Twiststl

…maybe that’s a bit of an overstatement, but it’s certainly becoming the online marketing tool of choice and overtaking its analog counterpart direct mail. According to a study released from Borrel Associates, annual spending on printed direct mail will decline from $49.7 billion in 2008 to $29.8 billion by the end of 2013, forcing companies that rely on direct mail campaigns to reevaluate their strategies. As virtually every other kind of traditional media is replaced by a digital counterpart, it’s no surprise that e-mail marketing is where the market seems to be moving.

As advertisers turn away from print and focus their attention and their budgets on interactive advertising, email marketing is where they’re spending the bulk of their money. Only problem – as easy as it is for consumers to take their “junk mail” from the mailbox and drop it in the recycling bin, it’s just as easy for people to delete an email without opening it. As a result, busineses need to ensure that that their email marketing campaigns are actually reaching their target audiences, and the way to accomplish that might be easier than most people think.

Having an interesting subject line that is clear and straight to the point are imperetive to ensuring the successful performance of an email marketing campaign. Something that screams “spam” is not going to get opened. All too often companies send emails that don’t have their name in the “from” or the “subject” line and email recipients don’t recognize who the email is a from. Overlooking this step is the perfect way to make sure your emails go straight from recipients’ inboxes to their garbage cans. Creating content full of useful links and content that people will find worthwhile are two obvious things that also get overlooked but make all the difference when measuring the performance of an email marketing campaign.

It’s no secret that the advertising industry has taken a big hit in the past few years. With the myriad of media vehicles through which advertising can be delivered, the market has become diluted, making ad placement a huge challenge. The constant stream of advertising has created consumers adept at ignoring it and increasingly eager to avoid it altogether. So what does it take to capture consumers’ attention? Campaigns that are humorous, evoke an emotional response, include exciting special effects or breathtaking visuals are those that are garnering attention.

Lately companies have added a new weapon to their arsenal of advertising tactics: debunking “facts” about their competitor’s products and services in order to gain attention for themselves. AT&T Wireless and Verizon Wireless are two of the most notable companies currently taking swings at one another in their campaigns. Verizon threw the first punch with its commercials targeting weaknesses in AT&T’s network and AT&T hasn’t backed down.

Although the popularity of the iPhone increased the number of customers in AT&T’s network, the volume it’s generated on the network has caused an increase in dropped calls and slow internet for customers, and Verizon was quick to capitalize on customer dissatisfaction. With rumors circulating about the impending end of AT&T’s monopoly over the iPhone, Verizon has seized the opportunity to persuade individuals considering switching to AT&T for the iPhone to hold off on signing a two-year contract with their competitor. Shedding light on the problems with AT&T’s network isn’t necessarily meant to persuade wireless customers to immediately sign a contract with Verizon, but to keep them from signing with AT&T.

Since Apple’s unveiling of its iPad, it has been virtually impossible to visit any news or social media website without being inundated with information on the new product. While the Twitterverse was all buzz about the release of the touch screen tablet that is expected to revolutionize and revive print media, there was significantly less buzz about President Obama’s State of the Union Address. The annual speech typically garners a lot of media attention as pundits scrutinize and criticize the president’s every word. But this year, media coverage proved a bit lackluster, though not for lack of effort.

Bloggers have been speculating over whether overlap of the release and the address was somehow planned. In all likelihood, it was simply a coincidence as public relations announcements as big as Apple’s are planned far in advance. Techies and consumers have long been awaiting the arrival of the device. So what caused the influx of Tweets, Facebook updates and blog entries? Our take is that it was the price of the device that sparked the media frenzy. Expected to retail somewhere around $1000, the announcement of the $499 price tag proved that in the current market, consumers love a good deal. The iPad met, if not exceeded expectations in terms of functionality and aesthetics. At half of the expected price, the iPad became simply irresistible.

While Obama has just proposed a “spending freeze,” consumers have already implemented their own spending freezes in response to the poor economy. People have been tightening their belts for an extended period of time and are chomping at the bit to satisfy a longing for a new toy, and the pricing of the iPad put that toy within reach. This isn’t to say that Americans have become more enamored with new gadgets than the country’s political issues, but during hard times people look for something to take their minds off of their problems and the iPad does just that.

Watching the O’Brien/Leno debacle was reminiscent of watching a car crash: you’re horrified, but you just can’t turn away.  Jay Leno may have reclaimed his position as host of The Tonight Show, but with a little help from a good publicist Conan O’Brien’s career should be far from over. During his time as the host of Late Night with Conan O’Brien and his seven month stint on The Tonight Show, Conan amassed quite a following.  As the dust settles in the wake of the late night TV fiasco, his fans are left to wonder what he will do next.

Obviously, NBC could have handled the situation a bit more tactfully, but their PR flub is far from the biggest problem. The real issue at hand was the fact that NBC thought they could solve a ratings problem by returning Leno to his original time-slot. In the days before TiVo, DVRs and HULU that might have been an appropriate solution, but now that there are a myriad of ways that people can watch their favorite TV shows whenever they please, timing is not the issue.

As Conan takes his next steps, it will be interesting to see whether he will take advantage of the following he’s built up. His distinct brand of comedy is marketable with or without NBC, and with such a loyal fan base, Conan has the opportunity to reach his target audience of young adults on the internet. As more young people watch their favorite TV shows online, Conan could capitalize on the trend by starting a network online featuring his comedy. From there, he could sell syndication rights to his show to TV networks. There are a number of possibilities that internet videos provide, all Conan has to do is take advantage of them.