There's nothing better for an e-mail campaign than a marketer who considers the details. Extra thought about the time an e-mail is sent, personalization and segmentation of marketing messages' content can increase engagement and interest in a brand.

Email Data Source said it will reveal a Twitter monitoring tool on November 4 at the AdTech trade show in New York. The e-mail data analysis firm will incorporate the Twitter-measurement tool with its existing e-mail analytics tool. The platform will be available to clients, with plans to market it to prospects as well.

Expedia CruiseShipCenters will launch an online booking tool in December aimed at growing the brand's customer base and building consumer loyalty. The brand is using an e-mail effort to promote it. The company will launch the tool in time for cruise-booking season, traditionally January and February.

K&G Fashion Superstore, a Men's Wearhouse brand, is planning a foray into mobile marketing using a Responsys toolset. The brand is trying to reach consumers who typically don't respond to other direct and digital methods, said Claudia Lugmair, manager of e-communications at Men's Wearhouse. The effort is expected to begin next year.

E-mail marketing firm Responsys has agreed to acquire digital marketing consultancy Smith-Harmon in a part-cash, part-stock deal. Financial terms of the agreement, which is expected to close next month, were not disclosed. For the near future, Smith-Harmon will continue to operate as an independent brand, known as "Smith-Harmon, a Responsys company."

The right e-mail at the right time can be a powerful touch point with your customer. At its best, meaningful e-mail content can complement the salesperson in-store and extend the reach of their relationship with customers.

E-mail marketing services firm Zrinity is partnering with Pivotal Veracity to add its deliverability services to Zrinity business-to-business offerings. The partnership, reached earlier this month, comes as Zrinity is looking to connect data with better deliverability in real time.

I've been flying a lot this month, both for vacation and business, and e-mail updates for upcoming flights have made the experience smoother.

Gerard Lo Monaco, VP of technology and operations at Sony, and Sean O'Neal, chief revenue officer at Datran Media, discuss Sony's approach to e-mail marketing and holiday plans for e-mail.

During the recession, companies launched e-mail campaigns in record numbers because it is cost-effective and measurable. According to a study by Forrester Research, spending on e-mail marketing in the US will balloon to $2 billion by 2014. In many cases, marketers are opting to shift marketing money from traditional media to interactive marketing.