It’s been a busy year so we’re all about ready to relax over the Christmas break and recharge the creative batteries for the year ahead.

This year we thought we’d send off the year that was in style. By smashing it of course!

Join in the fun and help us say goodbye to 2010.

Check out Enso’s new look website

Yep, 09 is a year of change, you can smell it in the air, and Enso is no exception. Previously known as Enso Studios and Enso Consultancy, things are consolidating and simplifying as we roll out our new look, full service, integrated creative communications agency simply known as Enso. Enso is quite simply here to do what it takes to make your campaigns successful.

Also be sure to check back later to see our case studies section as we continue to update it with insights into some of our recent work.

Enso is making things happen for you in 09

OK, so I’m sure you’re aware of the economic downturn, but are you excited? You should be. A whole new world of opportunity is opening up, and Enso is here to help you make the most of it. Sure, your industry might be headed for lower overall sales and trimmed profits, but that doesn’t mean you can’t gain market share, mind share and strengthen customer relationships. In fact, it is the ideal opportunity to focus on these pursuits while your competitors may be in retreat.

And rest assured that Enso is here to make things happen for you. We’re committed to delivering even better value and new creative processes to ensure that you can achieve more with less. In 09 we’re delivering the big agency outcomes, without the big agency overheads – I told you you should be excited.   

Enso to launch Cannonball V3 at ad:tech Sydney

Boy have we been busy, and boy do we have something to show for it! Email marketing is going to be big news in 09 (just check out this month’s other articles) and Enso delivers the biggest news of all. The all new version of Cannonball is set to amaze at ad:tech Sydney on March 10.

Cannonball is the Enso engineered, world class email marketing platform, and the new version contains innovations that will knock your socks off. For a sneak peek, check out:

www.cannonballcommunications.com.au

Enso is excited to be revealing the awe-inspiring new version of Cannonball, our world class email marketing platform, at ad:tech exhibition stand 53.

What’s more, Enso is excited to be revealing the awe-inspiring new version of Cannonball, our world class email marketing platform, at ad:tech exhibition stand 53.

It all happens at the Sydney Convention Centre on 10-11 March 2009.
 

Here’s 5 great reasons to join us at ad:tech

1. Be one of the first to see Enso’s amazing new version of Cannonball at exhibition stand 53. Come and see why you’ll never approach email campaign management in the same way again.
2. Free keynote sessions! Come an hear strategies from leading brands such as BBC.com and Kodak. Nothing to pay.
3. Free exhibition pass! Come and learn about the latest technologies and service providers from the ad:tech exhibition floor. So much knowledge to gain, wont cost you a cent.
4. Free networking party! Come and rub shoulders with some of the best in the business. Make some new contacts, and of course catch up with Enso for a drink without spending a dime.
5. Attend the conference sessions for the latest insights in the online marketing industry. Register before March 6 and save $100 on the full conference pass. 

So there you have it, ad:tech Sydney is a not to be missed event bursting with opportunities and ideas that can help you deliver effective online campaigns in 09. For more information, and to register your attendance online, visit www.ad-tech.com/sydney

Hope to see you at ad:tech Sydney.

OK, so you know that email marketing is going to be huge in 09. As part of your strategy to achieve a more accountable marketing spend, you’ve assigned some additional resources to the high return channel, and you are preparing for battle, as are your competitors, in the quest to drive sales and retain customer relationships through the economic downturn. 

Yes, the Australian email marketing industry is one that will defy the general economy and continue its rapid growth towards an estimated $65 million activity as more marketers latch on to the economic sensibilities of electronic direct marketing. 

Email is quickly becoming the central driving component of integrated campaigns, and the channel is credited with the highest rates of conversions and return on spend.

Email is quickly becoming the central driving component of integrated campaigns, and the channel is credited with the highest rates of conversions and return on spend. So it is with good reason that marketers up their email activity in 09, but not without consequences for you and your email plan.

More marketers spending more money on more emails clearly means more competition and more noise in the inbox. Now, more than ever before, your email campaigns need to stand out more, get more attention and get read more often. They need to be more targeted, more relevant, more engaging and more nurturing of the customer relationship. Your policies and list management need to be more strict than last year and more tightly regulated.

