List Brokers Debate e-Mail Service Providers
Mailing list brokers are not yet comfortable working with e-mail service providers. And the feeling is mutual.
Their differences came out loud and clear on Friday during a Direct Marketing Association List Leaders forum at New York’s Marriott East Side.
For example, DoubleClick’s Jonathan Shapiro was asked some tough questions about DoubleClick’s new e-mail brokerage division, Opt-in E-mail .com, which many brokers see as competitive.
The brokers also said that they dislike Doubleclick’s policy of not commissioning brokers on names from its e-mail alliance (the same policy it has for direct mail names in the Abacus Alliance database).
“Maybe we should exclude you from our managed properties,” said Chris Ragusa, president of Estee Marketing Group, Inc. when Shapiro reiterated the policy.
The brokers also see a competitive threat from e-mail transmission service bureaus. Three service bureau panelists–Reggie Brady from FloNetwork, David Ahl from Message Media, and Leslie Price, from Exactis.com–tried to explain what they did. But David Schwartz, president of 21st Century Marketing, commented, “I’m not getting a cozy feeling as a list manager and broker.”
The following points also came out during the all-day meeting, which drew around 80 people, including brokers, managers, and online marketers:
* The dot.com companies are hiring away list personnel by offering stock options and cash bonuses. 21st Century’s Schwartz said that he is countering with stock and profit-sharing plans for key employees.
* Brokers have expanded their role in e-mail campaigns to the point where they are handling copy and offer. However, they are unclear whether the traditional commission structure is sufficient.
* The uneasiness runs both ways. Leslie Price of Exactis.com said in an interview that she doesn’t get support from traditional brokers when she calls them.
* Merge-purge remains disappointing for e-mail lists
* E-mail data cards are an embarrassment. “How are we supposed to show them to our clients?” said one broker.
* Pressured to show that DoubleClick is doing to include brokers, Shapiro asked those present if they would like to sell banner ads for DoubleClick. He offered 15% commission, 5% less than the regular list brokerage commission. Linda Huntoon, president of the Specialists, said in an interview that the commission rate was not a deal breaker “if it’s a decent application for my client.”
