How do you know when a brand is in the market for agency partners? The analysts at our prospecting publication WinmoEdge have gotten predicting agency reviews and hires down to a science. By monitoring subtle triggers like marketing appointments, funding, and existing agency tenure, they’ve developed a remarkably accurate prediction model that alerts agencies to pitch-worthy accounts months before a review is announced or an agency shake-up occurs. But, are their predictions reliable? With an 80% success rate, we would certainly say so.
To give you a glimpse, check out three brands ranking highly on our Vulnerable Account Index (top 100 advertisers predicted to hire agencies in the next 3-18 months). We score these brands on a scale of 1 to 100, with 100 being the most likely and most imminent.
Advertiser: Vireo Health | Vulnerability Score: 99
Trigger: Company names new AOR, plans for first recreational marijuana product
Colangelo Synergy was named the strategic marketing AOR. “1937” is the brand’s new platform focusing on recreational marijuana products. Previously, it focused solely on medicinal products. As our WinmoEdge team predicted, this partnership follows an increase in spending we reported in June.
Vireo is licensed to sell in Arizona, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, and Rhode Island. Currently, Vireo seems relatively active on Instagram, so consider offering social media services to continue pulling in millennials and legal-age Gen Z. We suggest any agencies who specialize in the cannabis industry and have experience with NE regional marketing reach out first.
Want decision-makers and contact information for this opportunity? Get trail access here.
Advertiser: Pizza Hut | Vulnerability Score: 94
Trigger: Hires CMO, CBO from KFC and look to push digital
Following their CMO and CBO hires in January in 2020, both coming from KFC, our team thinks the pizza giant is looking to rebrand. We predict Pizza Hut will follow sister-brand KFC and use humor-based campaigns (digital and social emphasis) and partnerships to target younger males.
PH spent around $7 million from February 2019 – 2020 on digital display ads, according to Adbeat. Media sellers should be excited by the recent increase in activity for this channel; PH increased at the very end of 2019 and has continued spending more than usual into February 2020. We suggest reaching out to offer social marketing services – if that is your specialty.
Advertiser: Smile Direct Club | Vulnerability Score: 91
Trigger: Onmi-channel focus, increasing spend
Smile Direct Club execs say they plan to push omnichannel marketing to increase brand awareness. Previously the company utilized celebrity sponsors as a channel for brand awareness. Now the company is especially focused on social media and other digital marketing channels. Adbeat reports that SDC’s digital display ad spend is on the rise; from Dec 2018-2019, it nearly tripled to approximately $9.6 million from an estimated $3.8 million (Dec 2017-2018).
SDC handles creative in-house; however, its decision-makers may be open to shifting media and/or digital. Overall spend is rising and should continue to do so as the company seeks to increase brand awareness. Those able to boost foot traffic to SmileShops locations (view here) will have the upper hand.
Successful Agency Predictions
As we said, our WinmoEdge team boasts an 80% success rate when it comes to agency change predictions. Want proof? Check out a couple of recent agency changes that have us saying “told ya so!”
Hired new CMO, other changes in leadership
As we predicted in February, after appointing Brandon Coleman as SVP and CMO the company looked to tap new agencies. Dave and Busters added Mother Y is their new creative AOR. The agency is tasked to help the arcade chain with its re-opening campaigns and guest communication.
In March the WinmoEdge Team predicted changes in thanks to the new DM. Weight Watchers has added WPP Group, Inc.; specifically, Mindshare, Neo & Wunderman Thompson to handle “upstream strategy and media buying & planning” in North America.
Moving forward we recommend agencies look for spending to remain steady through the end of the year until WW’s peak spend period: Q4-Q1 (weight loss season, when spend is usually highest).
Hires AOR agency after CMO hire
The WinmoEdge team noted a CMO change in October of 2019, bringing Heather Nykolaychuk to the company. The home decor company hired The Many to handle the brand’s creative and media strategy across TV, digital, video, radio, print, social, and activations. Nykolaychuk had previously worked with The Many at Mattel’s Hot Wheels. We expect the agency to launch Budget Blind’s first-ever integrated campaign next year.
