SEMA News—December 2014

INTERNET
By Joe Dysart

The New Sexy

E-Mail Retains the Title

While digital marketing always seems to have its own version of the “It Girl” each year, one thing has remained constant for nearly 30 years: E-mail is still the new sexy. According to a barrage of studies released during the past year, e-mail marketing still surpasses all others in the digital realm when it comes to return on investment (ROI) and increasing sales. And companies still see e-mail marketing as a stalwart when they’re looking to hang on to customers, build loyalty and increase website traffic.

“Marketers love e-mail for its retention, sales and loyalty influence,” said Shar VanBoskirk, lead author on “The Forrester Wave: E-Mail Marketing Vendors, Q3 2014,” report released by the market research company Forrester.

Digital marketing guru Econsultancy, for example, found that e-mail marketing is seen as the best channel for ROI among the companies it surveyed, with 68% of respondents rating the medium as “good” or “excellent.” Moreover, revenue from e-mail marketing actually jumped 28% in 2014, according to Econsultancy’s, E-Mail Marketing Industry Census 2014, with 23% of all sales from respondents originating from e-mail, up 10% from the year prior.

Meanwhile, digital marketing services provider Sitecore found similar results in its 2014 study, “Uncovering the Realities of Today’s Digital Marketing Landscape.” Of the companies it surveyed, 73% said that they’re investing more in digital marketing in coming months. And all told, respondents estimated that they devoted 85% of their marketing efforts in e-mail.

Not surprisingly, much of the action in e-mail marketing has switched to mobile. According to the Knotice Mobile E-Mail Opens Report for the first two quarters of 2013, 48% of all e-mails are now opened on mobile devices.

E-mail ad exchange LiveIntent found similar insights in its 2014 study. Its researchers found that 25% of every mobile hour is spent using e-mail, and e-mail openings and sales conversions for those under 45 are higher on mobile devices than on traditional desktops. Indeed, LiveIntent predicted that mobile will become the dominant e-mail device by 2015—the place where more than 50% of all e-mails will be opened.

As you might suspect, Apple dominates the mobile space. According to LiveIntent, 41% of all mobile e-mails are opened on Apple devices. And on smartphones, 83% of all e-mails are opened on iPhones.

“The results of this study should be exciting news to marketers everywhere,” said Matt Keiser, LiveIntent’s CEO. “You already have an effective mobile campaign: your e-mail campaign.

Over the long run, mobile also seems to hold users’ interest throughout the day, according to the LiveIntent study. While e-mail openings on desktop PCs experience a burst between 9:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m., robust activity in e-mail openings on mobile devices occurs during the same period but also continues into the late evening—as late as 10:00 p.m., according to Keiser.

Companies serious about e-mail marketing are most interested in using the medium for retaining current customers: About 87% of companies list retention as their top goal, according to a survey included in the Forrester report. E-mail marketers also see the medium as a way to build loyalty (76%), increase traffic to their websites (61%) and build overall brand awareness (53%), according to Forrester’s report.

If you’re looking to beef up your own e-mail marketing in light of e-mail’s continued allure, a good study of the service providers available was released in the aforementioned “The Forrester Wave: E-Mail Marketing Vendors, Q3 2014.” Among the 33 service providers evaluated, Forrester found that two—Strongview and Epsilon—were tops, and two more—Salesforce ExactTarget and Oracle Responsys—were a
close second.

“As in years past, we focused our 2014 evaluation of current capabilities on areas of differentiation, including campaign management, dynamic content, analytics and reporting, data model, professional services, globalization and support for mobile and social media,” said Forrester’s VanBoskirk. She also said that service providers that earned topped marks excelled at positioning their services where Forrester believes e-mail marketing is heading and enjoyed high customer retention and high customer satisfaction rates.

VanBoskirk also noted that heavy hitters in e-mail marketing are always looking for new innovations in the technology, but they look most closely for service providers that hit home runs in core functions, such as data security, account management, ease of use and database support.

“This doesn’t mean that marketers don’t value integrated marketing solutions,” VanBoskirk said. “But it does mean that they want e-mail best practices—as well as multi-channel communications—that can boost results.”

E-mail marketers also have some interesting plans. According to VanBoskirk, 66% of them want to get more involved in micro-segment e-mail marketing, and 58% want to start sending interactive e-mails, in which customers can buy things or perform other transactions right inside an e-mail.

Most strikingly, the migration to mobile has had a major impact on the way e-mail marketers design their e-mails. A full 71% of the 89 e-mail marketers Forrester surveyed said that they were already sending responsive e-mails—which auto-resize an e-mail depending on the size of the screen the e-mail is being viewed on. Another 27% plan on moving to responsive design.

Specifically, here are Forrester’s recommendations on what it sees as e-mail marketing’s top service providers:

Strongview and Epsilon Are Tops: Amid the 33 service providers Forrester evaluated, it liked these two companies best. Strongview’s showing in the leader category this year is attributed to its strong functionality, scalable technology platform and capable professional services, while Epsilon got high marks for a revamped platform and the ability to closely collaborate with customers.

Salesforce ExactTarget and Oracle Responsys Came in Second: Both firms impress again in this review for their segmentation, campaign testing and campaign orchestration functionality, VanBoskirk said.

Yesmail Interactive and Silverpop Pull up Third: Yesmail still needs to refine the campaign management aspects of its services, VanBoskirk said. And while Silverpop excels in mobile and social media, its other e-mail marketing services lack luster, she said.

Also-Rans: Acxiom, Experian Marketing Services and Zeta Interactive fall into this final category, in the Forrester report. All trail the other competitors.

Joe Dysart is an Internet speaker and business consultant based in Manhattan.
joe@joedysart.com
www.joedysart.com

SEMA News—December 2014

INTERNET
By Joe Dysart

The New Sexy

E-Mail Retains the Title

While digital marketing always seems to have its own version of the “It Girl” each year, one thing has remained constant for nearly 30 years: E-mail is still the new sexy. According to a barrage of studies released during the past year, e-mail marketing still surpasses all others in the digital realm when it comes to return on investment (ROI) and increasing sales. And companies still see e-mail marketing as a stalwart when they’re looking to hang on to customers, build loyalty and increase website traffic.

