Content Delivery Means More Than E-mail

(Direct Newsline) The hottest electronic channels may be a marketer’s dream.

Cutting-edge technology enables consumers to have content delivered directly to them instead of chasing it down. Even better, the delivery channels can be as stationary as a desktop computer or as mobile as an iPod.

The first of these channels is “feeds,” such as really simple syndication (RSS). Using these, a publisher makes both audile and visual content available through a channel a consumer chooses, such as iPods, Web pages or e-mailboxes. The content is delivered and stored until the consumer is ready to pay attention to it.

There is a lot of good news regarding RSS: The next iteration of Internet Explorer will make electing to receive RSS feeds increasingly easy. And the number of consumers embracing this technology is increasing exponentially as iPods become ubiquitous, said Rick Klau, vice president of business developer for Feedburner, an RSS feed management and metrics firm.

There’s also some bad news: One of the reasons consumers are rushing to embrace this channel is because it is anonymous. Marketers capture very little personally identifiable information when prospects sign up to receive the content. Companies such as Feedburner are able to deliver metrics regarding what content is being accessed, the number of people who are signing up, or which ads are drawing click-throughs. But the anonymity of the channel limits the ability to deliver tailored content to subscribers.

So how do marketers make this channel work? Klau gave the example of Castrol motor oil, which mixes automobile content – fix-it information, auto racing updates and the like – with spots for its products. Of course, most marketers have to be willing to give away the content: With only a few exceptions, consumers have proven unwilling to pay for their feeds.

For marketers wanting a channel better linked to individuals, Neil Rosen, president and CEO of eWaydirect Inc. suggests direct delivery of e-mails. Consumers opt in to receiving customized messages into e-mailboxes that have been specifically set up to receive this content.

By setting up the dedicated mailboxes, marketers communicate directly with consumers, and do not risk having e-mail service providers mistakenly block their messages. Consumers also have an opportunity to provide relevant information about themselves during the sign-up process, allowing marketers to tailor their messages.

These e-mail messages can even be given a self-destruct mechanism. Say a store is having a one-day sale. If a consumer happens not to check e-mail during the sale period, the message is automatically deleted. For instance, a marketer could offer premium access services, such as the ability to purchase concert tickets an hour before they go on sale to the general populace – again, with the understanding that if the consumer misses the opportunity, the message is deleted without a trace.

But don’t write standard e-mail’s obituary just yet: The economics of e-mail campaigns have begun to come into line with other channels. Within the last six-to-eight months, the prices for e-mail lists has begun to level off, at around $250-$300/M in the business-to-business space, according to Marty Donner, vice president and general manager of Return Path, an e-mail delivery service firm.

“The cost of [bidding on search terms] has gotten to the point where search’s return on investment has crossed with that of e-mail,” Donner said.

As costs to these sorts of campaigns rise, marketers are becoming savvier about using the channels. “The biggest change we are seeing is inclusion of basic principles of direct marketing,” Donner said. “There is a lot of multi-cell testing, and a lot of segmentation, a lot of different lists being used. The medium is evolving into what we know from offline days as direct marketers. The most encouraging aspect of this is that if we go back to the basics we are all going to see much more effective ROIs and delivery rates.”

What’s on the horizon? Cell phone and PDA technology will evolve, with the biggest advances coming in the ability to receive video content (they already serve as a channel for some RSS feeds). And they will increasingly be used as “electronic purses” – stored value mechanisms that allow consumers to activate vending machines, or pay parking fees, merely by hitting a few buttons.

“It all depends on usability, simplicity, and choice,” Donner said. “Users will self-select [which channels to use] based on most effective way to reach them.” And, he continued, marketers who want to see what the future will bring in America should travel overseas. “Go to Europe or Japan if you want to see what will happen here in three to five years,” Donner advised.

Klau, Rosen and Donner offered their insights during a session at the 2006 Direct Media Inc Client Conference and Co-op.