For more insights on top advertisers and their agency changes, request a demo here:
UK Movers & Shakers – June Recap
in Ad Sales, Agency New Business, UKby Marilyn Mead BrutocoBelow, check out your June recap of new marketing appointments.
It is a good time to get on the radar with each of these decision-makers as they bring a fresh perspective to each brand’s plans for the second half of the year.
First, tea company Twinings appointed Jo Spencer as its new Marketing Director in June. Jo previously served as brand marketing director of Asahi, and prior to that, worked as marketing director of Kerry Foods. She has experience across a wide variety of channels.
Next up, clothing retailer River Island hired Marketing Director Lou Ashton in June. She previously worked as the marketing director of Vivobarefoot, and before that, as the global marketing head at Topshop Topman.
Gin brand Sipsmith appointed Annabel Keech as its global marketing director, effective June, to replace incumbent Shelley Macintyre. Macintyre now serves as global marketing director for all of the gin brands at parent company Beam Suntory. Keech previously served as a marketing consultant, and before that, as the global marketing head for Peroni at Asahi.
Then, insurance provider Simplyhealth employed Brand Head John Ali in June. Most of his experience lies in sponsorship (he previously served as sponsorship head at Marathonbet, senior sponsorship manager at Vitality UK, and sponsorship manager at Virgin Media).
Finally, Nissan promoted its GB marketing director – Nicolas Verneuil – to sales director in order to fill the vacancy caused by the departure of Andrew Sellars. To fill the GB marketing director position, it promoted Nicholas Thomas from global EV business director at Nissan Japan. These changes went into effect at the end of June.
These insights have been sourced from WinmoEdge.
Enjoyed the June recap? Get in contact with the Winmo UK team here if you’d like to get this kind of access every day, to help give you an unfair advantage on your competition!
Accounts Predicted To Hire Agencies Soon
in Agency New Business, Breaking News, Salesby Shannon HamptonHow do you know when a brand is in the market for agency partners? The analysts at our prospecting publication WinmoEdge have gotten predicting agency reviews and hires down to a science. By monitoring subtle triggers like marketing appointments, funding, and existing agency tenure, they’ve developed a remarkably accurate prediction model that alerts agencies to pitch-worthy accounts months before a review is announced or an agency shake-up occurs. But, are their predictions reliable? With an 80% success rate, we would certainly say so.
To give you a glimpse, check out three brands ranking highly on our Vulnerable Account Index (top 100 advertisers predicted to hire agencies in the next 3-18 months). We score these brands on a scale of 1 to 100, with 100 being the most likely and most imminent.
Advertiser: Vireo Health | Vulnerability Score: 99
Trigger: Company names new AOR, plans for first recreational marijuana product
Colangelo Synergy was named the strategic marketing AOR. “1937” is the brand’s new platform focusing on recreational marijuana products. Previously, it focused solely on medicinal products. As our WinmoEdge team predicted, this partnership follows an increase in spending we reported in June.
Vireo is licensed to sell in Arizona, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, and Rhode Island. Currently, Vireo seems relatively active on Instagram, so consider offering social media services to continue pulling in millennials and legal-age Gen Z. We suggest any agencies who specialize in the cannabis industry and have experience with NE regional marketing reach out first.
Want decision-makers and contact information for this opportunity? Get trail access here.
Advertiser: Pizza Hut | Vulnerability Score: 94
Trigger: Hires CMO, CBO from KFC and look to push digital
Following their CMO and CBO hires in January in 2020, both coming from KFC, our team thinks the pizza giant is looking to rebrand. We predict Pizza Hut will follow sister-brand KFC and use humor-based campaigns (digital and social emphasis) and partnerships to target younger males.
PH spent around $7 million from February 2019 – 2020 on digital display ads, according to Adbeat. Media sellers should be excited by the recent increase in activity for this channel; PH increased at the very end of 2019 and has continued spending more than usual into February 2020. We suggest reaching out to offer social marketing services – if that is your specialty.
