- Lead Judge: Adam T. Sutton, Senior Reporter, MECLABS Primary Research

From Their Nomination Form:

When Marriott embarked upon a refresh of their monthly Marriott Rewards eNewsletter, the goal
was simple – create a communication that is a "must-read" for time-crunched travelers. To deliver
on this high standard, Marriott created highly relevant content, served it up dynamically-based on
strategic insights into customer needs, and presented it in a contemporary and concise format.

The Marriott Rewards eNews campaign boosted metrics across the board. By deepening the
customer relationship, Marriott also increased the results – eNews is by far Marriott’s top
revenue-driving email program.

While the goal for eNews was relatively simple, the path to get there was complex. Working to
create the right blend of timing, targeting, creative and strategy, Marriott exceeded their goals by
giving members what they wanted: personally relevant content in an easy-to-use, informative
format delivered in a timely manner.

Marriott launched the redesigned Marriott Rewards eNewsletter campaign in February of this
year. The new design offers a cleaner, more modern read with an optimal balance of images and
text. Beyond the improved aesthetics, scan-ability and relevancy of the Marriott Rewards eNews
redesign (garnering many positive comments from users), the new eNews has significantly shifted
Marriott’s campaign results, driving increases in open rate, click rate and revenue.

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Recognition:

Person Recognized Organization Job Title

Terrilyn Marriott
Senior Director, Customer Relationship Marketing
Tourangeau International

Marriott
Kristen Barletta Director, Email Marketing
International

Marriott
Beau S. Briggs Senior Manager, Email Marketing Technology
International

Marriott
Lisa Cannon Manager, Email Marketing
International

Dino Michetti Epsilon VP, Client Services, Marketing Technology

Account Director, Client Services, Marketing


Brian Cha Epsilon
Technology

Jennie Lewis Epsilon Campaign Solutions Manager

Sr. Account Manager, Client Services, Marketing


Soren Schneider Epsilon
Technology

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CREATIVE SAMPLE FROM MARRIOTT'S REWARDS ENEWSLETTER

Newsletter Redesign

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BEST EMAIL NEWSLETTER DESIGNED FOR MARKETING –


HONORABLE MENTION
The Bing Member Newsletter

Entrant: David Patton, Waggener Edstrom


Audience: B2C

Why They Won:

A silver award was not given in this category. However, two efforts stood out from the pack that
we want to highlight. The first is Bing's new member newsletter, which was designed to increase
Bing searches and long-term brand engagement by describing the search engine's features and
suggesting queries.

Although an email newsletter for a search engine might seem like a strange idea, the team
increased relevance with a probability-based content optimization tool, and subscribers were
shown to use Bing 23% more than users who did not subscribe.

- Lead Judge: Adam T. Sutton, Senior Reporter, MECLABS Primary Research

From Their Nomination Form:

The Bing member letter is distributed twice a month to 5-10 million recipients. The audience is
segmented by their level of usage of Bing. The primary goal of the member letter is to increase
the use of Bing through exposure to new features and suggested queries for cultural or thematic
decisions that the audience makes every day. Secondary goals include creating long-term brand
engagement and advocacy through social media, cause initiatives and adoption of secondary tools
that support Bing.

We began the program in May 2010 with a two-month trial where tone, design and call-to-actions
were vigorously tested. In August, we closed on a format and voice and began distributing the
version you see now.

Content is optimized on both an issue-by-issue basis and in real-time to maximize impact with the
different Bing usage segments. Real-time optimization is managed through a probability and
content interaction optimization tool.

The Bing member letter exposes Bing customers to the unexpected. Its unique format introduces
people to new features and drives user education specifically through Bing queries. Every link is a
unique query, sometimes providing unexpected results. Queries are chosen to show the breadth
of topics and multiple ways to find information quickly and display it in a useful manner to aid in
decisions. All of this is presented in a format that extends the Bing brand experience.

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Subtle techniques help drive engagement examples include the use of humor, creating moments
of surprise, enabling social sharing at the content level and providing call to action options that
are often extreme opposites of each other.

Results:

Performance is measured in two primary areas:

• Immediate results such as opens, clicks, shares, etc.


• Follow on activity and Bing usage over time.

The newsletter open rate and engagement levels are significantly higher than industry averages.
In addition to driving immediate engagement, users who receive the Bing member letter increase
their regular usage of Bing. In tests, recipients of the newsletter use Bing 23% more than those
who did not receive it.

Since its inception in May, the Bing Member letter has directly driven more the 14,000 followers
on Twitter and Facebook. The success of the program has helped drive growing interest internally
in email marketing for Bing programs. The executive team has approved a series of new email
initiatives for FY2011 and there is a backlog of requests for content inclusion in the member
letter.

Recognition:

Person Recognized Organization Job Title

Kerry Godes Microsoft Corp. Group Marketing Manager

Briana Wardstrom Microsoft Corp. Email Marketing Manager

Kevin Murphy Waggener Edstrom Digital Experience Director

Kate Sojda Waggener Edstrom Project Manager

Chad Brokaw Waggener Edstrom Sr. Project Manager

Cari Lyle Waggener Edstrom Copywriter

Therese Bartolini Waggener Edstrom Art Director

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CREATIVE SAMPLES FROM THE BING MEMBER NEWSLETTER

Newsletter #1

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Newsletter #2

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Newsletter #3

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BEST EMAIL NEWSLETTER DESIGNED FOR MARKETING –


HONORABLE MENTION
HP Promotions Newsletter

Entrant: Charles Nystrom, Pepper Global


Audience: B2B

Why They Won:

HP's updated Promotions newsletter included dynamic targeting elements based on Web
browsing, email-based behavioral data and pre-selected interest categories. This ensured
subscribers received relevant offers and information catered to their business needs.

Although the program is in its infancy, new targeting, along with the creative redesign helped
drive 65% more engaged subscribers and 70% more traffic to HP's site (more results below).

- Lead Judge: Adam T. Sutton, Senior Reporter, MECLABS Primary Research

From Their Submission Form:

HP Promotions Newsletter is a subscription-based promotional email program, which was


redesigned and re-launched in November 2010. The redesign better highlights HP’s unique
promotional offers using a multi-touch delivery strategy directed at both the Small and Medium
Business and Public Sector market segments.