I think I’m begging to sound like a more-on! Moron aside, smart email marketers are looking to get more out of their email activities, despite the inevitable dilution of the channel. So, how can you set about improving your email results in 09 rather than letting them slide? It all starts by stepping back and having a good long hard look at where you currently are. Enter the email audit.

While immersed in the art and science that is email marketing, it’s all too easy to consistently focus your attention on specific metrics or creative variations of your campaigns. It’s too easy to be blinded by the numbers and not see the real issues. An email audit is a process that takes a holistic look at your entire campaign creation and execution process. It looks at what is currently working, what can be improved and how efficient the process is. It analyses the data you’ve been collecting and puts it in perspective against your creative, targeting and list management strategies. It looks at your ongoing use of analytics and metrics. Most of all, it provides you with a solid benchmark of where you currently are, and an energising roadmap towards improving your results.

Many email programs, perhaps yours included, began as a side activity without a specific budget, and only receiving ad-hoc attention when significant issues arose. Now that email is big business, you might have a specific line budget and dedicated resources, but your overall process remains infected by legacy. Conducting an email audit can often uncover simple to fix issues you never knew even existed. Generally an email audit will investigate key concerns including security, deliverability, reputation, effectiveness, content and creative quality and process efficiency, with the depth of each area of investigation dependent on the complexity of your email program. 

Could an email audit give you the perspective you need to really kick start your email success in 09? Contact Enso for more information.

What is for certain, is that both marketing and consumption behaviors are changing dramatically in response to the emerging environment. This is particularly evident in two industries I believe are going to be key themes in 2009 for Australian business: Air Travel and Email Marketing.

As the economy continues to slow, the volume of email marketing will continue to rise as businesses snub traditional media and hard copy direct channels for high return direct electronic campaigns.

That’s right, these two seemingly unrelated industries have more in common than you might think as businesses prepare for battle in the economic downturn. Most battle plans being drawn have two very simple overarching objectives: decrease costs, and increase return on marketing efforts. 

When cost cutting is the name of the game, large items on the budget tend to get the most attention. For many businesses, this means taking the axe to corporate travel. This accelerating trend towards reductions in travel budgets has seen many businesses turning to economy class seats and discount fares. That’s right, in the name of frugality, business travelers are being asked to give up their business class luxuries and flexible fares and rough it with the rest of us in cattle class. With discount air fares currently at record lows, businesses obviously have a great opportunity to reduce travel costs and are even devising strategies to overcome discount fare restrictions.

The airlines are obviously facing a challenging period. New competition and capacity has entered the market, the lucrative business sector is turning a frugal cheek, and they are collectively faced with the challenge of stimulating a cautious consumer market through the downturn while protecting and pursuing their own market share. Are airline executives also ditching business class luxuries to save a dime in these tough times? I doubt it, but they are leveraging the cost effectiveness of email marketing.    

As the economy continues to slow, the volume of email marketing will continue to rise as businesses snub traditional media and hard copy direct channels for high return direct electronic campaigns. Late last year Qantas sent out millions of emails as a central driver for their two-for-one ticket campaign. Within days, tens of thousands of international airfares were reportedly booked as a result of the email campaign, including a few booked by yours truly in an attempt to secure some discount business travel. Unfortunately the booked dates haven’t worked out – but that’s another story.

An article appearing in The Australian on December 1 quotes research company Frost & Sullivan as tipping email direct marketing to grow from a $36 million Australian industry in 2008 to $76 million by 2012. However the same article quotes Simon O’Day of eservices communications as estimating that email marketing service providers in Australia are already generating collective revenues of about $50 million and rising.

One thing is for sure, if your organisation is not taking full advantage of the email channel in 09, then you’re leaving money on the table – money that could pay for those business class seats.

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New business has been won with new clients bringing exciting projects on board, we’ve said goodbye to some staff and welcome to others, sponsored another Australian Marketing Institute seminar and kept our eye on some spectacular stock market volatility. Brian hit the slopes of NZ with a snow board, while Paul scouted some locations in London for the new Enso office (well maybe not quite yet) and Grant has been learning to fly planes (scary).

Lots of great work in progress at the moment which we look forward to sharing with you shortly.

