Is Your Email Program Ready For A Competitive Holiday Season?

We’ve just wrapped up our 8-part blog series on “Breakthrough Creative.” Hopefully, we’ve given you ideas and examples of how to improve your brand’s creative efforts—from storytelling techniques, to tips on photography and copywriting, to research, to better use of data. I understand all too well that the hardest part is yet to come—actually putting these ideas into action. Actually doing the work and investing the time, energy and money to get it right are easier said than done. So, now that we’ve armed you with some pointers on the things to do, I thought I’d give you some advice on what NOT to do. Here are three traps to avoid which will ultimately affect a healthy ROI. Learn what NOT to do at: https://www.jschmid.com/blog/breakthrough-creative-creative-killers/

Google has officially begun to phase out third-party cookies by implementing a default browser feature called Tracking Protection. When activated, it will cut off a website’s access to third-party cookies. The browser feature began rolling out randomly to 1% of Chrome users globally today, marking the year’s first notable step toward privacy for consumers and third-party cookie deprecation for the industry. Marketers will adapt. “While it’s an adjustment for everyone, it’s actually a valuable move,” said Anthony Yell, Razorfish chief creative officer. “It might take some adjustment to communicate as effectively in a world with cookies, a world without cookies is a wonderful thing.”

The opening session for the final day of the Virtual Inkjet Summit focused on direct mail, and what marketing will look like in a post-pandemic future. COVID-19 has reshaped how brands communicate with consumers in profound ways, and inkjet is, in many ways, perfectly positioned to be the technology that helps them reconnect in very personal, meaningful ways. Barb Pellow, manager, Pellow and Partners, sat down with Darrin Wilen, president of Wilen Direct, to discuss how the current climate has re-shaped business, and what that means for direct mail’s future, as well as the role inkjet will play. Pellow noted that one thing to keep in mind is that while some industries, such as travel, or membership mailings to local events or attractions, has dropped off dramatically over the past six months, the news isn’t all bad. In fact, some markets, such as health care, elder care services, personal care products, and educational products, among others, have actually see an increase in mailings.