Newsletter sends are dynamic, based on a subscriber’s preferences, interests, and purchase or
Web browsing history. Small and medium business subscribers may receive up to seven unique
newsletters per month, while Public Sector subscribers may receive up to two separate versions.

As a pilot campaign building off an already successful newsletter, the redesign allows for more
flexibility in the use and placement of product shots, multi-link functionality, social media
integration, cross-sell and up-sell opportunities, among other key benefits.

The dynamic targeting elements of the newsletter (based on Web browsing and clickthrough
behavioral data, as well as pre-selected interest categories) ensure that subscribers receive offers
and information catered to their unique business needs – providing more relevant content,
increasing clickthrough rates, and decreasing opt-out and abuse rates.

Results:

Although the program is in its infancy, new targeting, along with the creative redesign, have
produced the following positive results:

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• The 11/04 and 11/09 HP Promotion campaigns have already generated well over a 1%
CTR, and an aggregate CTR 2x higher than the previous month (versus 0.66% OCT).
• Although delivered volumes were slightly down 3.7M (versus 4.4M OCT), the number of
engaged subscribers rose 65% and, more significantly, traffic generated is up 70%.
• Based on Omniture data, interim direct Web revenue has risen substantially – by more
than 5.5x ($423K versus only $63K in OCT).
• The HP Promotions Black Friday campaign was delivered to 3,963,986 Small and Medium
Business subscribers and generated a 2.14% CTR and nearly 93,000 in traffic. The Public
Sector campaign was delivered to 224,301 subscribers and generated a 2.45% CTR and
6.6K in traffic.

Recognition:

Person Recognized Organization Job Title


Charles Nystrom Pepper Global Account Manager
Andrea Breunlin Pepper Global Creative Designer
Bradley Dornick Pepper Global Senior Account Manager
Krisha Andrew HP Manager, Email Marketing Programs - HP

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CREATIVE SAMPLES FROM THE HP PROMOTIONS NEWSLETTER

ESS Campaign

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NIT Campaign

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Day Campaign

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BEST EMAIL INNOVATION - GOLD


IBM Impact 2010 Daily Newsletter

Entrant: Mary Forlenza, IBM AIM Marketing


Audience: B2B

Why They Won:

Email is a mature marketing channel – but marketers have not finished discovering new and
interesting ways to improve its uses and performance. IBM's idea to turn its print publication for
event attendees into a short-lived email newsletter wins gold in this category.

The daily mailings featured highlights from the previous day's sessions, kept attendees notified of
schedule changes, and offered other benefits. The result was a more useful newsletter that saved
money, time and paper – a truly great idea.

- Lead Judge: Adam T. Sutton, Senior Reporter, MECLABS Primary Research

From Their Nomination Form:

The Impact 2010 Daily E-Newsletter catered to registrants at Impact 2010, IBM's premier
conference for business and IT leaders. The conference brings together customers and prospects
to interact and hear from top technical experts, business executives and analysts. With more
than 6,000 registrants at the 2010 event, IBM recognized the value of real-time communication
and keeping our audience informed of key sessions, activities and news items.

Goals:
• Reach all attendees
• Increase awareness of Impact social media
• Create interactive newsletter
• Make accessible to mobile devices
• Reduce costs and waste
• Simplify distribution

Distributing the newsletter as an email allowed greater reach and availability. The e-newsletter
was sent out by email each day of the Impact 2010 event in Las Vegas to Impact registrants, who
agreed to receive such communications. This year’s newsletter informed attendees of key
sessions and daily activities right from their inbox. Each day’s newsletter featured highlights from
the previous day’s opening session. One of the most useful features for Impact attendees was
that the newsletter could inform them of session changes in real time.

Another benefit of an HTML format was that it enabled the newsletter to be interactive and
render in all email environments. This ensured that it could be viewed in various browsers on
mobile devices as easily as on computers. The interactive element allowed the newsletter to link

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to social media activity, event sponsor websites and daily updates. Interactivity meant we could
take full advantage of social media to drive attendance at certain events and get attendee
feedback. The newsletter directed readers to Social at Impact, a social media aggregator including
event blogs, Tweets, photos and videos.

The transition to an e-newsletter represents IBM’s commitment to environmental sustainability


and highlights the importance we place on keeping our clients and business partners informed.
The e-newsletter was integrated with the social media aggregator to keep registrants informed
through the communications vehicles they prefer to use.

Results:

We produced a newsletter that was more useful to Impact registrants, while saving money, time
and paper in the process.

The event blog that the newsletter linked to had 6,400 page views during the event. Social at
Impact had over 3,100 views in the first three days of Impact, 121 social profiles were registered
and 48 blog feeds were registered. Information shared through social media extended the
conference by more than 3,500 attendees who watched videos of key sessions posted on the
Impact YouTube channel.

The cost to print and distribute the previous Impact 2009 Daily Newsletter was more than
$11,000, while the cost of the 2010 printed newsletters was only 10% of that. Distributing the
newsletter through email eliminated printing costs, distribution costs and paper waste. This data
not only represents a substantial cost and paper savings, but also a considerable time savings. We
succeeded in continuing to produce an informative newsletter while simultaneously reducing
costs and waste.

Recognition:

Person Recognized Organization Job Title


Ally Klopsch IBM AIM Marketing Marketing Communications Manager
Mary Forlenza IBM AIM Marketing AIM Marketing Manager, Writer
Melissa Polizzotto IBM AIM Marketing AIM Marketing Manager, Planner
Jeremy Christian Design Source HTML Design

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BEST EMAIL INNOVATION - SILVER


Olympus E-5 Product Launch Email

Entrant: James Harper, Olympus Corporation of the Americas


Audience: B2C

Why They Won:

We awarded silver to marketers at Olympus who used a sideways-scrolling email to announce the
launch of a new digital camera. The team went above and beyond the typical promotional email
by urging recipients to scroll sideways through the high-quality images and testimonial quotes
from professional photographers talking about the new camera. A "hero shot" of the camera was
reserved for the final panel

The unique and high-quality design appealed to the audience's creative tastes and achieved a
41.2% click-to-open rate. The campaign shows that a promotion email does not have to be just
another promotional email.

