BrightWave CEO Simms Jenkins Explores Parallels Between ABC's Lost and Email Marketing

ATLANTA – May 20, 2010 – Inspired by the upcoming series finale of ABC's Lost, award-winning digital targeted messaging agency BrightWave Marketing's CEO Simms Jenkins recently analyzed why, like the mysterious island and its occasional inhabitants on the show, email signup forms have disappeared from the homepages of top national brands. Released today, the results are certainly eye-opening for email marketers.

As published today in his Email Marketing Best Practices column for ClickZ, a widely read website featuring news and expert advice for digital marketers, Jenkins discovered that many of the nation's top brands aren't effectively utilizing the prime real estate on the home page of their websites to capture valuable email addresses. Of the ten major websites reviewed, Jenkins discovered that only two included an email signup link on the homepage, three included only social media links and the remaining five offered no calls to engage with the brand – whether through email or social media. Based on current research into the ROI of email and social, this presents an obvious problem for marketers.

"Eliminating email registration from your home page in favor of social networks may please the internal team charged with creating a social presence but your CFO may be the one to eventually question that. Marketing legend Stan Rapp has said the value of a single opt-in address is estimated at $118 and Epsilon recently valued an email address $23 over its lifetime (around 4 years)," Jenkins wrote.

To summarize his findings and draw a final parallel between email marketing and Lost, Jenkins tells marketers "your email destiny can be influenced by the choices you make. Make it easy for them to find you and then you can continue the conversation, and regardless of your math, that is worth something."

To learn about the specific brands reviewed and read more about Jenkins' insightful findings, click here for the entire ClickZ article.

For more information, contact:
Ruth Mitcham
rmitcham@brightwavemarketing.com
404-253-2544 x106

About BrightWave Marketing

BrightWave Marketing is an award-winning agency specializing in email marketing and digital targeted messaging programs. BrightWave Marketing partners with clients in the development, management and strategic optimization of digital messaging programs that drive revenue, cut costs and build relationships.

Headquartered in Atlanta, GA, BrightWave Marketing has done work for a blue chip client roster including Chick-fil-A, CoreNet Global, Cox Business, iFLOOR, RaceTrac, Sports Illustrated and Ted's Montana Grill as well as leading advertising and marketing firms. For more information, please visit www.BrightWaveMarketing.com or visit EmailStatCenter.com, the leading authority on email marketing metrics. BrightWave Marketing's CEO Simms Jenkins is the author of "The Truth About Email Marketing" published by Pearson's FT Press. Visit www.TheTruthAboutEmailMarketing.com for more information on the book.

We understand the power of electronic communication and know BrightWave Marketing will deliver best in class components to our customer communication and interface for email and social media.
- Chris Passarell, Director of Marketing for RaceTrac Petroleum

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