When I was asked to speak and moderate a panel at MediaPost’s Email Insider Summit, I was intrigued.  Email has been a pillar of online marketing from the start, along with Websites and Banner Ads.  (They weren’t even called Display Ads then.  And Search was in its infancy, who remembers Alta Vista).  So what’s new with Email?  Why are people congregating to focus on something that’s been a constant for over a decade?

Last Monday at MediaPost's OMMA Global Summit in San Francisco, I lead a panel discussion about the current state of email marketing and the opportunities for using customer data to do better email marketing.  The panel comprised both vendors and client-side marketers - Eric Kirby from Connection Engine, Sameer Kazi from ExactTarget, Anita John from HP and Seth Berman from BlueShield CA - so we had a nice mix of what the market is asking for and what is being offered.

Compared to a decade ago, some would argue that the marketers of today have it easy.  There’s a technology solution for pretty much everything from web analytics to ad serving.  But it’s not as straightforward as you might think.
 

How often do we describe things as easy?  Let’s meet at my office in New York – it’s really easy to get to.  Let’s grab a sandwich for lunch – it’s quick and easy.  Let’s save that on the Wiki – it’s so easy to navigate.

Well at least for your competitors it is.

Product development, design and research, attracting target audiences, understanding and interpreting data, building a loyal following, SEO, paid search, CRM.

Most businesses have probably felt the pinch of the recession this year, and chances are that if you're a marketer this would have translated into a hacked marketing budget. Obviously this isn't ideal, but what it's done is separated the men from the boys and forced marketers to spend more wisely, measure more accurately and operate more efficiently.