Advertiser: Smile Direct Club | Vulnerability Score: 91
Trigger: Onmi-channel focus, increasing spend
Smile Direct Club execs say they plan to push omnichannel marketing to increase brand awareness. Previously the company utilized celebrity sponsors as a channel for brand awareness. Now the company is especially focused on social media and other digital marketing channels. Adbeat reports that SDC’s digital display ad spend is on the rise; from Dec 2018-2019, it nearly tripled to approximately $9.6 million from an estimated $3.8 million (Dec 2017-2018).
SDC handles creative in-house; however, its decision-makers may be open to shifting media and/or digital. Overall spend is rising and should continue to do so as the company seeks to increase brand awareness. Those able to boost foot traffic to SmileShops locations (view here) will have the upper hand.
Successful Agency Predictions
As we said, our WinmoEdge team boasts an 80% success rate when it comes to agency change predictions. Want proof? Check out a couple of recent agency changes that have us saying “told ya so!”
Advertiser: Dave & Busters
Hired new CMO, other changes in leadership
As we predicted in February, after appointing Brandon Coleman as SVP and CMO the company looked to tap new agencies. Dave and Busters added Mother Y is their new creative AOR. The agency is tasked to help the arcade chain with its re-opening campaigns and guest communication.
Advertiser: Weight Watchers
In March the WinmoEdge Team predicted changes in thanks to the new DM. Weight Watchers has added WPP Group, Inc.; specifically, Mindshare, Neo & Wunderman Thompson to handle “upstream strategy and media buying & planning” in North America.
Moving forward we recommend agencies look for spending to remain steady through the end of the year until WW’s peak spend period: Q4-Q1 (weight loss season, when spend is usually highest).
Advertiser: Budget Blinds
Hires AOR agency after CMO hire
The WinmoEdge team noted a CMO change in October of 2019, bringing Heather Nykolaychuk to the company. The home decor company hired The Many to handle the brand’s creative and media strategy across TV, digital, video, radio, print, social, and activations. Nykolaychuk had previously worked with The Many at Mattel’s Hot Wheels. We expect the agency to launch Budget Blind’s first-ever integrated campaign next year.
For more insights on top advertisers and their agency changes, request a demo here:
Brands Increasing Digital Ad Spend
in Ad Sales, Breaking Newsby Shannon HamptonSummer is here and we are still social distancing. Some stores and restaurants are opening safely and more people are venturing out of their homes. What does this mean for advertisers? At Winmo, we track up-to-the-minute spend shifts to keep sellers apprised of opportunities emerging right now. As we roll into Q3, here is a collection of advertisers with dramatic increases in digital ad spend in the past 30-60 days. Interested in decision-maker contact information and agency relationships for these brands increasing ad spend? Request their full profiles here!
VRBO
Vacation rental marketplace VRBO (Vacation Rentals by Owner) has increased its spending exponentially in the past 90 days, with a significant investment going toward video ads. As families think about traveling more, VRBO is looking to add more ways to facilitate a seamless transition from staying at home.
US Army
Goarmy.com and Airforce.com have increased their digital ad spend to promote recruiting drives this year. The U.S. Army increased spending by $4.2 million since April, with a breakdown spanning programmatic, direct, video, and native ads.
US Airforce
The U.S. Airforce is the #3 advertiser in Law/Gov’t. category with 21 more ads running in June compared to May. They have increased spending by $5 million in the last two months.
Media and entertainment advertisers have also seen an uptick:
EA (also EA Sports)
EA, a top publisher of interactive entertainment software for gaming systems and computers, sits at #4 in our hobbies/gaming category within Adbeat. We have seen a steady increase in their digital ad spend, with a majority going to video, and top publishers including Youtube and ESPN.com
Starz
Premium movie service, Starz saw a 66% increase in their digital spend in Q1. We expect a continued push for increased ad spending as the content provider promoted their CMO and hired a new SVP at the beginning of this year.
Spotify
Spotify, the music streaming mogul, has seen a sustained increase in digital media spend since 2018. Recently the company has partnered with Chiquta and created scannable stickers for exclusive mixes and free subscriptions. This interactive campaign is geared toward people continuing to stay at home. The company has increased its spending by $3.2 million in the past could months.
Consumer electronics brands have also seen an influx of digital spend…
Best Buy
As predicted by our WinmoEdge team in late 2019, Best Buy has increased its digital ad spend after a CEO change in 2019. The company has seen an increase of $1.6 million since April.