- Lead Judge: Adam T. Sutton, Senior Reporter, MECLABS Primary Research

From Their Nomination Form:

The goal of this campaign was to announce the launch of the E-5, our new flagship digital SLR
camera in a creative and memorable email. Because the E-5 digital SLR is aimed at high-end
camera users, we decided to target a specific portion of our list rather than blast all subscribers
with information about this new flagship product. This email was sent to:

1) Targeted owners of specific E-System/Digital SLR cameras, and registered lens owners
2) Subscribers (camera owners and non-owners) who showed an interest in professional
DSLRs either through past behavior or specifically defined preferences.

Of the two audiences, the lists made up of owners of specific camera models performed best.
Subscribers included Olympus customers in the US and Canada.

This was one of our favorite campaigns of the year and was the first time that we sent a wide-
format, horizontal scrolling email to our subscribers. This email was a result of our desire to think
"out of the box" in order to promote the launch of the new digital SLR camera, the E-5. Because
we knew the audience for this camera would be both 1) creative and 2) highly interested in the
product, we felt we could take a chance and be more creative with this campaign.

Rather than simply showing the new camera in the first part, or panel, of the email, we chose to
use quotes from professional photographers to explain the features and benefits of the camera
throughout the email. The full hero shot of the new E-5 digital SLR was reserved for the final panel
of the email. We also incorporated subtle animation in the first panel of the email ("scroll right"

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arrows).

This email pushed the design and coding skills of our team forward as we worked to ensure
compatibility with multiple email clients, screen resolutions, and even mobile devices like the
iPhone and iPad. Things learned during the coding of this email have since made a positive impact
on our more traditional emails.

Results:

The following results were calculated using the combined totals of the emails sent to audiences in
the US and Canada (not including any small test sends to lists not included in the agreed-upon
audience targets).

 Delivered*: 45,001
 Unique Opened*: 51% of total delivered (22,945 recipients opened)
 Unique Clicked*: 21% of total delivered (9,446 recipients clicked)
 Click-to-Open Rate (CTO)*: 41.2% of those who opened also clicked.

[* There was small overlap in the US list not accounted for in the metrics. Accounting for
the overlap would lower total unique deliveries, raising all reported rates by 1% or less. If
necessary, more exact results can be provided on request.]

The email itself performed very well as evidenced by the results reported above. Targeting
specific audiences with this email led to very high open, clickthrough and CTO rates.

 First Panel Notable Clicks: 44.5% of total notable clickthroughs


 Olympus Visionary (Pro Camera Users) Quotes: 29.3% of total notable clickthroughs
 Final Panel with camera hero shot and Call to Action: 26.2% of total notable clickthroughs

Recognition:

Person
Organization Job Title
Recognized
Olympus Corporation of the Interactive Marketing Analyst, Corporate
James Harper
Americas Creative Services
Olympus Corporation of the
Richard Pelkowski Product Manager, Digital SLR
Americas
Olympus Corporation of the
John Knaur Senior Marketing Manager, Digital SLR
Americas
Christopher Olympus Corporation of the Sr. Graphic Designer, Corporate Creative
McGinnis Americas Services
Olympus Corporation of the Creative Manager, Corporate Creative
Ryan Smedstad
Americas Services

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Olympus Corporation of the Associate Web Developer, Corporate


Sean Metzgar
Americas Creative Services
Olympus Corporation of the Manager, Internet Marketing, Corporate
Francisco Rosario
Americas Creative Services
Olympus Corporation of the
Scott Hennessy Director, Corporate Creative Services
Americas

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CREATIVE SAMPLES FROM THE OLYMPUS E-5 PRODUCT LAUNCH EMAIL

Scrolling Page Part 1

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Scrolling Page Part 2

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Scrolling Page Part 3

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Scrolling Page Part 4

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BEST EMAIL INNOVATION – HONORABLE MENTION


IDG Germany Streamlined Subscription Management

Entrant: Sebrus Berchtenbreiter, Promio.Net GmbH


Audience: B2C

Why They Won:

We give an honorable mention to the effort at IDG Germany that made unsubscribing easier for
its audience. Some less-than-ethical marketers might describe such an effort as undermining their
lists' size – but simplifying this process helps keep subscribers happy and lists responsive. Also, as
this team's effort shows, you might be surprised by your subscription numbers.

By merging its separate subscription management pages for each newsletter into a single page,
IDG Germany simplified the process for deleting or adding subscriptions. This resulted in a 3%
increase in subscriptions per subscriber.

- Lead Judge: Adam T. Sutton, Senior Reporter, MECLABS Primary Research

From Their Nomination Form:

IDG addresses computer and technology interested users and professionals. The various print,
online, and mobile publications or events reach out to IT beginners, intermediates, and
professionals. The following presentation mostly concerns the six circled target groups.

IDG Magazine Media GmbH publishes 51 different newsletters. In the past, readers who clicked
on the unsubscribe button in a newsletter were only able to sign off that particular newsletter.
Each publication had its own sign-off page. Hence, (un-)subscription processes were not
transparent and tested reader's patience. Cross-marketing of the newsletters was not possible
unless explicitly promoted in the newsletters.

Promio.net offered to merge IDG's different sign-off pages into one site that allowed the users to
manage their subscriptions for all the newsletters on one single page.

Customer perspective:

• Easy sign-on/off
• Change of personal data, email address
• Clearly arranged administration site
• Comfortable holiday/vacation function

IDG perspective:

• Effective CRM tool

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• Cross-promoting newsletters more intensive customer contact due to a higher


contact frequency
• Less workload for the customer service
• Database cleaning and consolidation better address quality
• Double opt-in process: legally secure email opt-ins

Empowering the reader:

• Readers can chose from all the newsletters, not just the one they initially signed up for
• Subscribers can classify themselves; no assumptions about readers' interest are made.

Transparency:

• (Un)subscription processes are much more transparent. Data protection is a sensitive


topic in Germany. Valid double opt-ins and customer satisfaction are extremely
important.
• Cross-marketing
• Newsletters are easily cross-promoted with the SelfManager without much effort.
• New newsletter lists can be built without buying addresses first.