“Marketers love e-mail for its retention, sales and loyalty influence,” said Shar VanBoskirk, lead author on “The Forrester Wave: E-Mail Marketing Vendors, Q3 2014,” report released by the market research company Forrester.

Digital marketing guru Econsultancy, for example, found that e-mail marketing is seen as the best channel for ROI among the companies it surveyed, with 68% of respondents rating the medium as “good” or “excellent.” Moreover, revenue from e-mail marketing actually jumped 28% in 2014, according to Econsultancy’s, E-Mail Marketing Industry Census 2014, with 23% of all sales from respondents originating from e-mail, up 10% from the year prior.

Meanwhile, digital marketing services provider Sitecore found similar results in its 2014 study, “Uncovering the Realities of Today’s Digital Marketing Landscape.” Of the companies it surveyed, 73% said that they’re investing more in digital marketing in coming months. And all told, respondents estimated that they devoted 85% of their marketing efforts in e-mail.

Not surprisingly, much of the action in e-mail marketing has switched to mobile. According to the Knotice Mobile E-Mail Opens Report for the first two quarters of 2013, 48% of all e-mails are now opened on mobile devices.

E-mail ad exchange LiveIntent found similar insights in its 2014 study. Its researchers found that 25% of every mobile hour is spent using e-mail, and e-mail openings and sales conversions for those under 45 are higher on mobile devices than on traditional desktops. Indeed, LiveIntent predicted that mobile will become the dominant e-mail device by 2015—the place where more than 50% of all e-mails will be opened.

As you might suspect, Apple dominates the mobile space. According to LiveIntent, 41% of all mobile e-mails are opened on Apple devices. And on smartphones, 83% of all e-mails are opened on iPhones.

“The results of this study should be exciting news to marketers everywhere,” said Matt Keiser, LiveIntent’s CEO. “You already have an effective mobile campaign: your e-mail campaign.

Over the long run, mobile also seems to hold users’ interest throughout the day, according to the LiveIntent study. While e-mail openings on desktop PCs experience a burst between 9:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m., robust activity in e-mail openings on mobile devices occurs during the same period but also continues into the late evening—as late as 10:00 p.m., according to Keiser.

Companies serious about e-mail marketing are most interested in using the medium for retaining current customers: About 87% of companies list retention as their top goal, according to a survey included in the Forrester report. E-mail marketers also see the medium as a way to build loyalty (76%), increase traffic to their websites (61%) and build overall brand awareness (53%), according to Forrester’s report.

If you’re looking to beef up your own e-mail marketing in light of e-mail’s continued allure, a good study of the service providers available was released in the aforementioned “The Forrester Wave: E-Mail Marketing Vendors, Q3 2014.” Among the 33 service providers evaluated, Forrester found that two—Strongview and Epsilon—were tops, and two more—Salesforce ExactTarget and Oracle Responsys—were a
close second.

“As in years past, we focused our 2014 evaluation of current capabilities on areas of differentiation, including campaign management, dynamic content, analytics and reporting, data model, professional services, globalization and support for mobile and social media,” said Forrester’s VanBoskirk. She also said that service providers that earned topped marks excelled at positioning their services where Forrester believes e-mail marketing is heading and enjoyed high customer retention and high customer satisfaction rates.

VanBoskirk also noted that heavy hitters in e-mail marketing are always looking for new innovations in the technology, but they look most closely for service providers that hit home runs in core functions, such as data security, account management, ease of use and database support.

“This doesn’t mean that marketers don’t value integrated marketing solutions,” VanBoskirk said. “But it does mean that they want e-mail best practices—as well as multi-channel communications—that can boost results.”

E-mail marketers also have some interesting plans. According to VanBoskirk, 66% of them want to get more involved in micro-segment e-mail marketing, and 58% want to start sending interactive e-mails, in which customers can buy things or perform other transactions right inside an e-mail.

Most strikingly, the migration to mobile has had a major impact on the way e-mail marketers design their e-mails. A full 71% of the 89 e-mail marketers Forrester surveyed said that they were already sending responsive e-mails—which auto-resize an e-mail depending on the size of the screen the e-mail is being viewed on. Another 27% plan on moving to responsive design.

Specifically, here are Forrester’s recommendations on what it sees as e-mail marketing’s top service providers:

Strongview and Epsilon Are Tops: Amid the 33 service providers Forrester evaluated, it liked these two companies best. Strongview’s showing in the leader category this year is attributed to its strong functionality, scalable technology platform and capable professional services, while Epsilon got high marks for a revamped platform and the ability to closely collaborate with customers.

Salesforce ExactTarget and Oracle Responsys Came in Second: Both firms impress again in this review for their segmentation, campaign testing and campaign orchestration functionality, VanBoskirk said.

Yesmail Interactive and Silverpop Pull up Third: Yesmail still needs to refine the campaign management aspects of its services, VanBoskirk said. And while Silverpop excels in mobile and social media, its other e-mail marketing services lack luster, she said.

Also-Rans: Acxiom, Experian Marketing Services and Zeta Interactive fall into this final category, in the Forrester report. All trail the other competitors.

Joe Dysart is an Internet speaker and business consultant based in Manhattan.
joe@joedysart.com
www.joedysart.com

SEMA News—December 2014

INTERNET
By Joe Dysart

The New Sexy

E-Mail Retains the Title

While digital marketing always seems to have its own version of the “It Girl” each year, one thing has remained constant for nearly 30 years: E-mail is still the new sexy. According to a barrage of studies released during the past year, e-mail marketing still surpasses all others in the digital realm when it comes to return on investment (ROI) and increasing sales. And companies still see e-mail marketing as a stalwart when they’re looking to hang on to customers, build loyalty and increase website traffic.

