The Email Service Provider Coalition, York, ME, is changing its name and expanding its mission to focus not just on spam and e-mail “threats,” but also on the benefits of e-mail marketing.
ESPC said last week that it now will be known as the Email Sender and Provider Coalition to better reflect the variety of businesses that are members of the coalition.
“We're not just e-mail service providers, we're the e-mail industry,” executive director Trevor Hughes said.
In addition to e-mail technology and reputation firms such as Habeas and Return Path that have come on board this year, non-e-mail firms have joined the coalition. It now has about 75 member companies.
“We have had companies join that aren't an e-mail company, but a company that does a lot of e-mail marketing,” Hughes said. “They have found that e-mail has become a sophisticated job … and they need tools and resources to help them.”
Members include Microsoft, the Financial Publishers Association and CoolSavings Inc.
ESPC's focus also is broadening from when it formed in 2002 to fight spam and protect delivery of legitimate e-mail. Though it still will focus on threats to e-mail — including getting involved in state and federal anti-spam legislation — it also will promote e-mail's effectiveness.
“Responding to legislation and spam will always be things that we will pay close attention to, [but] in 2006, I hope we can become more of a cheerleader for the e-mail channel,” Hughes said. “It's not getting its due in the marketplace. E-mail truly is the killer application.”
One way the ESPC will promote the industry is by publishing data on the effectiveness and consumer receptivity of e-mail marketing. It also will continue working on e-mail authentication, including holding a follow-up to the Email Authentication Summit, which occurred in New York over the summer.
Christine Blank covers online marketing and advertising, including e-mail marketing and paid search, for DM News and DMNews.com. To keep up with the latest developments in these areas, subscribe to our daily and weekly e-mail newsletters by visiting www.dmnews.com/newsletters