Results:

After the SelfManager was introduced in late November, the database developed as follows
during the first week:

• The number of addresses has not changed much (+0.7%).


• Although the SelfManager has only been online for a few days, the number of
subscriptions per subscriber has been increased by 3%.

Subscribers still use the SelfManager to unsubscribe. But it becomes obvious that two effects are
to be taken into account

• People unsubscribe database cleaning


• People subscribe to more than one subscription increasing contact frequency,
more information about reader interest

From all the users who have used the SelfManager so far, different activities were tracked:

• 29% changed their user data


• 46% changed their subscriptions
• 10% used the holiday function
• 15% have not changed anything at all

After only a few days, a 3% increase of subscriptions/subscriber was realized. In the future:

• All new addresses will be lead to the SelfManager site,


• SelfManager will be further promoted in the newsletter footers.

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Recognition:

Person Recognized Organization Job Title


Ralf Engler promio.net Managing Director
Jenny Quade promio.net Project Manager
Manuela Eue IDG Magazine Media GmbH Marketing Coordination
Melanie Koch IDG Magazine Media GmbH Marketing

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CREATIVE SAMPLE FROM IDG GERMANY STREAMLINED SUBSCRIPTION MANAGEMENT

Manager Site

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BEST INTEGRATION WITH OTHER CHANNELS - GOLD


Kodak i4000 Scanner Series Launch

Entrant: Robyn Federman, Catalyst


Audience: B2B

*Please see Best of Show winners for analysis*

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BEST INTEGRATION WITH OTHER CHANNELS - SILVER


The University of Notre Dame MBA High Flyer Program

Entrant: Steve Bennett, Scope 1 Marketing Technologies


Audience: B2C

Why They Won:

This category's silver award goes to the University of Notre Dame's MBA High Flyer Program,
which used a simplified marketing plan with fewer touches that nearly doubled the results. The
campaign launched with a direct mailing that included a URL to a personalized microsite and
incorporated an automated three-email series to remind non-responders of the opportunity.

The first emailed reminder convinced 3.9% of the audience to fill out a registration page, and the
two subsequent reminders built on that figure. Ultimately the effort converted 8.5% of the
audience into unique leads. This campaign shows that even when email is not the primary channel
used to launch a campaign, it can be used to support other channels and improve results.

- Lead Judge: Adam T. Sutton, Senior Reporter, MECLABS Primary Research

From Their Nomination Form:

This campaign shows the power of taking the time to plan an integrated campaign. Higher
Education search campaigns for potential students typically utilize upwards of three to five direct
mail touches and often up to ten email touches.

Consulting with the School of Business Admissions Department and the University’s Marketing
Department led to the creation of a custom integrated campaign that streamlined communication
and interaction between potential students and admissions. The integrated channels provided
consistent, relevant messages for each individual offline and online.

Based on the potential student’s choices, further tailoring of copy, creative, and links back to
relevant nd.edu sub-domains were provided to each lead. All enhanced lead information and
campaign statistics were provided to the University automatically, and the University was able to
start a very warm conversation.

Opening the campaign offline with direct mail announced the opportunity to a highly targeted
group. Implementing best practices for the call to action, creative and copy boosted clickthrough.
Providing the appropriate style of personalized URL (pURL) microsite reduced friction and gave
prospects easy access to relevant benefits and interaction with the University.

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Through this campaign, the University was able to touch people on and offline with a campaign
that provided results far beyond their expectations; results nearly twice the industry standard
with less than half of the normal touches.

Results:

Total Population Response Rate:


18.4% Clickthrough to Personalized Web Page

• Phase 1: Direct Mail Response Rate 3.7%


• Phase 2: Email Follow-up Response Rate 9.7%
• Phase 3: 2nd Email Follow-up Response Rate 3.5%
• Phase 4: 3rd Email Follow-up Response Rate 1.5%

Total Population Unique Leads:


8.5% Completed Priority Candidate Registration Page

• Phase 1: Direct Mail Unique Leads 2.3%


• Phase 2: Email Follow-up Unique Leads: 3.9%
• Phase 3: 2nd Email Follow-up Unique Leads 1.0%
• Phase 4: 3rd Email Follow-up Unique Leads 1.3%

Lead Conversion Rate of Personalized Web Page


46% Clickthrough to Priority Candidate Registrant Leads

• Phase 1: Direct Mail Response to Lead Conversion Rate 61.5%


• Phase 2: Email Follow-up Response to Lead Conversion Rate 40.9%
• Phase 3: 2nd Email Follow-up Response to Lead Conversion Rate 30.0%
• Phase 4: 3rd Email Follow-up Response to Lead Conversion Rate 90.0%

Recognition:

Person Recognized Organization Job Title


Steven Bennett Scope 1 Marketing Technologies VP, Marketing - Higher Education
Brian Lohr University of Notre Dame Director of MBA Admissions
Bill Gangluff University of Notre Dame Director of Marketing & Web Strategies
Melissa Fryman Scope 1 Marketing Technologies Variable Data Programmer
Kevin Smith Scope 1 Marketing Technologies Director of Information Services

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CREATIVE SAMPLES FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME'S MBA HIGH FLYER

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BEST INTEGRATION WITH OTHER CHANNELS –


HONORABLE MENTION
Nürburgring Automotive Turns Offline Addresses into
Qualified Subscribers

Entrant: Sebrus Berchtenbreiter, Promio.Net GmbH


Audience: B2C

Why They Won:

Asking subscribers to confirm registrations with a double opt-in process is a great way to build an
engaged list. We give an honorable mention to the effort at Nürburgring Automotive, which
showed that a double opt-in process can apply offline, too.

The Germany-based motorsports company offered offline prize draws to event attendees.
Participants were given the option to subscribe to the email newsletter as well as select areas of
interest -- but that opt-in information was not used for up to six months. The team tested sending
the old names an opt-in newsletter, which showed good results. The team has since established a
regular double-opt-in process for email addresses acquired offline.

