If you were fortunate enough to attend DMA '07 in Chicago last week, you could not help but notice the significant increase in the number of sessions (10) devoted specifically to email marketing. And judging by the attendance at these sessions, email is clearly receiving more budget and is fast becoming the “workhorse” of one-to-one marketing.
Traffic in the exhibit hall at McCormick Place was also heavy. More than 79 exhibitors were listed in the show directory as providers of Email Marketing Services, including ExactTarget and agency partner, Aspen Marketing Services.
As a long-time attendee of this annual gathering of direct marketing professionals, I can tell you it is great to see email marketing embraced by the DMA as a legitimate direct marketing channel. The recent union between the DMA and the Email Experience Council is further evidence that email – and specifically permission-based email – has become a vital component in multi-channel marketing strategies for customer engagement, retention and growth.
And the Email Experience Council is already having an impact on the DMA! There is plenty of interest in the upcoming Email Evolution Conference which will be held in San Diego February 12 – 13. If you’re looking to get more juice for the squeeze from your email marketing strategy, you cannot afford to miss this conference.