“Marketers love e-mail for its retention, sales and loyalty influence,” said Shar VanBoskirk, lead author on “The Forrester Wave: E-Mail Marketing Vendors, Q3 2014,” report released by the market research company Forrester.

Digital marketing guru Econsultancy, for example, found that e-mail marketing is seen as the best channel for ROI among the companies it surveyed, with 68% of respondents rating the medium as “good” or “excellent.” Moreover, revenue from e-mail marketing actually jumped 28% in 2014, according to Econsultancy’s, E-Mail Marketing Industry Census 2014, with 23% of all sales from respondents originating from e-mail, up 10% from the year prior.

Meanwhile, digital marketing services provider Sitecore found similar results in its 2014 study, “Uncovering the Realities of Today’s Digital Marketing Landscape.” Of the companies it surveyed, 73% said that they’re investing more in digital marketing in coming months. And all told, respondents estimated that they devoted 85% of their marketing efforts in e-mail.

Not surprisingly, much of the action in e-mail marketing has switched to mobile. According to the Knotice Mobile E-Mail Opens Report for the first two quarters of 2013, 48% of all e-mails are now opened on mobile devices.

E-mail ad exchange LiveIntent found similar insights in its 2014 study. Its researchers found that 25% of every mobile hour is spent using e-mail, and e-mail openings and sales conversions for those under 45 are higher on mobile devices than on traditional desktops. Indeed, LiveIntent predicted that mobile will become the dominant e-mail device by 2015—the place where more than 50% of all e-mails will be opened.

As you might suspect, Apple dominates the mobile space. According to LiveIntent, 41% of all mobile e-mails are opened on Apple devices. And on smartphones, 83% of all e-mails are opened on iPhones.

“The results of this study should be exciting news to marketers everywhere,” said Matt Keiser, LiveIntent’s CEO. “You already have an effective mobile campaign: your e-mail campaign.

Over the long run, mobile also seems to hold users’ interest throughout the day, according to the LiveIntent study. While e-mail openings on desktop PCs experience a burst between 9:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m., robust activity in e-mail openings on mobile devices occurs during the same period but also continues into the late evening—as late as 10:00 p.m., according to Keiser.

Companies serious about e-mail marketing are most interested in using the medium for retaining current customers: About 87% of companies list retention as their top goal, according to a survey included in the Forrester report. E-mail marketers also see the medium as a way to build loyalty (76%), increase traffic to their websites (61%) and build overall brand awareness (53%), according to Forrester’s report.

If you’re looking to beef up your own e-mail marketing in light of e-mail’s continued allure, a good study of the service providers available was released in the aforementioned “The Forrester Wave: E-Mail Marketing Vendors, Q3 2014.” Among the 33 service providers evaluated, Forrester found that two—Strongview and Epsilon—were tops, and two more—Salesforce ExactTarget and Oracle Responsys—were a
close second.

“As in years past, we focused our 2014 evaluation of current capabilities on areas of differentiation, including campaign management, dynamic content, analytics and reporting, data model, professional services, globalization and support for mobile and social media,” said Forrester’s VanBoskirk. She also said that service providers that earned topped marks excelled at positioning their services where Forrester believes e-mail marketing is heading and enjoyed high customer retention and high customer satisfaction rates.

VanBoskirk also noted that heavy hitters in e-mail marketing are always looking for new innovations in the technology, but they look most closely for service providers that hit home runs in core functions, such as data security, account management, ease of use and database support.

“This doesn’t mean that marketers don’t value integrated marketing solutions,” VanBoskirk said. “But it does mean that they want e-mail best practices—as well as multi-channel communications—that can boost results.”

E-mail marketers also have some interesting plans. According to VanBoskirk, 66% of them want to get more involved in micro-segment e-mail marketing, and 58% want to start sending interactive e-mails, in which customers can buy things or perform other transactions right inside an e-mail.

Most strikingly, the migration to mobile has had a major impact on the way e-mail marketers design their e-mails. A full 71% of the 89 e-mail marketers Forrester surveyed said that they were already sending responsive e-mails—which auto-resize an e-mail depending on the size of the screen the e-mail is being viewed on. Another 27% plan on moving to responsive design.

Specifically, here are Forrester’s recommendations on what it sees as e-mail marketing’s top service providers:

Strongview and Epsilon Are Tops: Amid the 33 service providers Forrester evaluated, it liked these two companies best. Strongview’s showing in the leader category this year is attributed to its strong functionality, scalable technology platform and capable professional services, while Epsilon got high marks for a revamped platform and the ability to closely collaborate with customers.

Salesforce ExactTarget and Oracle Responsys Came in Second: Both firms impress again in this review for their segmentation, campaign testing and campaign orchestration functionality, VanBoskirk said.

Yesmail Interactive and Silverpop Pull up Third: Yesmail still needs to refine the campaign management aspects of its services, VanBoskirk said. And while Silverpop excels in mobile and social media, its other e-mail marketing services lack luster, she said.

Also-Rans: Acxiom, Experian Marketing Services and Zeta Interactive fall into this final category, in the Forrester report. All trail the other competitors.

Joe Dysart is an Internet speaker and business consultant based in Manhattan.
joe@joedysart.com
www.joedysart.com

SEMA News—December 2014

INTERNET
By Joe Dysart

The New Sexy

E-Mail Retains the Title

While digital marketing always seems to have its own version of the “It Girl” each year, one thing has remained constant for nearly 30 years: E-mail is still the new sexy. According to a barrage of studies released during the past year, e-mail marketing still surpasses all others in the digital realm when it comes to return on investment (ROI) and increasing sales. And companies still see e-mail marketing as a stalwart when they’re looking to hang on to customers, build loyalty and increase website traffic.

“Marketers love e-mail for its retention, sales and loyalty influence,” said Shar VanBoskirk, lead author on “The Forrester Wave: E-Mail Marketing Vendors, Q3 2014,” report released by the market research company Forrester.