- Lead Judge: Adam T. Sutton, Senior Reporter, MECLABS Primary Research

From Their Nomination Form:

The Nürburgring Automotive GmbH is a motorsport company based in Nürburg, Germany. Since
summer 2010 the company uses promio.mail for newsletter optimization and delivery as an ASP
solution including a newsletter template, automatic target groups, and address generation forms.

Since May 2010 Nürburgring offers special offline prize draws to its visitors. When filling out the
registration card the participants are given the option to subscribe to the email newsletter as well
as pick some areas of interest; the information was not further used. All the participants have
been to Nürburgring events, thus must be highly interested.

After restructuring the e-letter registration and design Nürburgring had the idea to reactivate the
addresses from the prize draws as newsletter recipients. In order to address the participants that
had so far only given a single opt-in for the newsletter, Nürburgring was looking for a solution to
use the data.

Promio.net and Nürburgring Automotive planned the following steps:

• Digitization of old data


• Generation of valid double opt-ins

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• Adding new opt-ins to existing newsletter lists

Even though some of the prize draws took place up to six months before the double opt-in
mailing went out, recipients were still eager to receive the newsletter. The database has been
enriched by combining offline and online activities. In Nürburgring‘s case the database was
increased by 5%!

• High-quality double opt-in addresses have been generated


• Recipients are highly interested, all have been to Nürburgring
• Qualification (full postal address, age, email and interests were entered)
• Addresses that have not been activated might still be warm or hot leads
• Exceptional conversion in spite of a long time period between offline prize draw and
double opt-in mailing
• Highly efficient (promio.net automated the whole process from importing the addresses
to mailing dispatch and registration process)

Offline address generation can be taken to the next level by including online processes. It can be
used more effectively in the future.

This process is now regularly used. New prize draw files are uploaded on a weekly basis and
immediately addressed with the double opt-in mailing. It is expected that the conversion will
increase by minimizing the time gap between receiving the address and sending out the opt-in
mailing.

Results:

The offline data was manually digitized by an external agency. The agency provided the
information in CSV files. The addresses had to be divided into three groups:

• Addresses with an opt-in


• People who had given their address but have not opted-in
• People who had neither given their address nor an opt-in

Legally, only the first group was allowed to be addressed with a mailing. German data protection
laws also suggest using the much safer double opt-in process.

The double opt-in mailing was so far sent to 1,282 participants

• An open rate of 63.26% (unique 37.99%) was achieved


• The click rate was 60.22% (unique 39%)
• 33.78% of the recipients clicked on the double opt-in link; 433 addresses wanted to
receive the newsletter.

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Recognition:

Person Recognized Organization Job Title

Ralf Engler promio.net Managing Director

Jenny Quade promio.net Project Manager

Mark Repplinger promio.net Account Manager

Nürburgring
Frank Pohl Director, Marketing and Distribution
Automotive GmbH

Nürburgring Team Leader, Direct Sales and Customer


Andre Brodrecht
Automotive GmbH Relationship Management

Nürburgring
Eva Winnen Online Media Manager
Automotive GmbH

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CREATIVE SAMPLES FROM NÜRBURGRING AUTOMOTIVE

Prize Draw Card

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Prize Draw Card 2

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Welcome Email

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BEST PERSONALIZATION/SEGMENTATION STRATEGY - GOLD


2010 Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure

Entrant: Jillian Schranz, Event360


Audience: B2C

*Please see Best of Show winners for analysis*

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BEST PERSONALIZATION/SEGMENTATION STRATEGY - SILVER


American Progress Prioritize and Personalize

Entrant: Robin Reed, The Center for American Progress


Audience: B2C

Why They Won:

This entry was chosen for demonstrating how maintaining a high quality contact list along with
sending targeted email messages to the right audience can have a huge impact. By organizing
their contacts based on priority, American Progress was able to personalize email messages
corresponding to the influence of each contact.

This micro-targeted approach resulted in highly relevant issues being delivered to highly
influential contacts. Not only were the click through and open rates higher as a result, but 82% of
those polled say they enjoyed receiving their messages.

- Lead Judge: Justin Bridegan, Marketing Manager, MECLABS Primary Research

From Their Nomination Form:

American Progress (AP) is a nonprofit think tank dedicated to improving the lives of Americans
through progressive ideas and action. We develop first-rate policy ideas, and email outreach is a
key part of our strategy for injecting those ideas into the national conversation.

Because AP is a multi-issue nonprofit organization, our audience includes people who work in
many different fields. A subscriber who works on environmental issues may not be interested in
getting updates about education policy. A progressive activist with a large and influential network
of social media followers may not be interested in our detailed analyses of the latest tax cut bill,
but she might be eager to spread the word about our new two-minute video on immigration
reform. A government agency worker might not have time to read our full report on the ins and
outs of unemployment insurance benefits, but he might want to attend an event that will share
the highlights of the report and give him an opportunity to connect with other people working on
the same issues.

For our top-priority audiences, we use a particularly complex issue-based segmentation system
that allows us to target stakeholders by more than 125 different internally-assigned issue areas.
We also segment our key audiences by priority, assigning each subscriber a label of A, B or C
corresponding to our knowledge of their influence level. These labels help us ensure that key
emails have reached the most important subscribers, and allow us to identify situations when
additional follow-ups may be needed.

We use this micro-targeted strategy to disseminate emails sharing our materials in the form of

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promotional announcements, invitations to events, newsletters, opportunities to take advocacy


actions, and other methods of advancing AP’s ideas.

As a nonprofit think tank, American Progress is in a different position than many other email
marketers. We aren’t selling a product ― we’re advancing a set of ideas through a complex
network of influential stakeholders. As a result, we’ve had to devise our own systems for reaching
our top-priority audiences and interesting them in our work.

The micro-targeted system we’ve created gives us a distinct advantage over the traditional
nonprofit organization’s email model, which focuses on sending a single stream of messages to
the same audience at the same time. Our system allows us to focus on the specific needs of key
segments of our audience, and to keep them engaged in a way that fits their particular level of
interest. It allows us to form deeper connections with individuals who are in a position to help us
achieve our core objective ― advancing progressive ideas to shape the national debate.