The corporate seasons greetings message is an opportunity to spread the spirit of the season and thank everyone for their support over the year. It is also an opportunity to send out something fun, interesting and different from your usual business communications to engage your contacts on another level, and demonstrate another side to the personality of your organisation.

DEPENDING ON YOUR SITUATION OR REQUIREMENTS, A SEASON’S GREETING CAMPAIGN CAN ACHIEVE A NUMBER OF COMMUNICATION OBJECTIVES THROUGH A PLATFORM THAT IS OFTEN LESS RESTRICTIVE THAN OTHER CAMPAIGNS. IT CAN BE USED TO ADDRESS PR ISSUES, BUILD STAKEHOLDER CONFIDENCE AND EVEN BECOME A SOPHISTICATED VIRAL MARKETING AND PUBLICITY CAMPAIGN.

Your festive season message is a ideal medium to remind your customers that you are more than just a money making machine. Promoting your organisation’s Corporate Social Responsibility program or credentials is a popular and well received message that ties in nicely with the season of giving.

What’s more, taking your campaign electronic and distributing online via email can make it fun, interactive, measurable and environmentally responsible. Electronic greeting cards, or e-cards as they’re often called, can include animation, audio, video and interactivity to deliver true brand engagement, and can be easily personalised to the recipient from their specific contacts within the organisation. They can also include personalised messages or targeted content depending on your contact segmentation. Because they can be developed to dynamically retrieve information from a database, personalisation can be based on any data that you hold. You can also easily measure the readership of your communication through the usual email and web metrics.

However, if you do wish to distribute a traditional hard copy card, environmentally responsible options are available to minimise the environmental impact of your campaign. There are many options available in recycled, unbleached paper stocks from green paper mills. Printing can also be done with organic, vegetable based inks using water efficient processes.

So whatever you choose to do, remember that Christmas creeps up on you quickly, so now is the time to act and start planning to ensure you make the most out of your festive season communications opportunity.

However, it is important to recognise that it is fundamentally a market driven trend that can and is influenced by company advertising and communication. Initially the market wanted greener products and services from more sustainable companies, and companies have been responding to fill the demand. Rapidly growing markets have emerged for green, sustainable and ethical products and services as consumers take environmental action through their purchasing decisions – decisions which are largely based on advertising and corporate communications (in the context of global environmental concerns). As more and more people choose ‘green’ products or companies, more and more businesses are encouraged to innovate in sustainability and clean up their environmental act to position themselves for the emerging green economy.

And as more business promote their green credentials, more consumers are subject to the green message which can influence awareness and potentially lead to consumers taking action through green purchasing decisions. Theoretically a positive feedback loop is established with both the consumer influencing the supplier, and the supplier influencing the consumer towards more sustainable ways.

The problem is that many companies and their marketing departments have started to exploit the green market through the use of unsubstantiated or irrelevant environmental claims, commonly known as greenwashing. Greenwashing can be intentional and explicitly deceiving, or unintentional and vague. Greenwashing is any type of environmental claim, alignment or suggestion which is really more about cashing in on the hot topic rather than expressing the true nature or credentials of a product or company.

Greenwasing can consist of outright lies, the suggestive use of green images or claiming a product is slightly greener than others in a category, even when the whole category is very environmentally damaging. It could be a green product manufactured by a dirty company or some fluffy, non specific communications about eco-friendliness. Greenwash is commonly the term used to describe an organisation that seems to invest more money or effort in advertising their green credentials than they invest in actually establishing and improving environmental practices.

Greenwashing is unsustainable and dangerous as it threatens to undermine the positive consumer-business environmental feedback loop. Consumers, being a savvy lot are wising up to the practice of greenwashing, and are beginning to distrust ‘green’ advertising and communications. In fact, according the the publication, What Assures Consumers on Climate Change ,  only 10% of consumers trust the green message they receive from business and government – that’s a pretty skeptical crowd that’s out there.

As greenwashing becomes more common, and more people become aware of it, more distrust is given to green claims, and consumers become unlikely to form purchase decisions on the back of those claims. With fewer consumers making green purchasing decisions, fewer business have the incentive to go green, and the positive feedback loop is broken. In order to prevent this from happening, marketing, advertising and communication agencies and their clients need to be vigilant about preventing incidences of greenwashing and campaigns which could be ‘perceived’ as greenwashing.

