Branded email can fall into following categories, each works a little differently than next:

• Stationary – Microsoft Outlook comes with its own stationary tool, and there are quite a few other stationary companies. Drawbacks – These systems typically provide little or no customizability, no functionality; no usability; can be email size issues

• Mail Redirect – This type of branded email system can use (or allow you to develop) a custom template, then in order for you to send branded email, you send an email to second- or third-party servers, via an email address like this one - your.recipient@company.com@MailRedirectCompany.com - which puts your message in body of branded email template, then send it to recipient on your behalf. Drawbacks – low usability; not secure; hard to reply/forward email with branding

• Web Based – Now we’re getting to more advanced systems. This type of system offers custom and/or generic templates that you can use with your email. You log in to their website and send your email through their site. Drawbacks – Most won’t allow you to use your own email address; not secure; hard to reply/forward email with branding

• IT Department or Design Department created – If you have an IT guy/department or a design guy/department you can probably do this in-house. Create HTML template that you want to use, and add it into your client. Drawbacks – it takes time to change templates if your contact information changes; you have to duplicate design and change it for every person in your office; you have to host images on your server, or attach/embed them to email (size issue)

• Integrated – This is type of system you should be looking for. Integrated systems integrate with your mail client (Outlook, Eudora, etc) and allow you to send branded email just like you would any other email. Good systems allow you to do this with as few clicks as possible, and best ones don’t require you to start another program in order to add branding aspects. Drawbacks – if you use an off-brand client, it may not be supported

It’s End of Article as We Know It… and I Feel Fine

Branding is alive and well in world today, and its next frontier is email. More and more businesses are switching to an email branding system, and plain text email is slowly losing its grip on business communication. Find a system that fits your business, and start branding today.

Have you ever heard that Dell radio commercial where it says to go to dellradio.com? That's direct response too, because they are sending you to a specific URL. When you go there, they know you came from their radio advertising campaign. With that information, they can judge effectiveness of campaign in terms of dollars spent versus revenue generated.

What distinguishes Direct Response from Brand or General Marketing is that there exists a method to directly link ad to response, which then allows a financial assessment of marketing communication. That assessment can then be used to determine success (or failure) of campaign in terms of meeting cost per action goal.