Results:

American Progress’ targeted email program regularly reaches nearly 45,000 targeted policy
professionals. These subscribers are segmented into more than 125 different issue-based tags, on
topics ranging from U.S. relations with Turkey to lobbying reform to bio-fuels.

Our micro-targeted policy update emails to key influential policy professionals are part of a larger
organization-wide email marketing program that is enormous in its scope, sending out nearly 14
million emails in 1,500 separate email blasts in the first two quarters of 2010 alone. The micro-
targeted policy emails component of that program includes up to 200,000 email messages sent
each month, with as many as 50 separate email blasts, along with another 100,000 micro-
targeted event invitations sent to policy professionals in 20-30 batches.

Our open and clickthrough rates on targeted policy update emails are frequently well above the
nonprofit industry e-newsletter average open rate of 14.57% and clickthrough rate of 2.78%. In
June 2010, for example, our average open rate for policy update emails sent to influential
audiences was 18.74%, and the average clickthrough rate was 3.91%.

Despite the quantity of email they already receive from AP, our subscribers report that they enjoy
receiving our emails and find them useful. A survey we conducted in spring 2010 of AP’s online
audiences found that our users are very interested in receiving email from AP: 69.2 percent say
they receive our newsletters and an additional 12.8 percent would like to (82 percent total); 36.9
percent say they receive policy update emails and 14.6 percent more would like to (51.5 percent
total).

Recognition:

Person Recognized Organization Job Title


American
Brian Komar Director of Strategic Outreach and Alliances
Progress

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American
Jean Qiao Email Marketing Assistant
Progress
Courtney Rae American
Email Marketing Senior Manager
Rawls Progress
American Associate Director of Email Marketing and
Robin Reed
Progress Audience Relations
American (former) Associate Director of Audience and
Antonia Scatton
Progress Constituent Relations
Christopher American
Constituent Relations Assistant
Semenas Progress
American
Brian Smith (former) Email Marketing Assistant
Progress

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CREATIVE SAMPLES FROM THE CENTER FOR AMERICAN PROGRESS

Email #1

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Email #2

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Email #3

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BEST PERSONALIZATION/SEGMENTATION STRATEGY –


HONORABLE MENTION
ESC Boston 2010 Attendee Marketing Campaign

Entrant: Laura Robison, UBM Electronics


Audience: B2B

Why They Won:

This entry was chosen for demonstrating a successful personalization and messaging
approach. Using filtering, custom-based messaging and geographic targeting, ESC was able to
drive an increase in email engagement, registrations, and upgrades. This was created by engaging
with their audience using personalized letters from industry experts, resulting in better messages
and real value.

- Lead Judge: Justin Bridegan, Marketing Manager, MECLABS Primary Research

From Their Nomination Form:

Embedded Systems Conference Boston is the East Coast flagship event of UBM Electronics. Both
east and west coast ESC events target the broadest segment of our audience. Electrical engineers,
developers, executives, students, and even marketing professionals are invited to attend the
event due to the wide range of topics covered and education offered.

Therefore, the goal of the email campaign was to reach a wide segment of our audience with
information about ESC Boston, and then quickly narrow in on and follow up with the most
engaged users to convert opens and clicks to event registrants.

 Registrant goal: 1,500


 Total registrants: 1,812

Throughout this campaign, we took advantage of what we knew of our users’ behavior to drive
email engagement, registrations, and upgrades from free to paid registrations:

 Event alumni are more involved than those users who have never attended a live event.
In cases where the open rate of alumni is lower than that of broader audience selects,
alumni are still more likely to click through if they open. Therefore, we carefully crafted
and timed messaging to these most valuable users.
 A "filtered" approach works best: email to a large segment of the audience, and then send
follow-up emails only to those who have opened or clicked. This process of casting a large

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net, then filtering down to the most engaged users was re-applied throughout the
campaign as new information, deadlines, or content became available.
 Emails were targeted based on users’ geographic region. At the beginning of the
campaign, users throughout the east coast received email invitations. As the event
neared, we narrowed the query so that only users within driving distance of Boston
received email invitations.
 Upgrade messaging was always paired with essential attendee information.
 We recognized that time can be a stronger incentive than money savings, allowing us two
angles from which to drive urgency in the messaging.
 Our audience responds best to frank communication. For an attendee prospect email to
non-registrants, the simple subject line "Message about ESC Boston" had an open rate of
119.48%, because we correctly targeted people who had opened/clicked on previous
emails but who had not yet registered.
 We used personalized letters within the emails from well-known industry names or event
content experts to reinforce users’ trust in the brand/event and to ensure the "marketing
speak" was limited.
 Splits were used to enhance messaging to the users. Email messaging was customized
based on where the user came from (past attendee, website-only user, past attendee of
related but different event, registration type, etc.). Over half of the email deployments
contained 2-3 splits to more appropriately message to the users.

Results:

The event reached 120.80% of attendee registration goals; because event marketing relies so
strongly on email campaigns, this attendee success is due largely to smart email marketing.

The average open rate of attendee facing emails was 24.96%. Only three out of 30 email
deployments had an open rate of less than 10%, while six had an open rate of more than 100%.

The average clickthrough rate of attendee facing emails was 1.70%.

Recognition:

Person Recognized Organization Job Title


Paul Miller UBM Electronics CEO
Amandeep Sandhu UBM Electronics Manager of Audience Engagement & Analytics
Nicholas Walter UBM Electronics Email Marketing Specialist
Laura Robison UBM Electronics Email Marketing Specialist
Amy Giannini UBM Electronics Marketing Manager

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CREATIVE SAMPLES FROM THE ESC BOSTON 2010 ATTENDEE MARKETING CAMPAIGN

Attendee Registration Email

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Attendee Prospect Email

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Special Offer Email

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Expo Newsletter

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BEST TRIGGERED EMAIL OR AUTO-RESPONDER SERIES - GOLD


Lumension Automated Nurture Campaign

Entrant: Annie Wacker, Lumension


Audience: B2B

Why They Won:

This category was hard to judge. A lot of marketers are doing a lot of impressive things. The two
important factors that stood out to me were: How far above and beyond what a quality marketer
should be expected to do is this entry? And are there transferable principles that the
MarketingSherpa audience can learn from?