Digital marketing guru Econsultancy, for example, found that e-mail marketing is seen as the best channel for ROI among the companies it surveyed, with 68% of respondents rating the medium as “good” or “excellent.” Moreover, revenue from e-mail marketing actually jumped 28% in 2014, according to Econsultancy’s, E-Mail Marketing Industry Census 2014, with 23% of all sales from respondents originating from e-mail, up 10% from the year prior.

Meanwhile, digital marketing services provider Sitecore found similar results in its 2014 study, “Uncovering the Realities of Today’s Digital Marketing Landscape.” Of the companies it surveyed, 73% said that they’re investing more in digital marketing in coming months. And all told, respondents estimated that they devoted 85% of their marketing efforts in e-mail.

Not surprisingly, much of the action in e-mail marketing has switched to mobile. According to the Knotice Mobile E-Mail Opens Report for the first two quarters of 2013, 48% of all e-mails are now opened on mobile devices.

E-mail ad exchange LiveIntent found similar insights in its 2014 study. Its researchers found that 25% of every mobile hour is spent using e-mail, and e-mail openings and sales conversions for those under 45 are higher on mobile devices than on traditional desktops. Indeed, LiveIntent predicted that mobile will become the dominant e-mail device by 2015—the place where more than 50% of all e-mails will be opened.

As you might suspect, Apple dominates the mobile space. According to LiveIntent, 41% of all mobile e-mails are opened on Apple devices. And on smartphones, 83% of all e-mails are opened on iPhones.

“The results of this study should be exciting news to marketers everywhere,” said Matt Keiser, LiveIntent’s CEO. “You already have an effective mobile campaign: your e-mail campaign.

Over the long run, mobile also seems to hold users’ interest throughout the day, according to the LiveIntent study. While e-mail openings on desktop PCs experience a burst between 9:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m., robust activity in e-mail openings on mobile devices occurs during the same period but also continues into the late evening—as late as 10:00 p.m., according to Keiser.

Companies serious about e-mail marketing are most interested in using the medium for retaining current customers: About 87% of companies list retention as their top goal, according to a survey included in the Forrester report. E-mail marketers also see the medium as a way to build loyalty (76%), increase traffic to their websites (61%) and build overall brand awareness (53%), according to Forrester’s report.

If you’re looking to beef up your own e-mail marketing in light of e-mail’s continued allure, a good study of the service providers available was released in the aforementioned “The Forrester Wave: E-Mail Marketing Vendors, Q3 2014.” Among the 33 service providers evaluated, Forrester found that two—Strongview and Epsilon—were tops, and two more—Salesforce ExactTarget and Oracle Responsys—were a
close second.

“As in years past, we focused our 2014 evaluation of current capabilities on areas of differentiation, including campaign management, dynamic content, analytics and reporting, data model, professional services, globalization and support for mobile and social media,” said Forrester’s VanBoskirk. She also said that service providers that earned topped marks excelled at positioning their services where Forrester believes e-mail marketing is heading and enjoyed high customer retention and high customer satisfaction rates.

VanBoskirk also noted that heavy hitters in e-mail marketing are always looking for new innovations in the technology, but they look most closely for service providers that hit home runs in core functions, such as data security, account management, ease of use and database support.

“This doesn’t mean that marketers don’t value integrated marketing solutions,” VanBoskirk said. “But it does mean that they want e-mail best practices—as well as multi-channel communications—that can boost results.”

E-mail marketers also have some interesting plans. According to VanBoskirk, 66% of them want to get more involved in micro-segment e-mail marketing, and 58% want to start sending interactive e-mails, in which customers can buy things or perform other transactions right inside an e-mail.

Most strikingly, the migration to mobile has had a major impact on the way e-mail marketers design their e-mails. A full 71% of the 89 e-mail marketers Forrester surveyed said that they were already sending responsive e-mails—which auto-resize an e-mail depending on the size of the screen the e-mail is being viewed on. Another 27% plan on moving to responsive design.

Specifically, here are Forrester’s recommendations on what it sees as e-mail marketing’s top service providers:

Strongview and Epsilon Are Tops: Amid the 33 service providers Forrester evaluated, it liked these two companies best. Strongview’s showing in the leader category this year is attributed to its strong functionality, scalable technology platform and capable professional services, while Epsilon got high marks for a revamped platform and the ability to closely collaborate with customers.

Salesforce ExactTarget and Oracle Responsys Came in Second: Both firms impress again in this review for their segmentation, campaign testing and campaign orchestration functionality, VanBoskirk said.

Yesmail Interactive and Silverpop Pull up Third: Yesmail still needs to refine the campaign management aspects of its services, VanBoskirk said. And while Silverpop excels in mobile and social media, its other e-mail marketing services lack luster, she said.

Also-Rans: Acxiom, Experian Marketing Services and Zeta Interactive fall into this final category, in the Forrester report. All trail the other competitors.

Joe Dysart is an Internet speaker and business consultant based in Manhattan.
joe@joedysart.com
www.joedysart.com

SEMA News—December 2014

INTERNET
By Joe Dysart

The New Sexy

E-Mail Retains the Title

While digital marketing always seems to have its own version of the “It Girl” each year, one thing has remained constant for nearly 30 years: E-mail is still the new sexy. According to a barrage of studies released during the past year, e-mail marketing still surpasses all others in the digital realm when it comes to return on investment (ROI) and increasing sales. And companies still see e-mail marketing as a stalwart when they’re looking to hang on to customers, build loyalty and increase website traffic.

“Marketers love e-mail for its retention, sales and loyalty influence,” said Shar VanBoskirk, lead author on “The Forrester Wave: E-Mail Marketing Vendors, Q3 2014,” report released by the market research company Forrester.