Phillips
Phillips consumer electronics has seen a $1.1 million increase in ad spend with a heightened push on mobile ads. So far all have been placed programmatically.
Find full profiles, including decision-maker contact information and agency relationships for these advertisers in Winmo. Request more information here.
Winmo’s 2020 Product Enhancements
in Breaking News, Salesby Shannon HamptonAlthough the first half of 2020 has been unpredictable, you can rely on our product development team to keep enhancements coming. Just this year our team has added all kinds of integrations and upgrades to help our clients connect to their targets. Below, check out Winmo’s 2020 product enhancements and newest releases (and get a sneak peek at what is to come) or request more information here.
January
Search companies by NAICS code: First, within our Advanced Search option, find a North American Industry Classification System drop-down option. This feature is great for faster, more customized company results.
February
Export to Microsoft Dynamics: Even. More. Export. Options. We have added Microsoft Dynamics to our list of CRM platforms compatible with Winmo.
Sponsorship partner data: Including data across five major sports leagues – NBA, NFL, MLB, MLS, and NHL. Find brands/companies that have sponsorships in place for each league, team, and season, too.
March
Direct response TV insights: With help from our friends at IMS Media Analytics, DRTV insights are at your fingertips. Find out what brands are spending in the DRTV space as well as the types of campaigns they are running.
May
WinMore podcast: Winmo’s very own John Zaldonis and Joe Winter take a deep dive into WinmoEdge’s latest stories: providing insights, details, and key contacts for new business opportunities weekly.
June
Find sponsorship placement With GumGum: On top of team brand partnership information, you can now look to our GumGum integration to showcase actual brand placements in a team’s arena.
As we continue into 2020 we are excited about the enhancements and integrations to come:
Interested in learning more about our 2020 product enhancements or the unfair advantage our clients get from these awesome partners?
Winmo & GumGum Sports Give Sponsorship Sellers an Unfair Advantage
in Breaking News, Sponsorshipby Marilyn Mead BrutocoSales intelligence leader Winmo has teamed up with GumGum Sports, the leading AI-powered sponsorship analytics platform. Together, the companies will help sponsorship sellers identify and evaluate brand partnership opportunities. Winmo’s advertiser profiles have direct access to select sponsorship analytics from GumGum Sports, pairing key deal insights with the decision-makers responsible for sponsorship budgets.
In addition to listing the marketing decision-makers who control sponsorship spend at brands, company profiles within Winmo’s platform will now include GumGum’s sponsorship insights. These insights identify the brands activating in the sponsorship ecosystem and the teams those brands are working with, too. The information will be displayed on company profiles, relating sponsors to the teams and leagues they work with, as well as team and league profiles, mapping relationships across the sponsorship universe. GumGum will also supply analytics detailing the duration that sponsor placements appear across television and streaming broadcasts, as well.
The partnership brings a new level visibility into the sports marketing ecosystem that stakeholders have traditionally struggled to access.
GumGum’s machine learning computer vision systems identify exactly which sports properties brands are working with and which activations they are sponsoring. In addition, Winmo provides verified decision-maker intel to those who control sponsorship dollars. The union combines those strengths to render a holistic view of the sports marketing landscape. Now, this arms sponsorship sellers as well as sports-related media, agency, and adtech solutions with a significant advantage in identifying and pursuing opportunities with qualified brands.
“Our partnership gives sponsorship sellers an unparalleled view of a brand’s existing strategy and sports partners,” said Dave Currie, CEO, Winmo. “And, of course, it’s provided alongside the relevant decision-makers with insight to craft effective sales outreach. We’re thrilled to give our clients this unfair advantage to winning more business with sports sponsors.”
“A key mission for GumGum Sports has been facilitating better outcomes across the sponsorship industry,” said GumGum Sports GM Brian Kim. “With this in mind, we’re fusing Winmo’s sales and our sponsorship intelligence to empower team and league stakeholders with effective partnerships. Above all, we’re proud of that work with Winmo because it delivers on that mission. But also because it marks a key step in our effort to expand GumGum Sports’ analytics.”