Annie Wacker, Sam Erdheim, C. Edward Brice and their team at Lumension hit it out of the park
on both fronts. The team tackled a pain point that many other marketers likely face as well – a
need to work together with sales and deliver high-quality (not mass-quantity) leads.

For this particular category, the team achieved this goal in a way that puts the customer first. The
technology behind triggered and auto-responder emails had made it all too easy for us marketers
to, essentially, spam our audience (even if they have opted in). The team created an impressive
process focused on not what Lumension wants to send, but what the prospect wants. As Annie
put it, "Leads only receive emails if they further engage and take offers from emails. The more a
lead engages, the more emails they will receive." Well done, Annie, Sam and C. Edward.

- Lead Judge: Daniel Burstein, Director of Editorial Content,


MECLABS Primary Research

From Their Nomination Form:

The campaign targets contacts who have raised their hand by filling out a form and taking some
form of educational content which results in the contact being entered into our database.
Contacts must meet the following criteria in order to move into the automated nurture campaign:
1) Not a Current Customer and/or 2) Not a Contact/Account with a Current Opportunity. If a
contact meets the aforementioned criteria, they are sorted into the most appropriate nurture
campaign, based on the exact content that was taken.

The goal of the campaign is to take contacts who have indicated they are looking to solve a
specific business challenge and nurture them through a three month campaign with additional
offers that provide more detailed info about recommended steps and product capabilities with
the ultimate goal of converting a contact into an appropriate product evaluation and becoming an
accepted sales lead.

As marketers, we hear our sales team consistently asking us for one thing – more qualified leads.
Instead of opening the funnel and passing off mass quantities of unqualified leads to sales, forcing

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them to sort through to find any low-hanging fruit, we have changed the way sales and marketing
integrate and work together.

Over the course of 18 months, we have been developing and optimizing a fully integrated and
automated nurturing program that converts top-of-funnel leads and/or stagnant leads in the
prospect database and move them to sales-qualified leads.

The nurturing program began with a monthly newsletter positioning thought leadership content.
These newsletters were segmented by customers, prospects and partners to ensure that the
content and positioning were relevant to each user base, delivered monthly. By tracking 'what'
content contacts were clicking on, Lumension could drive these individuals into the nurture track
that was most relevant.

Next, an automated email platform was implemented to drive leads through nurturing tracks,
based on their original interest in an offer they selected (either from third party content
syndication, pay-per-click activity, direct response online and print ads, webcasts, events, organic
Web traffic and from content within the newsletter). The initial email campaign began with two
automated nurturing tracks in a six-week pilot program. This gave Lumension a baseline from
which they could optimize.

In the last year, Lumension has developed eight integrated and automated email nurturing tracks,
based on industry and/or product focus, and optimized to a four-month program (with a
maximum of nine emails) and two tele-touches. A lead moves through the track based on their
behavior with the content (i.e. if they opened, clicked and/or downloaded the content, or
converted into an evaluation). Leads only receive emails if they further engage and take offers
from emails. The more a lead engages, the more emails they will receive.

As these leads engage more with the emails and take more offers, leads often reach out to their
sales representative. However, once the behavioral triggers reach the sixth and final threshold
(i.e. leads have taken at least five offers), these contacts are sent to sales to be accepted and
moved into an opportunity.

Nurture tracks are measured each week to replace offers that may have become stale and visually
optimized with tested email designs that may include social media, replacement of graphics
and/or banners. Within the optimization efforts, Lumension has uncovered 'which' offers are
most effective at each stage of the funnel and this has also helped to focus content development
on offers that are known to be successful.

Also, Lumension has increased social media components to drive content sharing with LinkedIn,
FaceBook, Twitter and email forward options within each email.

Results:

With the desire to continually optimize this nurturing program, in 2010, we have increased
metrics for all eight campaigns to 23% open rates, 15% clickthrough rates and 33% file download
rates. In total, we have made 650,245 impressions to 17,628 prospects. The success is also in the
funnel conversion metrics which have 39% of inquiries moving from the previous stage in the

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funnel to the following stage. Those who make it to the 6th and final stage, are routed to tele-
qualification where 1% are converted and become sales accepted. Overall, the nurturing program
has driven over 50 full evaluations and 68 opportunities.

Recognition:

Person Recognized Organization Job Title


Sam Erdheim Lumenion Director of Program Marketing
C. Edward Brice Lumension SVP, Worldwide Marketing

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CREATIVE SAMPLES FROM THE LUMENSION AUTOMATED NURTURE CAMPAIGN

Sales Plan

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Integration

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Offer #1

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Offer #2

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Offer #3

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BEST TRIGGERED EMAIL OR AUTO-RESPONDER SERIES –


HONORABLE MENTION
ATP World Tour Finals Triggered Welcome Message

Entrant: Phillipe Dore, ATP World Tour


Audience: B2C

Why They Won:

The reason we have honorable mentions is to call out an entry that was particularly strong in one
element, yet did not have enough noteworthy information in the overall entry to justify a Gold or
Silver. ATP World Tour is such a case. While Philippe Dore and his team did not have any new eye-
opening or groundbreaking practices, but achieved results that speak for themselves - $21.82 in
revenue per message sent.

Just to be clear, that’s per individual message, not per overall email send. And that is for a fairly
low-priced consumer marketing product, not a high-end consumer product or enterprise B2B
services where just one sale is likely large enough to justify an entire send…or even campaign. No
fancy tactics however – just the basic blocking and tackling, hard work and execution that makes
great marketing. One example of this – instead of taking the easy way out and buying a list, they
built their own list from scratch. They emphasized quality over quantity, creating a list of people
that are genuinely interested in what they have to sell – a high bar we can all try to live up to.
Congratulations to Philippe and his team.

- Lead Judge: Daniel Burstein, Director of Editorial Content, MECLABS Primary Research

From Their Nomination Form:

The audience was consumers interested in event alerts for the ATP World Tour year-end
championships: The Barclays ATP World Tour Finals. The goal of the campaign was to welcome
consumers to the email program and show instant gratification by adding value with a special
offer to purchase tickets for the event.

