Badsender meets APMEL! Almost three years ago (read here), I announced the birth of this association bringing together several players in email acquisition in France. At the time, I ended the article with these words: "it is not certain that one more association cannot solve the problems". In 2015, I am still very close to this position but I must admit that APMEL has worked well in two and a half years ... at least in terms of the practices of the members of the association. For the rest of the sector, it's something else!
So it was during a sunny afternoon that we met in the Elixis offices in Paris. My interlocutors were Charles Quintaine from Caloga, Julien Granari and Augustin Vatus, both from Elixis.
The interview
Let's get to the heart of the matter. One of your members, TMG Media Group (PriceMinister) has disappeared from the radar in recent months? What are the reasons according to you? Don't you fear that it will soon be your turn?
Augustin: TMG is a special case. As a subsidiary of PriceMinister, and therefore of the Rakuten group, TMG was perhaps not very representative for the "email acquisition" activity to be maintained as is. But it's delicate to talk about the strategy and trade-offs of a company or a group that we don't know completely. However, we regret that TMG is no longer a member of APMEL, and that we can no longer share their expertise with them.
Charles: Email acquisition has really become more complex in recent years. It is more difficult to conduct this activity without concentrating many resources around it. You need to have a real focus and it is understandable that this is not the focus of PriceMinister today. Finally, even if we have to admit that some players in the email acquisition market are in difficulty, APMEL continues to think about this business in the long term, and we are ready to make certain efforts in order to consolidate our media.
How do you differentiate yourself from other players in the industry?
Augustin: First of all, within APMEL, there are very different profiles. Caloga, for example, has always had a very technical side, which has become mandatory in our business. At Elixis, we have taken the gamble of creating our own consumer products, which allows us to wear the costume of the advertiser, and therefore to understand the needs of our clients.
Charles: Where we differ completely from some of the email acquisition players (who are not part of APMEL) is the practice of opt-out. We have abandoned it and some have not. Stopping the opt-out is certainly a way to avoid multiplying revenues, but above all it is a way to respect the consumer.
Julien: We also audit APMEL members at the entrance. Some major players have decided not to become members of the association because the risks, particularly in terms of potential loss of revenue, were too great. In particular, the ban on optout calls into question certain activities, and therefore certain revenues.
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Today, everyone seems to be against acquisition practices! Webmails, ISPs, ... and especially consumers. Do you think they still want to receive your communications?
Julien: This is not completely true, and fortunately! Webmails and ISPs discuss with APMEL, and help us define our positions. The abandonment of op-out practices is the result of these discussions, for example. Consumers then behave in a variety of ways. People send us emails saying they are not interested in an advertiser, but they would like to receive emails on other topics. In all of our emails, we allow people to choose which topics they are interested in via a preference setting.
Charles: Out of approximately 30 million web buyers in France, more than 20 million are present in the APMEL databases. It is normal that among them, some may be quite negative towards email advertising. But it's the same with other media (TV, social networks, banners). Others are fond of good deals, information and commercial offers. So a population of prospects for our customers.
Augustin: In a previous career, I worked in the contest sector. Often, the advertiser wonders about the profile of the so-called "contestant". In reality, there are an estimated 40,000 "contestants" in France. This is very few. On the other hand, when a consumer is loyal to a brand, from time to time, he will accept to participate in a contest. When these games are interesting, they are widely appreciated by consumers.
One year ago, APMEL members implemented a common unsubscribe system. What are the results?
Charles: Since May 2014, 82,000 (unique) people have opted out of all email advertising by APMEL members via this mechanism. That's a real positive sign. We didn't think we'd see that number at all, it's high, but out of 20 million internet users who are members of our databases, it's very reasonable.
Augustin: With this label, we hope to be at the beginning of something important. The step of unsubscribing to APMEL can only be a conscious choice of the Internet user. And this first year proves to us that our job can be improved. That we are on the right track.
What are the next challenges for APMEL?
Julien: One of our priorities is to enlarge APMEL to other actors of the acquisition, who, like us, wish to engage for the valorization, thus the improvement, of our profession. We hope to be much more numerous very quickly.
Charles: Last year's successes should help us convince colleagues who were hesitant to join us. It should also help us to go further with our partners (ISPs, authorities, advertisers) in our exchanges and efforts. Finally, let's not forget the Internet users: more members of APMEL will also mean for those who have decided to unsubscribe from all our communications to see the volume of unwanted advertisements in their email boxes decrease even more.