So, with an overwhelming temptation to spread the green word, how can one avoid their communications being perceived as greenwashing? A good place to start is following the guidelines outlined by the ACCC in their 2008 publication Green marketing and the Trade Practices Act. A simple checklist for marketers at the back of this publication allows you to quickly test if your communications could be perceived as greenwash.

Every organisation has a responsibility to minimise their environmental footprint through efficiencies in waste, water and energy, and strive towards providing sustainable, future focused products and services. And in the current climate of economic change, it’s an ideal time to focus on the part you can play in a more sustainable and green economy. For organisations implementing and achieving significant and legitimate progress in this area, promoting green credentials can be a powerful marketing message, one that not only boosts the bottom line, but also contributes to influencing attitudes about caring for our planet. But beware of the dangers of greenwash.

However, it is important to recognise that it is fundamentally a market driven trend that can and is influenced by company advertising and communication. Initially the market wanted greener products and services from more sustainable companies, and companies have been responding to fill the demand. Rapidly growing markets have emerged for green, sustainable and ethical products and services as consumers take environmental action through their purchasing decisions – decisions which are largely based on advertising and corporate communications (in the context of global environmental concerns). As more and more people choose ‘green’ products or companies, more and more businesses are encouraged to innovate in sustainability and clean up their environmental act to position themselves for the emerging green economy.

And as more business promote their green credentials, more consumers are subject to the green message which can influence awareness and potentially lead to consumers taking action through green purchasing decisions. Theoretically a positive feedback loop is established with both the consumer influencing the supplier, and the supplier influencing the consumer towards more sustainable ways.        

The problem is that many companies and their marketing departments have started to exploit the green market through the use of unsubstantiated or irrelevant environmental claims, commonly known as greenwashing. Greenwashing can be intentional and explicitly deceiving, or unintentional and vague. Greenwashing is any type of environmental claim, alignment or suggestion which is really more about cashing in on the hot topic rather than expressing the true nature or credentials of a product or company.

Greenwasing can consist of outright lies, the suggestive use of green images or claiming a product is slightly greener than others in a category, even when the whole category is very environmentally damaging. It could be a green product manufactured by a dirty company or some fluffy, non specific communications about eco-friendliness. Greenwash is commonly the term used to describe an organisation that seems to invest more money or effort in advertising their green credentials than they invest in actually establishing and improving environmental practices.  

Greenwashing is unsustainable and dangerous as it threatens to undermine the positive consumer-business environmental feedback loop. Consumers, being a savvy lot are wising up to the practice of greenwashing, and are beginning to distrust ‘green’ advertising and communications. In fact, according the the publication, What Assures Consumers on Climate Change ,  only 10% of consumers trust the green message they receive from business and government – that’s a pretty skeptical crowd that’s out there.

As greenwashing becomes more common, and more people become aware of it, more distrust is given to green claims, and consumers become unlikely to form purchase decisions on the back of those claims. With fewer consumers making green purchasing decisions, fewer business have the incentive to go green, and the positive feedback loop is broken. In order to prevent this from happening, marketing, advertising and communication agencies and their clients need to be vigilant about preventing incidences of greenwashing and campaigns which could be ‘perceived’ as greenwashing.

So, with an overwhelming temptation to spread the green word, how can one avoid their communications being perceived as greenwashing? A good place to start is following the guidelines outlined by the ACCC in their 2008 publication Green marketing and the Trade Practices Act. A simple checklist for marketers at the back of this publication allows you to quickly test if your communications could be perceived as greenwash.

Every organisation has a responsibility to minimise their environmental footprint through efficiencies in waste, water and energy, and strive towards providing sustainable, future focused products and services. And in the current climate of economic change, it’s an ideal time to focus on the part you can play in a more sustainable and green economy. For organisations implementing and achieving significant and legitimate progress in this area, promoting green credentials can be a powerful marketing message, one that not only boosts the bottom line, but also contributes to influencing attitudes about caring for our planet. But beware of the dangers of greenwash. ]]> http://enso.com.au/green-is-the-new-cmyk/feed/ 0