ATP utilized a low cost basic technique to collect email and automated a simple, short, message
with instant value to the consumers. ATP was able to capitalize on the opportunity and achieve a
high conversation rate and generate revenue on a simple welcome message.

Results:

Two automated emails were created and automated on opt-in. The first message (Subject:
Welcome! Your Pre-Sale Tennis Tickets Are Ready), which was automated during a pre-sale
window performed extremely well with a 77.52% open rate and a 66.87% clickthrough rate.

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This message was sent to 1,944 consumers (97.84% delivery and six unsubscribes). This message
contained a personalized code, adding value and exclusivity to the recipient.

The second message (Subject: Welcome! Your Tennis Tickets Are Ready), which was automated
after the pre-sale window, also performed well with a 65.02% open rate and 27.7% clickthrough
rate. This message was sent to 2,433 consumers (96.24% delivery and 14 unsubscribes).

The two messages combined generated 1,385 tickets sales for a total of $95,500. This represents
$21.82 in revenue per message sent.

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CREATIVE SAMPLES FROM ATP WORLD TOUR FINALS TRIGGERED WELCOME MESSAGE

Passcode Message

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Non-Passcode Message

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About MarketingSherpa
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marketing for high tech, professional services, and manufacturing, via
traditional media, the Internet and Web 2.0. Plus bonus tips on how
to make the Sales Department your best friends. 531 pages. Published
June 2008 by MarketingSherpa; $497 for instant PDF download plus
printed copy!

landing page handbook

MarketingSherpa’s bestselling Landing Page Handbook helps you raise


conversions by up to 55% or more for search, email, and ad campaigns
for lead generation, ecommerce, and even blogs. Includes: page design &
copy instructions; 54 stat & data charts; 114 samples of landing pages to
copy; help for search, email, B-to-B, ecommerce, blogs & lead generation
conversions. 273 pages. Published November 2007 by MarketingSherpa;
$497 for instant PDF download plus printed copy!

2009 best practices in email Marketing handbook

This 568 page practical handbook is the single most comprehensive


work on the tactics and best practices of email marketing ever
written. It’s designed to support senior staff in developing strategies
to maximize email ROI. Its practical and step-by- step approach makes
it an ideal handbook to train those less experienced in getting the
fundaments that they need. With 7 chapters, 86 case studies, 75+
Sherpa tips, and 150+ creative samples, this is a must have for all
marketing departments who want to learn how to successfully grow,
nurture, segment, measure, deliver and optimize your email marketing.
Published March 2009 by MarketingSherpa; $497 for instant PDF
download!

To Order, go to Sherpa Store at: http://www.sherpastore.com


practical research and benchmarks from MarketingSherpa
2011 Search Marketing benchmark report – Seo edition

MarketingSherpa’s new 2011 Search Marketing Benchmark Report – SEO


Edition is packed with 203 pages of all new up-to-date research including
insights from 2,194 B2B and B2C marketers, best practices, and real-life case
studies. The report is designed to be one-half measurement – complete with
Sherpa’s invaluable benchmarks and standards – and one-half inspiration, with
unique explorations of what’s working, what’s not and what’s on the horizon
for search marketing. This year’s edition also contains 169 charts and tables,
new SEO tactics, and the future impact of mobile, video and real time search.
Published June 2010 by MarketingSherpa; $447 for instant PDF download!

2011 Search Marketing benchmark report – ppc edition

MarketingSherpa’s new 2011 Search Marketing Benchmark Report


– PPC Edition is packed with 190 pages of data on the latest PPC
innovations, from keywords to conversions, as well as insights from
PPC marketers and agencies on their strategies, challenges and
successes. This new edition also takes a deeper look into PPC metrics
and tactics with sections on target keywords, best tactics, average
PPC clicks, defining a conversion and quality of leads generated
by PPC. This edtion has also contains 147 charts and tables,
benchmarks on PPC budgets, objectives, and tactics. Published July
2010 by MarketingSherpa; $447 for instant PDF download!

2011 email Marketing benchmark report

The all-new 2011 Email Marketing Benchmark Report provides the


most up-to-date research, benchmark data, and analysis on new email
marketing tactics, email marketing maturity, and the state of email
from a strategic standpoint. In the 198-page report you will get a
broad range of all components of email marketing with details on the
significant new obstacles to email marketing success, email budgets and
bottom lines, and top tactics for delivering relevant content, email list
growth, and social media. This edtion has also contains 152 charts and
tables, benchmarks on relevancy, deliverablity, and metrics. Published
December 2010 by MarketingSherpa; $447 for instant PDF download!

2011 b2b Marketing benchmark report

MarketingSherpa’s new 2011 B2B Marketing Benchmark Report is packed with


232 pages of data and provides the most up-to-data research and analysis on
the marketing tactics that were most successfully applied at every stage of
the sales funnel, from lead generation to sales conversions, using analytics for
continual improvement. Inside you will find special sections on effectiveness
of B2B marketing tactics and marketing budget changes, lead scoring and
nurturing, use of marketing automation, and much more. This edtion has also
contains 167 charts and tables, benchmarks on B2B budgets, objectives, and
tactics. Published October 2010 by MarketingSherpa; $447 for instant PDF
download!

To Order, go to Sherpa Store at: http://www.sherpastore.com


BOOKSTORE ORDER FORM

Book Selection Your order includes print and pdf version PRICE QTY AMOUNT

Social Marketing ROAD Map Handbook $


397
B-to-B Lead Generation Handbook $
497
Landing Page Handbook 2nd Edition $
497
2009 Best Practices in Email Marketing Handbook $
397
2011 Search Marketing Benchmark Report - SEO Edition $
447
2011 Search Marketing Benchmark Report - PPC Edition $
447
2011 Email Marketing Benchmark Report $
447
2011 B2B Marketing Benchmark Report $
447
TOTAL (US Dollars)

four easy ways to order:


1) Online: www.sherpastore.com
2) Call: 877-895-1717
3) Fax this form to: 401-247-1255
4) Mail this order form to: MarketingSherpa • 499 Main Street, Warren, RI 02885

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