Interested in getting access?
Today, existing Winmo customers can contact their account manager to add the feature to their subscription. New customers can request a trial to get access to this wealth of sponsorship insights.
About GumGum:
GumGum Sports is an AI-powered sponsorship analytics solution. It delivers timely data and insights to help brands, agencies, properties and media companies contextualize the value of their sponsorships. The company captures the full media value of sports sponsorships across live broadcasts, social media, and digital streaming. This enables rights holders to retain and grow partner revenue. For more information visit gumgum.com/sports.
About Winmo:
Winmo tracks decision-makers and marketing relationships for national brands. Its human-verified profiles list media, agency and sponsorship decision-makers control over $100 billion in spending each year. Alongside contextual insights needed to craft sales outreach that resonates. Additionally, its predictive news analysis shines a light on future opportunities, analyzing tell-tale signs that media and sponsorship spend is on the horizon to alert sellers in advance. Armed with verified contact details and reliable sales predictions, Winmo users connect with corporate sponsors at the right time. For more information and to request a trial, visit www.winmo.com.
Infographic: 2020 Product Roadmap
in Breaking News, Salesby Shannon HamptonEven with 2020’s uncertainty, Winmo has continued to expand our partnerships and enhancements to bring the best of the best to our clients. Overall, it’s been a busy year for our development team. From DRTV data and team-based sponsorship placements to new CRM integrations, see all of the updates we’ve added so far. (Then take a peek at what else we have in the works for the year in our 2020 product roadmap)
We’re excited aboutour 2020 product roadmap and the enhancements and integrations to come:
Interested in learning more about our 2020 product enhancements or the unfair advantage our clients get from these awesome partners?
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Client Spotlight: Warped Tour Founders, KL Group Turn Latest Venture Virtual
in COVID-19, Sales, Sponsorshipby Shannon HamptonKevin Lyman Group, known for the Vans Warped Tour summer concert series, was scheduled to host 320 Festival this spring. The non-profit event de-stigmatizing mental illness wasn’t supposed to be virtual. All planning was for a live, in-person experience. Little did the team know a pandemic would jeopardize this venture and the way the company operates in the future. We spoke to Kate Truscott, general manager at KL Group, about her big pivot to virtual — sponsors, speakers, and all.
The idea came from Talinda Bennington, widow of singer and Linkin Park frontman Chester Bennington, whose 2017 suicide shook the music community. 320 Festival was scheduled as an outdoor/indoor event featuring panels, experts, artists, and thought-provoking conversations. However, as the team planned inside a large LA theater, the world had other plans.
“[Coronavirus] happened. We had to sit on our hands for a while and wait,” said Truscott.
With the help of Kevin Lyman’s USC students, the team threw a pre-party kickoff just one day before the state shut down large gatherings. Hosted by Ken Jeong on March 9 at LA’s ovard Auditorium, ‘320 Conversations’ live-streamed on YouTube, receiving 200,000 views and 1,000+ attendees.
“If this little baby version that we did already has a huge number of views, imagine what the whole thing will do,” said Truscott.
From there, the team planned their virtual event, extending the panel to 90 people and their musical guest count to 26, plus speakers from New Zealand and Europe that would have otherwise not been able to attend. With production costs down, Truscott focused on securing sponsorships.
Racing the clock, Truscott leaned on Winmo’s decision-maker contact information and new sponsorship insight to connect with brands. Brand marketing and spend freezes affected the team’s ability to obtain some of their regular sponsorships. But, the events numbers from the kick-off party spoke for themselves.
Through a no-nonsense approach in her outreach, Truscott explained to her sponsorship prospects how important business model pivots are in response to COVID-19 changes.
“I have a very, very straightforward approach. It’s almost like, I fight weird with weird — and this situation is weird,” said Truscott.
Her outreach humanized the situation and data backed up the team’s requests for corporate partners. Panelists and artists were sent t-shirts and items for product placement on-screen. Partnering brands capitalized on the advertising opportunity at 320 Festival and reached over 250,000 people.
“All we could ask for were big numbers. It wasn’t about showing off, it was about using the message,” said Truscott.