Digital marketing guru Econsultancy, for example, found that e-mail marketing is seen as the best channel for ROI among the companies it surveyed, with 68% of respondents rating the medium as “good” or “excellent.” Moreover, revenue from e-mail marketing actually jumped 28% in 2014, according to Econsultancy’s, E-Mail Marketing Industry Census 2014, with 23% of all sales from respondents originating from e-mail, up 10% from the year prior.

Meanwhile, digital marketing services provider Sitecore found similar results in its 2014 study, “Uncovering the Realities of Today’s Digital Marketing Landscape.” Of the companies it surveyed, 73% said that they’re investing more in digital marketing in coming months. And all told, respondents estimated that they devoted 85% of their marketing efforts in e-mail.

Not surprisingly, much of the action in e-mail marketing has switched to mobile. According to the Knotice Mobile E-Mail Opens Report for the first two quarters of 2013, 48% of all e-mails are now opened on mobile devices.

E-mail ad exchange LiveIntent found similar insights in its 2014 study. Its researchers found that 25% of every mobile hour is spent using e-mail, and e-mail openings and sales conversions for those under 45 are higher on mobile devices than on traditional desktops. Indeed, LiveIntent predicted that mobile will become the dominant e-mail device by 2015—the place where more than 50% of all e-mails will be opened.

As you might suspect, Apple dominates the mobile space. According to LiveIntent, 41% of all mobile e-mails are opened on Apple devices. And on smartphones, 83% of all e-mails are opened on iPhones.

“The results of this study should be exciting news to marketers everywhere,” said Matt Keiser, LiveIntent’s CEO. “You already have an effective mobile campaign: your e-mail campaign.

Over the long run, mobile also seems to hold users’ interest throughout the day, according to the LiveIntent study. While e-mail openings on desktop PCs experience a burst between 9:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m., robust activity in e-mail openings on mobile devices occurs during the same period but also continues into the late evening—as late as 10:00 p.m., according to Keiser.

Companies serious about e-mail marketing are most interested in using the medium for retaining current customers: About 87% of companies list retention as their top goal, according to a survey included in the Forrester report. E-mail marketers also see the medium as a way to build loyalty (76%), increase traffic to their websites (61%) and build overall brand awareness (53%), according to Forrester’s report.

If you’re looking to beef up your own e-mail marketing in light of e-mail’s continued allure, a good study of the service providers available was released in the aforementioned “The Forrester Wave: E-Mail Marketing Vendors, Q3 2014.” Among the 33 service providers evaluated, Forrester found that two—Strongview and Epsilon—were tops, and two more—Salesforce ExactTarget and Oracle Responsys—were a
close second.

“As in years past, we focused our 2014 evaluation of current capabilities on areas of differentiation, including campaign management, dynamic content, analytics and reporting, data model, professional services, globalization and support for mobile and social media,” said Forrester’s VanBoskirk. She also said that service providers that earned topped marks excelled at positioning their services where Forrester believes e-mail marketing is heading and enjoyed high customer retention and high customer satisfaction rates.

VanBoskirk also noted that heavy hitters in e-mail marketing are always looking for new innovations in the technology, but they look most closely for service providers that hit home runs in core functions, such as data security, account management, ease of use and database support.

“This doesn’t mean that marketers don’t value integrated marketing solutions,” VanBoskirk said. “But it does mean that they want e-mail best practices—as well as multi-channel communications—that can boost results.”

E-mail marketers also have some interesting plans. According to VanBoskirk, 66% of them want to get more involved in micro-segment e-mail marketing, and 58% want to start sending interactive e-mails, in which customers can buy things or perform other transactions right inside an e-mail.

Most strikingly, the migration to mobile has had a major impact on the way e-mail marketers design their e-mails. A full 71% of the 89 e-mail marketers Forrester surveyed said that they were already sending responsive e-mails—which auto-resize an e-mail depending on the size of the screen the e-mail is being viewed on. Another 27% plan on moving to responsive design.

Specifically, here are Forrester’s recommendations on what it sees as e-mail marketing’s top service providers:

Strongview and Epsilon Are Tops: Amid the 33 service providers Forrester evaluated, it liked these two companies best. Strongview’s showing in the leader category this year is attributed to its strong functionality, scalable technology platform and capable professional services, while Epsilon got high marks for a revamped platform and the ability to closely collaborate with customers.

Salesforce ExactTarget and Oracle Responsys Came in Second: Both firms impress again in this review for their segmentation, campaign testing and campaign orchestration functionality, VanBoskirk said.

Yesmail Interactive and Silverpop Pull up Third: Yesmail still needs to refine the campaign management aspects of its services, VanBoskirk said. And while Silverpop excels in mobile and social media, its other e-mail marketing services lack luster, she said.

Also-Rans: Acxiom, Experian Marketing Services and Zeta Interactive fall into this final category, in the Forrester report. All trail the other competitors.

Joe Dysart is an Internet speaker and business consultant based in Manhattan.
joe@joedysart.com
www.joedysart.com

SEMA News—December 2014

INTERNET
By Joe Dysart

The New Sexy

E-Mail Retains the Title

While digital marketing always seems to have its own version of the “It Girl” each year, one thing has remained constant for nearly 30 years: E-mail is still the new sexy. According to a barrage of studies released during the past year, e-mail marketing still surpasses all others in the digital realm when it comes to return on investment (ROI) and increasing sales. And companies still see e-mail marketing as a stalwart when they’re looking to hang on to customers, build loyalty and increase website traffic.

“Marketers love e-mail for its retention, sales and loyalty influence,” said Shar VanBoskirk, lead author on “The Forrester Wave: E-Mail Marketing Vendors, Q3 2014,” report released by the market research company Forrester.

Digital marketing guru Econsultancy, for example, found that e-mail marketing is seen as the best channel for ROI among the companies it surveyed, with 68% of respondents rating the medium as “good” or “excellent.” Moreover, revenue from e-mail marketing actually jumped 28% in 2014, according to Econsultancy’s, E-Mail Marketing Industry Census 2014, with 23% of all sales from respondents originating from e-mail, up 10% from the year prior.

