MeritDirect launched mobile and social capabilities for third-party email campaigns, which it is first rolling out to client Penton Media, said Chris Blohm, MeritDirect’s SVP of data and media services, on Feb. 16. Neta Yoffe, Penton Media’s director of corporate communications, confirmed the arrangement.
Recipients of email marketing messages will be able to post the email campaign to directly to their Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn accounts, which Blohm said can greatly expand a campaign’s visibility.
“Let’s say it’s a discount for Office Max,” Blohm said. “Someone might want to share that with their friends. From a marketer’s perspective, it provides more coverage for that email.”
Blohm said that in addition, marketers can specify the messages go to recipients who prefer to read email marketing messages on mobile devices, as they’ve been tracking that information. This can allow marketers to promote offers geared toward on-the-go professionals and tailor creative for mobile viewing.
The feature may be offered to other MeritDirect clients in the future, but for now will be exclusive to Penton Media, Blohm said. “We’ll see if the results are good, but right now it’s focused to Penton,” he said, adding that MeritDirect developed it specifically with Penton — its largest list management client — in mind.
Last summer, MeritDirect rebranded its list management and interactive services division as the “data and media services” unit to emphasize email and social marketing offerings.
