STANDARDS AT LAST

Two Companies Adopt eec’s New Email Measurement Standards
Ten More Firms Committed to Implementing Standards in the Next Six Months

New York, NY, June 21, 2010 — Two email marketing broadcast vendors, AllWebEmail and Email Transmit, have fully adopted the eight email marketing measurement standards introduced by the Direct Marketing Association’s (DMA) Email Experience Council (eec) this year. A published list of 11 other email service providers, MTA vendors, and marketing automation solutions have promised to implement the standards in the next six months.

“These two providers are leading the industry in an important effort to standardize the terms and definitions used in measuring email marketing performance,” said eec Measurement Accuracy Roundtable co-chair Luke Glasner.

Project co-chair John Caldwell of Red Pill Email added, “The email industry has long been without measurement standards, using terms and definitions that make it impossible to benchmark properly or compare vendor performance with confidence. The good work of our volunteer eec member committee is the first time the industry has rallied around a common set of measurement standards.”

The new measurement standards include eight definitions for reporting on Accepted, Render and Click-through. In the past, not only were multiple names and terms used that confused some marketers, but different vendors used different calculations for the same terms. The full list of new standards was published in March 2010. Currently the 11 companies committed to implementing the standards are: Alterian; BlueHornet; Blue Sky Factory; Bronto Software; Cooler Email; Green Arrow; Office Autopilot; Send Pepper; Silverpop; SubscriberMail; and YesMail.

“We are delighted to be among the first to adopt these new standards and believe strongly that only when the email industry shares a common set of measurements will we be able to fully improve performance by erasing any confusion or clouding of actual results,” said Peter Roebuck, president of AllWebEmail.

Email Transmit is the ESP product developed by Mass Transmit. Mass Transmit co-founder and CEO Adam Holden-Bache cited the importance of benchmarking for marketers. “When the majority of service providers adopt these measures, marketers will very easily be able to compare results across industries like retail or financial services, as well as clearly compare results when they want to review new vendors.”

Both firms have changed definitions and terms in their system reports, along with providing information about the calculations. These are requirements for adoption, and earn the firms the right to place a “seal” from the eec on their website, along with promotion on the Email Measurement Accuracy adoption list managed by the eec. Full details about participation and an application form are available for other service providers on the eec website, www.emailexperience.org.

“We also hope that marketers and other senders who find value in standard, accurate reporting will sign our petition in support of industry standards as well as encourage their broadcast vendor to adopt the new standards,” remarked Caldwell.
For more information or to view the growing list of companies adopting eec’s new email measurement standards, please click here.

About the Email Experience Council (eec)

The Direct Marketing Association’s Email Experience Council is a global professional organization that strives to enhance the image of email marketing and communications, while celebrating and actively advocating its critical importance in business and its ROI value.

We are committed to regularly conducting a broad series of initiatives for a variety of organizations that highlight the positive impact and importance of email as a marketing tool, communications vehicle and branding device. Additionally, eec members are setting the standards for email through our Member Roundtables. The members who belong to our organization are representatives of other trade organizations, agencies, advertisers, technology partners, clients and companies focused on the potential of email marketing via mobile and other digital devices. We encourage you to become part of the eec at http://www.emailexperience.org/member-center/why-join-eec.

About Direct Marketing Association (DMA)

The Direct Marketing Association (www.the-dma.org) is the leading global trade association of businesses and nonprofit organizations using and supporting multichannel direct marketing tools and techniques. DMA advocates standards for responsible marketing, promotes relevance as the key to reaching consumers with desirable offers, and provides cutting-edge research, education, and networking opportunities to improve results throughout the end-to-end direct marketing process. Founded in 1917, DMA today represents companies from dozens of vertical industries in the US and 48 other nations, including nearly half of the Fortune 100 companies, as well as nonprofit organizations
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In 2009, marketers – commercial and nonprofit – spent $149.3 billion on direct marketing, which accounted for 54.3% of all ad expenditures in the United States. Measured against total US sales, these advertising expenditures generated approximately $1.783 trillion in incremental sales. In 2009, direct marketing accounted for 8.3% of total US gross domestic product. Also in 2009, there were 1.4 million direct marketing employees in the US. Their collective sales efforts directly supported 8.4 million other jobs, accounting for a total of 9.9 million US jobs.

The Power of Direct: Relevance. Responsibility. Results.