Wow, more than 300 marketers submitted campaigns to MarketingSherpa’s annual Email Awards competition this year. The awards were handed out at last week’s sold-out Email Summit, Expo & Awards in Miami.
Among the 47 winners are re-engagement emails, entertainment events messages, triggered emails, direct sale or lead-gen promotion and most dramatic test results. Loads of US firms took home awards -- with a fantastic campaign from Germany and a Spanish-language effort sprinkled in.
As in past years, “results” was the most-important factor determining the winners. The quality of this year’s entries was better than ever, said our panel of judges, who inspected every entry’s results first and foremost. Only those with above-average results moved onto the next round.
Next, the judges reviewed strategy -- looking for factors that our research shows are best practices:
- Was testing involved?
- Was there segmentation?
- Was the email highly relevant to recipients?
- Was the strategy specifically devised to meet a particular goal?
Finally, they looked at creative. It broke some ties. But winners were often chosen by virtue of exceptional results and strategy without a creative review. Great-looking emails are a factor, but results say it all.
#1. Best (or Most Dramatic) Test You Learned FromDid you conduct a test this year on subject lines, campaign creative, lists, offers, landing pages ... anything at all? If the results were dramatic, then we want to hear about it. Yes, failed “worst” tests are just as likely to win this award as “happy” tests. The point is you tested and learned.
Gold B-to-B
Southcentral Foundation Company Newsletter
http://www.marketingsherpa.com/emaw2008/10.htmlGold Consumer
Key Messaging Multivariate Test for Kolbe Corp.
http://www.marketingsherpa.com/emaw2008/11.htmlSilver Consumer
Insurance.com - CYQ Urgent Email
http://www.marketingsherpa.com/emaw2008/12.html #2. Best Automated Series (Auto Responder)Do you send an automatic series of messages that are pre-canned to folks who sign up? Perhaps you call it an “e-course” or “welcome series” or something else.
Gold B-to-B
VMWare - Customer Cost Savings
http://www.marketingsherpa.com/emaw2008/1.htmlSilver B-to-B
Dell - Customer Ratings & Reviews
http://www.marketingsherpa.com/emaw2008/2.htmlHonorable Mention B-to-B
CostGuard Automated Series Upgrade 2007
http://www.marketingsherpa.com/emaw2008/3.htmlGold Consumer
GMAC Lead Incubation
http://www.marketingsherpa.com/emaw2008/4.htmlSilver Consumer
Farecast Alert - Airfare Predictions
http://www.marketingsherpa.com/emaw2008/5.html Honorable Mention Consumer
Les Roches Autoresponder
http://www.marketingsherpa.com/emaw2008/6.html#3. Best Email Opt-in CampaignAre you running (or did you in 2007) an opt-in marketing campaign to get more highly qualified, responsive names on your list? Explain the best practices you’re using to get more high-quality names on your opt-in list.
Gold B-to-B
IBM - Gain Greater ROI
http://www.marketingsherpa.com/emaw2008/31.htmlGold B-to-B
Motorola WiMAX Global Relationship Marketing Campaign
http://www.marketingsherpa.com/emaw2008/32.htmlGold B-to-B
Rainmaker Report - The One Piece of Advice You Can’t Generate Leads Without
http://www.marketingsherpa.com/emaw2008/33.htmlGold B-to-B
The Sun Asian Pacific Re-Engagement Campaign
http://www.marketingsherpa.com/emaw2008/34.htmlSilver B-to-B
Germanwings October Revolution
http://www.marketingsherpa.com/emaw2008/29.htmlHonorable Mention B-to-B
MomAgenda
http://www.marketingsherpa.com/emaw2008/30.html Gold Consumer
Circuit City Marketing Email
http://www.marketingsherpa.com/emaw2008/35.html Gold Consumer
AMF $50,000 Summer Free-For-All
http://www.marketingsherpa.com/emaw2008/36.html Gold Consumer
BHG.com & Parents.com - 50 Days of Giveaways
http://www.marketingsherpa.com/emaw2008/37.htmlGold Consumer
Learning A-Z - Open House
http://www.marketingsherpa.com/emaw2008/38.html#4. Best Non-Email Opt-in MessagingWhat opt-in communications do you offer your customers and prospects aside from email? Can they be tailored for relevance? Can they be measured for success?
Gold B-to-B
Dell - Email Registration Direct Mail
http://www.marketingsherpa.com/emaw2008/40.html Silver B-to-B
Royal Caribbean Cruises - VIP CruisePass
http://www.marketingsherpa.com/emaw2008/41.htmlGold Consumer
US Army Recruiting
http://www.marketingsherpa.com/emaw2008/42.htmlSilver (tie) Consumer
Motorcycle Insurance - In The Saddle
http://www.marketingsherpa.com/emaw2008/43.htmlSilver (tie) Consumer
Vail SnowMate
http://www.marketingsherpa.com/emaw2008/44.html #5. Best Postcard-Style CampaignYou can submit very short text-only messages, or fairly small HTML images and messages. The point is, this campaign was as compact and swift to read as a postcard would be.