Like many other event companies, KL Group can’t predict the future but believes in the power of sponsorships. Today, Truscott believes there will have to be a change as events dial back, but finding the right balance is key, too.
“It feels like that first wave of fear is passing. Companies may now realize, okay, we’re figuring this out,” said Truscott.
If you liked this blog post, check out:
90 Direct-to-Consumer Brands On Every Seller’s Radar
in Ad Sales, Marketing Tech, Salesby Shannon HamptonNow more than ever, we shop with direct-to-consumer brands from home. And companies who can sell to potential buyers directly are poised to benefit. eMarketer forecasts that D2C sales will account for $17.75 billion of total e-commerce sales in 2020, an increase of 24.3% from the previous year.
This means increased opportunity with brands hoping to get exposure to a relatively captive audience. There are opportunities with established brands, but also with emerging spenders. As a result of the lower cost of many media types due to increased demand, these spenders enter not just digital ad space, but previously cost-prohibitive mediums like television and audio, too.
Today, for sellers who want to work with direct-to-consumer brands, the question is who to target, and how.
D2C is a low barrier-to-entry eCommerce strategy that allows manufacturers and CPG brands to sell directly to the consumer. Then, they bypass conventional negotiations with a retailer or reseller. Shopping this way has many advantages. For example, there’s:
As direct-to-consumer brands blow up (we even included it as a top emerging industry for 2021 in our annual report), so have their advertising and marketing investments. Luckily, we’ve put together a list to give you a headstart. To help tap into ad budgets for direct-to-consumer brands, we’ve pulled a list of 90+ known D2C ad spenders and contacts from Winmo. Download a PDF or Excel version below:
Finally, if you’re interested in full contact details for these advertisers, we’re here to help. Request your demo for human-verified sales intelligence and access budget-owners who control $100 billion in investments.
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10 Brands Upping Digital Advertising Spend
in Ad Sales, COVID-19by John ZaldonisWe’re officially into month 3 of social distancing. Who is using this opportunity to ramp up digital advertising?
Don’t look now, but we’re solidly into the third calendar month of the COVID-19 crisis. Time flies, right? For many advertisers, enough time has passed to settle into some form of “new normal” defined either by reduced or at least flat spending in the digital space. However, that’s certainly not universal. Using the latest digital spend details from Adbeat available in Winmo, our team has been able to identify several spenders who have significantly ramped up digital advertising spend over the past month.
Let’s dive into 10 examples of prospects you should be calling on right now.
The fairly obvious: “yeah, I probably saw that coming”
Who among us hasn’t Googled “paper towels in stock” at least once over the past 60 days? With home cleaning products and toiletries still in high demand nationwide, it’s not surprising to see advertisers in this vertical taking advantage of the opportunity to encourage brand loyalty and promote a message of goodwill.
Most notably, we’ve seen huge increases in digital advertising from Bounty and Charmin. While both were active in March, April was a whole new ballgame for both P&G brands. Increased spending of $8.1 million and $3.3 million month-over-month, respectively, represented the most dramatic spikes in spending in this space during the month of April.
Meals for the moment: “someday I’ll eat at a restaurant again, until then…”
With Americans staying at home and with restaurant options significantly limited, it makes sense that many grocery brands have consistently sustained or even increased spending to match the current time. What we’ve seen especially over the past month are aggressive upticks from Cinnamon Toast Crunch and Hershey’s.
Both advertisers had been spending roughly $1 million digitally over the month of March, but increased buys pushed Cinnamon Toast Crunch to over $15 million and Hershey’s to nearly $8 million in April, alone. Grocery chain Kroger also experienced a big shift (topping out at $7.4 million in digital spend) setting them apart from their competitors.
Spring cleaning during quarantine: “maybe now’s a good time to fix that shelf”
Many of us have found ourselves with increased hours at home, and what better way to fill them than by tackling that DIY project you never quite had the time for previously? Certainly, Lowe’s and Home Depot have recognized this opportunity, as both competitors were among the greatest digital advertising spikes from March to April.
In both cases, spending in March was well below $1 million. However, that certainly did not hold true in April. Lowe’s clocked in at $4.5 million and Home Depot increased spending to $2.6 million in April alone. Keep an eye on both spenders as we drive into prime spring cleaning season!
