Yesterday, the E-mail Marketing Conference took place in DeFabrique in Utrecht. This year is a lustrum edition because the conference has been around for 10 years. With a lustrum edition, you expect a spectacular program with a nice setting. I do say “expected”, because at this year's conference it seemed as if the next economic crisis had already hit the e-mail marketing industry hard.
Not only were the sponsors less present in large numbers, the range of presentations was also less than in previous years. For this edition of the conference, smaller rooms of the event complex were also used. Given the moderate turnout, that honduras phone number list was a good choice. Not ideal conditions for a lustrum edition, but was it really all that less and negative?
Well begun is half done
This year too, the E-mail Marketing Conference was led by chairman Ronnie Overgoor . With his usual enthusiasm, he tried to get the timid audience going. At least he told us that Experian has good pens at the stand. Good to know if you are a blogger, like me, who still makes notes on paper the old-fashioned way and your pens have given up the ghost; so salvation was at hand.
With my new pen at the ready, it was time for the first presentation of the day, the international keynote: “Email and social media – Is it a marriage made in heaven or is it headed for divorce?” by Andrew Kordek , chief strategist and co-founder of Trendline Interactive. In his presentation, Andrew tried to answer the question whether it was possible to merge social media and email. His story was appealing and, like almost every American presenter, he was able to captivate the email marketers present with his story; a good start to the day.
In his presentation, Andrew Kordek emphasized that no one can call themselves a social media expert anymore. The medium is still far too much in its infancy for that and everyone is still experimenting. Social media is currently still a big sandbox for marketers. At least, if we look at social media as we know it today. Because in fact, e-mail was already the first social medium in 1971. So e-mail is certainly not dead or old-fashioned, but social media does not work on its own, but only in combination with e-mail.