Meanwhile, digital marketing services provider Sitecore found similar results in its 2014 study, “Uncovering the Realities of Today’s Digital Marketing Landscape.” Of the companies it surveyed, 73% said that they’re investing more in digital marketing in coming months. And all told, respondents estimated that they devoted 85% of their marketing efforts in e-mail.

Not surprisingly, much of the action in e-mail marketing has switched to mobile. According to the Knotice Mobile E-Mail Opens Report for the first two quarters of 2013, 48% of all e-mails are now opened on mobile devices.

E-mail ad exchange LiveIntent found similar insights in its 2014 study. Its researchers found that 25% of every mobile hour is spent using e-mail, and e-mail openings and sales conversions for those under 45 are higher on mobile devices than on traditional desktops. Indeed, LiveIntent predicted that mobile will become the dominant e-mail device by 2015—the place where more than 50% of all e-mails will be opened.

As you might suspect, Apple dominates the mobile space. According to LiveIntent, 41% of all mobile e-mails are opened on Apple devices. And on smartphones, 83% of all e-mails are opened on iPhones.

“The results of this study should be exciting news to marketers everywhere,” said Matt Keiser, LiveIntent’s CEO. “You already have an effective mobile campaign: your e-mail campaign.

Over the long run, mobile also seems to hold users’ interest throughout the day, according to the LiveIntent study. While e-mail openings on desktop PCs experience a burst between 9:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m., robust activity in e-mail openings on mobile devices occurs during the same period but also continues into the late evening—as late as 10:00 p.m., according to Keiser.

Companies serious about e-mail marketing are most interested in using the medium for retaining current customers: About 87% of companies list retention as their top goal, according to a survey included in the Forrester report. E-mail marketers also see the medium as a way to build loyalty (76%), increase traffic to their websites (61%) and build overall brand awareness (53%), according to Forrester’s report.

If you’re looking to beef up your own e-mail marketing in light of e-mail’s continued allure, a good study of the service providers available was released in the aforementioned “The Forrester Wave: E-Mail Marketing Vendors, Q3 2014.” Among the 33 service providers evaluated, Forrester found that two—Strongview and Epsilon—were tops, and two more—Salesforce ExactTarget and Oracle Responsys—were a
close second.

“As in years past, we focused our 2014 evaluation of current capabilities on areas of differentiation, including campaign management, dynamic content, analytics and reporting, data model, professional services, globalization and support for mobile and social media,” said Forrester’s VanBoskirk. She also said that service providers that earned topped marks excelled at positioning their services where Forrester believes e-mail marketing is heading and enjoyed high customer retention and high customer satisfaction rates.

VanBoskirk also noted that heavy hitters in e-mail marketing are always looking for new innovations in the technology, but they look most closely for service providers that hit home runs in core functions, such as data security, account management, ease of use and database support.

“This doesn’t mean that marketers don’t value integrated marketing solutions,” VanBoskirk said. “But it does mean that they want e-mail best practices—as well as multi-channel communications—that can boost results.”

E-mail marketers also have some interesting plans. According to VanBoskirk, 66% of them want to get more involved in micro-segment e-mail marketing, and 58% want to start sending interactive e-mails, in which customers can buy things or perform other transactions right inside an e-mail.

Most strikingly, the migration to mobile has had a major impact on the way e-mail marketers design their e-mails. A full 71% of the 89 e-mail marketers Forrester surveyed said that they were already sending responsive e-mails—which auto-resize an e-mail depending on the size of the screen the e-mail is being viewed on. Another 27% plan on moving to responsive design.

Specifically, here are Forrester’s recommendations on what it sees as e-mail marketing’s top service providers:

Strongview and Epsilon Are Tops: Amid the 33 service providers Forrester evaluated, it liked these two companies best. Strongview’s showing in the leader category this year is attributed to its strong functionality, scalable technology platform and capable professional services, while Epsilon got high marks for a revamped platform and the ability to closely collaborate with customers.

Salesforce ExactTarget and Oracle Responsys Came in Second: Both firms impress again in this review for their segmentation, campaign testing and campaign orchestration functionality, VanBoskirk said.

Yesmail Interactive and Silverpop Pull up Third: Yesmail still needs to refine the campaign management aspects of its services, VanBoskirk said. And while Silverpop excels in mobile and social media, its other e-mail marketing services lack luster, she said.

Also-Rans: Acxiom, Experian Marketing Services and Zeta Interactive fall into this final category, in the Forrester report. All trail the other competitors.

Joe Dysart is an Internet speaker and business consultant based in Manhattan.
joe@joedysart.com
www.joedysart.com

SEMA News—December 2014

INTERNET
By Joe Dysart

The New Sexy

E-Mail Retains the Title

While digital marketing always seems to have its own version of the “It Girl” each year, one thing has remained constant for nearly 30 years: E-mail is still the new sexy. According to a barrage of studies released during the past year, e-mail marketing still surpasses all others in the digital realm when it comes to return on investment (ROI) and increasing sales. And companies still see e-mail marketing as a stalwart when they’re looking to hang on to customers, build loyalty and increase website traffic.

“Marketers love e-mail for its retention, sales and loyalty influence,” said Shar VanBoskirk, lead author on “The Forrester Wave: E-Mail Marketing Vendors, Q3 2014,” report released by the market research company Forrester.

Digital marketing guru Econsultancy, for example, found that e-mail marketing is seen as the best channel for ROI among the companies it surveyed, with 68% of respondents rating the medium as “good” or “excellent.” Moreover, revenue from e-mail marketing actually jumped 28% in 2014, according to Econsultancy’s, E-Mail Marketing Industry Census 2014, with 23% of all sales from respondents originating from e-mail, up 10% from the year prior.

Meanwhile, digital marketing services provider Sitecore found similar results in its 2014 study, “Uncovering the Realities of Today’s Digital Marketing Landscape.” Of the companies it surveyed, 73% said that they’re investing more in digital marketing in coming months. And all told, respondents estimated that they devoted 85% of their marketing efforts in e-mail.