What is the top vertical? Insurance: “well it’s nice to know at least some things haven’t changed”
Whether we rank advertisers, sports teams, favorite movies, etc., the universal question that always pops up is “who’s number 1?” That definitely applies here, too! And in this case, the top increase in digital advertising spend goes to Liberty Mutual. In fact, the vertical that dominated from March to April was Insurance. State Farm and Nationwide also saw drastic increases in digital activity over the past month.
These three insurance spenders, alone, combined for an increase of over $54 million month-over-month. Certainly, a clear indication that the insurance vertical is chugging along just fine. Consider calling on these three brands, as well as other industry peers as indications are insurance spenders will likely continue to heavily invest as the COVID-19 crisis persists.
Looking for additional insights? What about contacts or agency teams for these spenders? We’d be delighted to share more.
Deciphering Email Deliverability Errors & Avoiding Them
in Marketing Tech, Salesby Shannon HamptonIn today’s business world, email is one of the most important means of communication. But we have all been there; you craft the perfect text, your email etiquette is sharp, and your signature looks good. Your email sends to the intended recipients and the next email in your inbox says 550-USER NOT FOUND. Welcome to the wide world of email deliverability errors.
On top of being annoying, instances like this are a waste of valuable prospecting time. So, how can you know your prospects are even getting the message? We have compiled a breakdown of some of the most popular email deliverability errors and why your emails may have not been delivered.
Email Deliverability Error Messages
550 – USER NOT FOUND
This tends to be the most common error message as well as the most misconceived. At its basic level usually, this error means that your recipient email address was spelled wrong. It can also mean that the recipient’s email address is no longer recognized by the server, signaling they no longer work for the organization.
The obvious fix to this problem is to adjust any incorrect email addresses. In the case that the email address is correct and the person you’re looking to connect with is still at the company – try connecting with them through other means to verify that you have the correct address.
CONNECTION TIME OUT
This error message signals a busy message. The email address may have a high volume of incoming messages and the server’s automatic response may be to automatically shut down to protect itself from ‘mailbombs’ or hackers.
Like a busy signal on a phone, the best workaround for this is to try again later. Continuing to email the address will perpetuate the problem – wait around two hours or try the next day.
550 – REFUSED/DENIED (ANTI-SPAM)
In this case, your company’s name (domain) or even your specific email address, has triggered a spam filter. Before you immediately blame an email happy co-worker or your marketing team – resist! Your email domain can become blacklisted or sent to spam by accident.
From here you will need to contact the company’s email systems administrator. The administrator will understand and place you on a safe email list. While frustrating to deal with, many company administrators are pushing harsher anti-spam to combat this problem. The majority of the time these administrators are relying on genuine senders to let them know some emails are going to spam.
MAILBOX IS FULL
An email saying “Mailbox Quota Exceeded” or User is over the quota. You can try again later.
Unfortunately, you may need to find a new contact from this company. If they are not checking their email regularly they may no longer be with the company or may have a new email address.
Reasons Why Emails May Not Be Delivered
There are other factors that could contribute to your emails not delivering to their intended target. A bad DNS or Domain Name Server may be a part. Your domain host (DNS) translates domain names into numeric IP addresses to direct web traffic to your domain – when off it can affect deliverability. If you feel this is the problem, speak with your system administrator. From there they may use Glock (glockapps.com) to run a report on DNS status. If anything does not pass, then share the report with the client’s IT person should make adjustments in their DNS setup.
Even if DNS is set up correctly, a misleading subject line could land you in a spam folder if not a fine. The CAN-SPAM Act explains that it is against the law to mislead anyone with your subject line to push them to open/view your message. Catchy email subjects are important but make sure you are not crossing that line.
The last reason why your email may have trouble delivering could be the content. Gmail and many other email servers analyze content that looks spam-like and will divert it so it will not reach the receiver. The best way to work around this would be to update your wording – make sure your content does not look like spam.
The listed examples don’t account for all of the reasons you may receive an email error message – but taking into consideration these factors will help save time.
Now that you’ve tackled deliverability, check out some great sales email templates we’ve put together.
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