AOTA Email Academy - Changing Rules Of Interactive Marketing & Email Deliverability

By Charles Stiles, VP Worldwide Marketing, Goodmail Systems AOTA Steering Committee Member

Nov 1, 2008 - I was recently approached about participating in an activity that immediately followed the Authentication and Online Trust Alliance Summit for the purpose of educating participants on all aspects of email deliverability.

While this isn't an uncommon topic, I was a little confused that the target audience was comprised of industry professionals, I had thought many of which have been in this space for years.  Not only did I expect that most of them know this inside and out, but many should be considered experts.  Welcome to the dynamics of email and its evolutionary nature.  Just when you thought you knew all there was to know about email, someone comes and changes the rules.

The AOTA Email Academy, as the event became known, provided participants with access to industry insiders that were subject matter experts in their respective presentations.  The topics ranged from authentication to best practices of delivery, effective communication with abuse desk teams and much more.  There were presentations on domain security, marketing practices, and even hardware.  Participants were comprised of small and large ESP's, self senders, ISP's, technology providers and even law enforcement.  If it in any way touched email and affected deliverability, it was covered in this fast-paced, information-packed AOTA Academy.

Concluding the event, participants were encouraged to test their knowledge of the material by taking part in an exam that proved to be challenging not only for the level of detail but the broad spectrum of information that was covered.  It became very clear that email and interactive marketing continues to evolve at a rapid pace, and keeping up is a matter of survival – because if you slow down you'll not only be passed, but you stand a good chance of seeing your business consumed by those with the appropriate knowledge.

Over the 100 plus attendees, approximately 60% passed the intensive test, which is now being developed into a professional certification program.  Key findings indicate that the successful interactive marketer needs to wear many hats.  The leaders have learned the need to evolve from what has typically been tactical and operational roots to those of technology, privacy and deeper brand marketing engagement. An additional point is the need to consider the entire consumer experience.   The job is not done when the email is delivered; the successful marketer needs to understand, (as well as test) the entire user experience, from opening the mail, clicking on a link, through navigation of the web site.  As ISPs and the browsers are increasing fighting online fraud and deception, now more than ever marketers need to understand the evolving changes and technologies and stay in front of the pack

In short, the AOTA Academy brought people up to speed on the current situation and how we arrived here – and opened the doors to where we are headed; it took people to the edge of their comfort zone and two steps beyond.  I hope that we can continue this type of in-depth training because it's not only good for each of the respective participants but for the industry as a whole.  I hope to see you at the AOTA December 10th workshop in NYC, in partnership with DM News and the SC World Congress being held at the Javits Convention Center.

http://www.aotalliance.org/news/academyrecap.html