Not surprisingly, much of the action in e-mail marketing has switched to mobile. According to the Knotice Mobile E-Mail Opens Report for the first two quarters of 2013, 48% of all e-mails are now opened on mobile devices.

E-mail ad exchange LiveIntent found similar insights in its 2014 study. Its researchers found that 25% of every mobile hour is spent using e-mail, and e-mail openings and sales conversions for those under 45 are higher on mobile devices than on traditional desktops. Indeed, LiveIntent predicted that mobile will become the dominant e-mail device by 2015—the place where more than 50% of all e-mails will be opened.

As you might suspect, Apple dominates the mobile space. According to LiveIntent, 41% of all mobile e-mails are opened on Apple devices. And on smartphones, 83% of all e-mails are opened on iPhones.

“The results of this study should be exciting news to marketers everywhere,” said Matt Keiser, LiveIntent’s CEO. “You already have an effective mobile campaign: your e-mail campaign.

Over the long run, mobile also seems to hold users’ interest throughout the day, according to the LiveIntent study. While e-mail openings on desktop PCs experience a burst between 9:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m., robust activity in e-mail openings on mobile devices occurs during the same period but also continues into the late evening—as late as 10:00 p.m., according to Keiser.

Companies serious about e-mail marketing are most interested in using the medium for retaining current customers: About 87% of companies list retention as their top goal, according to a survey included in the Forrester report. E-mail marketers also see the medium as a way to build loyalty (76%), increase traffic to their websites (61%) and build overall brand awareness (53%), according to Forrester’s report.

If you’re looking to beef up your own e-mail marketing in light of e-mail’s continued allure, a good study of the service providers available was released in the aforementioned “The Forrester Wave: E-Mail Marketing Vendors, Q3 2014.” Among the 33 service providers evaluated, Forrester found that two—Strongview and Epsilon—were tops, and two more—Salesforce ExactTarget and Oracle Responsys—were a
close second.

“As in years past, we focused our 2014 evaluation of current capabilities on areas of differentiation, including campaign management, dynamic content, analytics and reporting, data model, professional services, globalization and support for mobile and social media,” said Forrester’s VanBoskirk. She also said that service providers that earned topped marks excelled at positioning their services where Forrester believes e-mail marketing is heading and enjoyed high customer retention and high customer satisfaction rates.

VanBoskirk also noted that heavy hitters in e-mail marketing are always looking for new innovations in the technology, but they look most closely for service providers that hit home runs in core functions, such as data security, account management, ease of use and database support.

“This doesn’t mean that marketers don’t value integrated marketing solutions,” VanBoskirk said. “But it does mean that they want e-mail best practices—as well as multi-channel communications—that can boost results.”

E-mail marketers also have some interesting plans. According to VanBoskirk, 66% of them want to get more involved in micro-segment e-mail marketing, and 58% want to start sending interactive e-mails, in which customers can buy things or perform other transactions right inside an e-mail.

Most strikingly, the migration to mobile has had a major impact on the way e-mail marketers design their e-mails. A full 71% of the 89 e-mail marketers Forrester surveyed said that they were already sending responsive e-mails—which auto-resize an e-mail depending on the size of the screen the e-mail is being viewed on. Another 27% plan on moving to responsive design.

Specifically, here are Forrester’s recommendations on what it sees as e-mail marketing’s top service providers:

Strongview and Epsilon Are Tops: Amid the 33 service providers Forrester evaluated, it liked these two companies best. Strongview’s showing in the leader category this year is attributed to its strong functionality, scalable technology platform and capable professional services, while Epsilon got high marks for a revamped platform and the ability to closely collaborate with customers.

Salesforce ExactTarget and Oracle Responsys Came in Second: Both firms impress again in this review for their segmentation, campaign testing and campaign orchestration functionality, VanBoskirk said.

Yesmail Interactive and Silverpop Pull up Third: Yesmail still needs to refine the campaign management aspects of its services, VanBoskirk said. And while Silverpop excels in mobile and social media, its other e-mail marketing services lack luster, she said.

Also-Rans: Acxiom, Experian Marketing Services and Zeta Interactive fall into this final category, in the Forrester report. All trail the other competitors.

Joe Dysart is an Internet speaker and business consultant based in Manhattan.
joe@joedysart.com
www.joedysart.com

SEMA News—December 2014

BUSINESS
By Steve Campbell

Rapid Prototyping Revolutionizes Product Development

SEMA Garage Provides Quick Turnaround of Prototype Models

New products shape the automotive specialty-equipment industry, and companies that get their innovations to market earliest have the best chance for success. Millions of dollars are spent each year to research, design, develop and produce prototypes that are eventually honed into the finished parts that reach consumers’ vehicles. Until recently, that process has been time consuming and expensive—especially for smaller manufacturers that don’t have huge budgets. But technology is changing the R&D process.

“In the Tech Transfer program, we receive the CAD files directly from Ford, General Motors, Chrysler and Scion and are then able to offer the files to our members,” said Mike Spagnola, SEMA’s vice president of OEM and product development programs. “For example, a member may be developing an intake manifold on a ’15 Ford Mustang or a suspension component for a ’15 Chevy truck. We can provide the associated OEM CAD files to that member, which they can use in developing the new product.”

Once an aftermarket manufacturer has created a CAD version of a new part, the company can send the modified file back to the SEMA Garage, where technicians can print a prototype on SEMA’s Stratasys 3D printer. The SEMA Garage staff can even test-fit the prototype plastic part directly to the applicable vehicle, if available, to ensure correct dimensions and tolerances.

Without the OE CAD files, an aftermarket manufacturer would have to perform as many manual measurements as possible on the subject vehicle, make CAD drawings based on those measurements and then go through a tedious trial-and-error process over numerous revisions to finally develop a correct prototype. Or the SEMA-member company could use another tool in the SEMA Garage: the FaroArm, a portable coordinate measuring machine.

