WrapMail signs 3 new Hotels in Norway

WrapMail today signed Hotell Ivar Assen, Hareid Hotell and Sagafjord Hotell in Norway. These hotels should start wrapping early next week.

WrapMail is a finalist for the South Florida Business Journal’s 2009 Technology Awards

WrapMail, Inc. has been selected as a finalist for the South Florida Business Journal’s 2009 Technology Awards in the Interactive Marketing category.

The Technology Awards was created to honor the area’s best technology-based companies, the CEOs or CIOs leading the way, and the companies making the best use of a technology in South Florida. We looked for growing startup companies, trend-setting innovations, products and services to highlight. Our judging team – led by our editorial department, along with Mark Smith, COO of 3Cinteractive; Mark Wyllie, executive director of InternetCoast; Travis Berger, VP and president-elect of the South Florida Interactive Marketing Association; and Chris Burgio, president of the South Florida Technology Alliance – selected three outstanding finalists in each category from the scores of nominations received.

On Nov. 5, WrapMail, Inc. and all of the finalists will be honored at a special awards luncheon at Jungle Island, at 1111 Parrot Jungle Trail, in Miami.

WrapMail in Inc. Magazine

It’s a big day for us Wrappers as WrapMail has broken into a mainstream business publication – Inc. Magazine.  The concept of using everyday emails as a new advertising medium is clearly beginning to take hold.  Here is the article and link: http://www.inc.com/magazine/20090501/sales-and-marketing-e-mails-that-sell.html

Sales & Marketing: E-Mails That Sell

Turning employee missives into ad campaigns

From: Inc. Magazine, May 2009 | By: Kasey Wehrum

---

The average employee sends about 38 e-mails a day. Could those be wasted marketing opportunities? That’s the thought that occurred to Sean Guerin, co-founder of U.S. Imaging Solutions, a Davie, Florida–based company that sells and services copiers and printers. Guerin decided to try WrapMail, a service that slips advertisements for his company’s products into the e-mails his 60 employees send to customers, vendors, and friends. Now, all of Guerin’s employees have become de facto members of the sales team just by keeping up with regular correspondence.

Several recently introduced products and services, including WrapMail, mailPrimer, BrandMail, and Exclaimer Signature Manager, offer these so-called e-mail enhancements. Prices and features vary, but they all take a company’s outgoing e-mail messages and turn them into marketing mailers, complete with stationery-style borders, banner ads to promote sales and new products, and embedded links. Or as WrapMail describes its service, “It’s like an e-mail signature on steroids.”

As the name suggests, WrapMail takes an outgoing e-mail message and wraps the borders in clickable images. Companies create banner ads, add them to a template, and specify which webpage should appear when someone clicks on an ad. Employees don’t need to install anything — the ads are automatically added after they hit Send. For companies with fewer than 200 employees, the service, which costs $5 per user per month, routes outgoing e-mail through WrapMail’s servers. For larger companies, it’s an additional $3,000 to install a WrapMail server on-site.

Guerin saw results right away. In the first week, someone who clicked on an e-mail banner ad bought an $8,000 printer. The e-mail in question? A reply Guerin had sent to a friend, saying he would attend a dinner party. Guerin’s friend forwarded the RSVP to the host, who happened to work at a photography studio that needed a new printer. Guerin was so impressed that he later joined WrapMail’s board.

There is some evidence to suggest that everyday e-mails make for a persuasive marketing platform. According to a survey by Forrester Research, 77 percent of people say they trust the information in e-mails sent from people they know. That ranks well above the 46 percent who trust what they read in newspapers. And whether or not recipients fully trust the ads in e-mails from acquaintances, they at least look at them. WrapMail claims that nearly all of the e-mails sent with its service get opened. A typical e-mail marketing newsletter, in contrast, is lucky to get a 50 percent open rate.

The e-mail ads may be especially effective in niche markets. Tim Davey, president of Global Marine Travel, an agency based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, that arranges flights for people who work on oil rigs, cargo ships, and private yachts, says WrapMail helps the company target its marketing efforts. Because airlines offer these workers special discounts through Global Marine, the company doesn’t widely publicize its promotions. “We spend about 50 percent of our time turning down people who aren’t qualified to use these fares,” says Davey. About 24 of Global Marine’s 78 employees get ads placed on outgoing messages — about 500 e-mails a month — to cruise-line executives, yacht owners, and other travel agencies. About half of all recipients click on the ads, says Davey.

Of course, there are some drawbacks to plastering e-mails with ads. The messages sometimes get tangled in spam filters. There are also concerns that the in-your-face ads will turn off customers. When WrapMail was mentioned on a tech blog recently, it drew some criticisms. “If I was regularly receiving e-mails with wraps…I would stop dealing with that company,” wrote one commenter. Another added, “Just what we need, more advertising to invade our personal space. Stay out of my inbox!”

WrapMail allows each recipient to opt out of the ads and receive just normal, plain-text e-mails. And a company can omit the ads for contacts who receive frequent e-mails. But Guerin isn’t worried about his ads getting on people’s nerves. “You can’t hit people over the head hard enough when it comes to making them aware of the products you offer,” he says.

Copyright © 2009 Mansueto Ventures LLC. All rights reserved.
Inc.com, 7 World Trade Center, New York, NY 10007-2195.

Wrap it up!