Gold B-to-B
Blue Tent Marketing - A Holiday Gift
http://www.marketingsherpa.com/emaw2008/7.htmlGold Consumer
Renault SIAB
http://www.marketingsherpa.com/emaw2008/8.htmlSilver Consumer
Indiana University Foundation - Fiscal Year-end Thank You Email
http://www.marketingsherpa.com/emaw2008/9.html#6. Best Promotional Blast -- Direct Sale or Lead Gen OfferWhether your campaign was for an ecommerce offer or an offer requiring registration or download, this is the place for it. B-to-B marketers, this is where you’d include your white paper announcements and webinar invites.
Gold B-to-B
Dell - Top Rated Products
http://www.marketingsherpa.com/emaw2008/18.htmlSilver B-to-B
SAP PartnershipEdge Program
http://www.marketingsherpa.com/emaw2008/19.htmlHonorable Mention B-to-B
Biolase Ezlase Diode Laser
http://www.marketingsherpa.com/emaw2008/20.htmlGold Consumer
Wacom: Power of Pens
http://www.marketingsherpa.com/emaw2008/21.htmlSilver (tie) Consumer
Kodak - “Two-fer”
http://www.marketingsherpa.com/emaw2008/22.html Silver (tie) Consumer
Windows Live Hotmail Incentivized Migration
http://www.marketingsherpa.com/emaw2008/23.htmlHonorable Mention Consumer
Raptors - Oh My Bosh!
http://www.marketingsherpa.com/emaw2008/24.html #7. Best Promotional Relaunch Blast Did you create a campaign around a product relaunch? Explain what you did to reintroduce the item.
Gold Consumer
Spencer Gifts - Fart Machine - “That Ain’t Hot Air--Fart-O-Nator”
http://www.marketingsherpa.com/emaw2008/39.html#8. Best Single Welcome Letter (to New Subscribers)Does your letter to new opt-in subscribers take it one step further beyond the standard “you have been added to the list”? Do you include a branded message, an offer, a list of best hotlinks, personal-style note?
Gold B-to-B
InterContinental Hotels Group - Priority Club Meeting Rewards - Welcome Emails
http://www.marketingsherpa.com/emaw2008/46.htmlGold Consumer
Maxwell House - Spruce Up Your House
http://www.marketingsherpa.com/emaw2008/47.html#9. Best Email Newsletter for Marketing PurposesWe’re looking for compelling content and easy-to-skim design. How does your newsletter help build your brand, educate the market, create sales? Explain how your content meets the target audience’s needs and how they respond. Extra points for content that’s not just text-words and images ... do you include new media, interactivity, video, audio, Web 2.0? Let us know.
Gold B-to-B
Sun Microsystems Global Channel Partner Newsletter
http://www.marketingsherpa.com/emaw2008/13.htmlSilver B-to-B
Cars.com Dealer Advantage
http://www.marketingsherpa.com/emaw2008/14.htmlGold Consumer
HP Home & Home Office Store Newsletter Redesign
http://www.marketingsherpa.com/emaw2008/15.html Silver (tie) Consumer
My Coke Rewards Newsletter
http://www.marketingsherpa.com/emaw2008/16.htmlSilver (tie) Consumer
Sears - What’s in Store for You? email program
http://www.marketingsherpa.com/emaw2008/17.html#10. Best Triggered Personalized EmailDo you send emails “from” an ecommerce cart that’s been abandoned? Or perhaps reminders to consumers about wish-lists? Or maybe a reminder to businesses when they need to re-order something?
Gold B-to-B
Wer liefert was? (WLW) Customer Loyalty Program
http://www.marketingsherpa.com/emaw2008/25.htmlSilver B-to-B
Dell Small & Medium Business Saved Cart
http://www.marketingsherpa.com/emaw2008/26.htmlGold Consumer
Happy Birthday From Pepsi
http://www.marketingsherpa.com/emaw2008/27.htmlSilver Consumer
Tennessee Dept. of Tourist Development - License to Ride with Elvis or Dolly
http://www.marketingsherpa.com/emaw2008/28.html#11. Best of ShowQuite simply, the best of the best.
Logitech DiNovo Edge and Logitech MX Revolution
http://www.marketingsherpa.com/emaw2008/45.html Useful links related to this articleEmail Marketing Summit 2008 Wrap-up: Marketers Reveal Latest on Office Politics, Messages, Deliverability, Segmentation:
http://www.marketingsherpa.com/article.php?ident=30367MarketingSherpa's Email Award Winner Gallery 2007: Creative for Your Swipe File:
http://www.marketingsherpa.com/article.php?ident=29889MarketingSherpa's Email Marketing Award Winner Gallery 2006: Creative Samples Galore:
http://www.marketingsherpa.com/article.php?ident=27416 
These are inspiring examples. The winners clearly are deserving. Hats off! Wow! I'm humbled... and saving examples like crazy! It's great that these folks shared their work this way. And it's a tremendous service that you compiled and published all this. What a gold mine. Now, a question -- should small companies enter their campaigns in '08? Anne I know you'll say 'yes!' But here's why I ask: large enterprises dominated the winner's circle like never before this year. Yes I realize that not all winners were large. Clearly there are some smaller firms doing ingenious rigorous email marketing. If we made a 'pyramid' to represent entries -- would it show many large companies, fewer midsize, and very few small or the other way around? I'm not challenging or being snarky -- I'm asking about what inference if any to make from winner's circle representation. Maybe the answer is 'make no inference because...'