Email, the biggest ally of marketing and advertising firms, is gaining a significant amount of recognition. Thanks the recession, consumers are cutting back on everything and are becoming more conservative about their spending habits. So, what’s a marketing company to do?

Jason Oates, the vice president of media services at Datran Media, wrote in a recent article that email may be the answer. Why? Email has proven to be very effective in delivering a timely message to consumers that helps to increase their brand recognition. If you’ve ever signed up for an e-newsletter or said you wanted to learn more about your favorite product, you’ve started the “opt-in” process, which is a completely voluntary action on your part (see also—NOT spam!).

In his article, “Email’s Hidden Superpower”, Oates cites the example of the popular dating site eHarmony. Their opt-in email programs have played an important role in the overwhelming success of the company. eHarmony recently conducted a study to test the impact that their email marketing campaign has on their brand. Each person who participated in the study received three different eHarmony emails over the course of six weeks. While emails were all visually different, each included free personality profiles, free matching, and aggressive wording.

According to Oates, “the study found that the inbox campaign boosted campaign awareness by 37 percent — meaning that 37 percent of the respondents would not have been aware of the campaign from other sources. General brand awareness increased 11.5 percent among test consumers.”

So, what can marketing students learn from this study? Email marketing is clearly a very powerful promotional tool. Inbox advertising has the potential to increase brand awareness and build strong relationships with their customers. Think about those Coke and Pepsi ads that you see on billboards. Now, imagine how your purchasing habits would change if you received a weekly email about your favorite brand of soda.

It all boils down to the fact that email marketing is a great way to build a brand. In the example of eHarmony, Oates reveals that, “consumers’ favorability rating of the brand increased by 7.3 percent over the participants who did not receive the same opt-in email”. The company also learned that the frequency of the emails is another important consideration to internet marketers. After all, the more times you look at an ad, the more likely you will be to recognize the brand later on!

Do you think that “eHarmony offers something different than the other dating sites”? Have you ever signed up to receive information, coupons, or deals in your email inbox? Weigh in on this issue below and let us know how YOU react to email marketing!