OfficeMax has relaunched its popular 'ElfYourself' holiday campaign in a move to connect the brand with holiday gift shopping in time for the season. The campaign, which is in its fourth year, launched on November 10 on 'Ellen' and is being promoted through a Web site, e-mail effort, in-store signage, insert media and social media. The initiative, which runs through January 15, is aimed at helping OfficeMax retain and acquire customers.

E-mail marketing is one of the most effective retention marketing techniques available to digital marketers today. Whatever business you're in - whether you're a local hairdresser trying to increase return traffic to your salon or a multi-million dollar e-commerce site with more than 1,000 products to sell - e-mail marketing should be one of the highest priorities within your online marketing strategy.

Transactional e-mails are a great way for marketers to keep up with their customers and build loyalty. Digital bill statements are a good example of this.

Constant Contact, an e-mail and digital marketing firm, has released QuickView, an iPhone application for marketers to manage e-mail campaigns via mobile device. Marketers can use the app to access contact lists and view campaigns and reports on the iPhone. The firm created the platform in response to customer demand.

Multiple tactics help marketers tackle e-mail list building in the nonprofit sector. Four nonprofit experts share their top recommendations for growing e-mail databases effectively, while minding permission.

Lovemoney.com, a personal finance Web site based in the UK, has selected StrongMail to power its e-mail marketing.

RaceTrac Petroleum, which operates more than 525 retail gasoline and convenience stores in 12 southeastern states, has teamed up with BrightWave Marketing to power its e-mail and social marketing efforts.

One of the great benefits of e-mail list rental marketing has to do with four simple letters: from. Unlike its older, much more expensive cousin, direct mail, e-mail can afford the advertiser the luxury of reaching prospects with a greeting from the respective list owner. Even if only through the use of the simple "From line" - the end user can immediately recognize the sender of the e-mail and thus greatly increase the likelihood of opening and then reading the e-mail.

Petco has added monthly e-mail- and insert media-focused messages about its products and services to its marketing mix. The initiative is a result of the company's work with e-mail marketing agency e-Dialog, which it hired earlier this year.

E-mail marketers blend established best practices with new options, such as social media and embedded video, to engage consumers.