Dave Kustin, CMO – WrapMail

No More Old School Emails

Hi All – check out the article that ran in the Broward College newspaper.  Yes, we are still at it – building the first ever ad network using college emails.  Yes, we are working closely with Google to make this happen as Broward College has made WrapMail a top requirement for their new student email system.  Yes, the students love the idea…read on:

Dave Kustin – CMO, WrapMail

#1 on TechCrunch for 6 Months

That is correct.  WrapMail has had the #1 ranked pitch on TechCrunch since June of 2008 with 1,166 ‘up’ votes. Second place?  Smug Mug, a 6 year old company with 346 ‘up’ votes. There’s not much else to say when you’re #1…so as they say “lets go to the tape”…

Dave Kustin – CMO, WrapMail

Latest Email Research – Validation!!

A study just released this week from Forrester Research shows that:

 ”emails between people that know each other is the most trusted source of information.”

This research, interestingly, came out in a study focused on the concept of trust and blogs, with focus on the fact that most people do not trust the information on corporate blogs.  You can read more here: http://blogs.forrester.com/groundswell/2008/12/people-dont-tru.html

Here are some of the findings:

So, what does this mean to you and maybe more importantly to WrapMail?  Well, first of all, and most importantly, the respondents thought that corporate blogs ceased being what they used to be a number of years ago and that is, an open book of sorts or a conversation from corporation to customer.  Most corporate blogs today are an outlet for companies to shout about how great their products are services are.  We have tried to take a position on marketing issues while still being fair, and have tried to be open about our corporate news and products/services.  In other words, we have tried to deliver value here.

So, what it means for WrapMail is, total and complete validation of our business concept. What is means for you is that WrapMail is the source or tool for you to take advantage of the FACT that your email to someone you know is the most trusted form to deliver information about your company. Period.  We are working even harder now to capitalize on this opportunity.

Wrap on…

Dave Kustin – CMO, WrapMail

Response Rates & The Crunchies

Typical response rates for direct mail campaigns are 1% and typical response rates for an email campaign is around 2%.  Yes, some email campaigns may get a huge response in double digits, but that is the exception, not the rule.  

WrapMail on the other hand, consistently delivers a near 10% response rate.  Our internal data shows that our customers experience a response rate of somewhere between 5% and 10% – with the mode being around 8%.  Think about it, you can garner a significant response from your existing customers and prospects by wrapping all of the emails that your employees are going to send anyway.  Doesn’t it stand to reason that a percentage of those that respond will turn into new business.

In other news, please vote for us for a Crunchie!!  These are awards that are hosted by TechCrunch, and you can vote by clicking the image below.  Don’t you think technology that blows away all existing results for email response rates would be considered innovative? We do.  Thank you for your support and vote!

Dave Kustin – CMO, WrapMail

Inexpensive email Marketing

Times are tough, there is no doubt about it.  Hopefully, all of the companies out there cutting back are not doing so in their marketing departments, because in a down economy you MUST continue to communicate with your customers and prospects.  WrapMail is based on the premise that companies have employees that send emails.  These are emails that are 1) going to be sent anyway (i.e. the email that confirms a meeting for instance) and 2) company assets.  In other words, that email is or should be of business nature, is sent using the corporate email address and is therefore ‘owned’ by the company, it’s an asset.  

 

Existing Asset - Monetized

Think of all the building owners in Times Square, do you think they were built with those billboards and signs on it?  No, they had an asset, the exterior walls, and they monetized it by either advertising for themselves or a 3rd party.  WrapMail is the same concept.  You own the email, you might as well put it to work for you beyond just being a means to communicate – use it to cross sell, brand, inform, research and go viral.

WrapMail costs $5 per user per month.  For most any business, big or small, it should be a minimal expense, but more importantly, it puts an existing asset to work.  All hands on deck!

Wrap it up…

Dave Kustin – CMO, WrapMail

Independent Professionals Unite!

WrapMail will be launching a new service, WrapMail Lite, within the next 30 days targeted to independent professionals. Please allow me to define independent professional.  An independent professional may be someone that works in network marketing (Arbonne, Avon, Mary Kay, etc…), as an eBay seller, a real estate agent or any other professional typically associated with a group affiliation.  See below for a preview of the sign up page:

Why do this?  There are tens of millions of people currently working as independent reps for various network marketing groups and the vast majority, if not all of them, use a web based email address to email their prospects and clients.  WrapMail Lite will be the only web based email system specifically designed for independent professionals.  Users will be able to preview and choose a professionally designed Wrap for their affiliation, customize it with their picture, link(s), contact info and send wrapped emails from a unique email address (@wrapmail.com).  Why use Yahoo, AOL, Gmail or the others when you can use this to push your store out with every email?

Wrapped emails will have the designated affiliation’s images along with the users image embedded in the email which will always show up – never a red x – and will be clickable back to the users unique web page(s).  The system tracks all clicks and reports back to the sender WHO is clicking on WHAT and WHEN.  The cost will be $4.95 per month or $49.95 for the year which is an incredible value in these trying economic times.

Dave Kustin – CMO, WrapMail

30 New Accounts in October

Not a record month, but still very good.  That’s 30 new companies representing hundreds of employees sending thousands of wrapped emails every day instead of plain black on white ones.  I am beginning to think of wrapped emails as being ‘PROACTIVE’ versus ‘PASSIVE’ or ‘ELECTRIC’ versus ‘ACOUSTIC.’  Whatever the analogy, wrapped emails do something – they inform, brand, conduct research, up sell, cross sell – they are an extension of your staff. I can’t think of another marketing/communication tool that is as active and subtle at the same time as WrapMail.

Wrap on…

 

Dave Kustin – CMO, WrapMail