Portable CMMs utilize computer software and an electronic probe at the end of a control arm to digitally record the coordinates of points on the surface of the part being measured. With different arm lengths and probe types—including laser scanners that read and record everything the laser hits—CMMs transmit X, Y and Z coordinate data to CAD files, which can then be used to create drawings, plans and prototype parts. Because the measurements are extremely precise, much of the trial-and-error fitment process is eliminated, saving time and money.

Portable CMMs can be used to measure and/or create nearly any type of part, according to Mike Koski, account manager for FaroArm. Depending upon the size and type of machine, everything from tiny screws to full vehicles can be scanned for CAD files. The laser allows the user to scan a component without touching it, moving the arm above the part. The laser projects a line onto the part so that the user can see where he’s scanning, and the probe—which has a camera with a lens—essentially builds a picture of the part in computer software using more than 45,000 data points per second. (The new Faro Edge ScanArm HD offers 560,000 points per second.) The picture can then be converted to a CAD file.

“FARO spends as much time as possible to train users,” Koski said. “Becoming proficient may take half a day or a couple of days, depending on the machine and the operator.”

Various companies also offer CMM and other prototyping services, but SEMA provides its expertise and tools at about a third the cost of what manufacturers might find elsewhere.

“We offer scanning when we don’t have access to the original-equipment files,” Spagnola said. “For example, Toyota does not offer us CAD files, so we can bring a Toyota vehicle into the SEMA Garage and scan the requested product ourselves with our FaroArm. Scanning tolerances can be as close as .0001 in., and we have two degreed engineers who are constantly scanning automotive parts to expand our library.”

Once a CAD file is available, either from the Tech Transfer library or from a CMM scan, product developers can produce actual prototypes using 3D printers. The printers build full-scale versions of parts from CAD drawings, stacking thin layers of material—plastic, in the case of SEMA’s Stratasys printer—to create a 3D model.

“A 3D printer can produce anything a designer can put into a CAD file,” said Steve Gibson, West Coast applications manager for Stratasys. “They can create things that are impossible to manufacture otherwise. Our smallest machine provides a 5x5x5-in. build envelope, and our largest provides about a 3-ft. build envelope. The smallest wall thickness would be about .003 in.”

“Printers are ever-changing,” Gibson said. “In fact, I was just reading about biological printing, where developers are producing ears and skin for grafts—not human yet, but that’s coming. The thought is that we will eventually be able to replace those types of body parts with actual human tissue built in 3D printers.”

Gibson said that there are also printers already in existence that work with metal, using high-intensity lasers to bond powder together with a binder to build a metal part. “A 3D printer speeds development but also produces better parts,” he said. “They are better designed because the manufacturer may try different things and build multiple iterations. All they have to do is change a digital file and grow another part.”

Commercial-grade Stratasys printers start at about $5,999 and can be as much as $500,000, with multiple unit prices in between.

“There is also a whole different consumer level at the lower end,” Gibson said. “A home hobbyist can get into one of those for a couple grand, but they have to work a little harder at getting a good output. They’re still working with CAD files, and they’re still working with layers, whether they’re formed from powder or liquid resin or extruded plastic.”

While some SEMA members are investing in their own printers and CMMs, Spagnola emphasized that the SEMA Garage can provide members with either internally generated and external vendor prototyping at far more economical pricing than is available generally.

“We get a lot of requests for performance engine components such as intake manifolds, air intakes, and mounting areas that locate an engine,” he said. “We also get a lot of requests for suspension components for either lifting or lowering a truck as well as modified suspension components for performance cars such as Mustangs and Corvettes, and we can do moving pieces. If you can dream it, it can be printed.”

Specialty-equipment manufacturers and many of the automakers understand that offering a wide range of products helps to sell more cars. The SEMA rapid prototyping program provides a great way for the original-equipment manufacturers to get involved, augment the products available for their models and ensure that all products are developed in the most professional way possible.

Companies that wish to take advantage of the SEMA Garage rapid prototyping tools and opportunities may contact Rachael Salazar, SEMA’s senior coordinator for OEM and product development programs, via e-mail at rachaels@sema.org or by phone at 909-978-6728.

The prototyping team will assess the request and provide a quote based on the services used and the size of the project. For more information about SEMA Garage capabilities, including help with Executive Orders, use of the professionally equipped photo alcove and the facility’s nearly $2 million worth of tools and equipment, visit www.sema.org/sema-garage or e-mail Mike Spagnola at mikes@sema.org.

SEMA News—December 2014

BUSINESS
By Steve Campbell

Rapid Prototyping Revolutionizes Product Development

SEMA Garage Provides Quick Turnaround of Prototype Models

New products shape the automotive specialty-equipment industry, and companies that get their innovations to market earliest have the best chance for success. Millions of dollars are spent each year to research, design, develop and produce prototypes that are eventually honed into the finished parts that reach consumers’ vehicles. Until recently, that process has been time consuming and expensive—especially for smaller manufacturers that don’t have huge budgets. But technology is changing the R&D process.

“In the Tech Transfer program, we receive the CAD files directly from Ford, General Motors, Chrysler and Scion and are then able to offer the files to our members,” said Mike Spagnola, SEMA’s vice president of OEM and product development programs. “For example, a member may be developing an intake manifold on a ’15 Ford Mustang or a suspension component for a ’15 Chevy truck. We can provide the associated OEM CAD files to that member, which they can use in developing the new product.”

Once an aftermarket manufacturer has created a CAD version of a new part, the company can send the modified file back to the SEMA Garage, where technicians can print a prototype on SEMA’s Stratasys 3D printer. The SEMA Garage staff can even test-fit the prototype plastic part directly to the applicable vehicle, if available, to ensure correct dimensions and tolerances.

Without the OE CAD files, an aftermarket manufacturer would have to perform as many manual measurements as possible on the subject vehicle, make CAD drawings based on those measurements and then go through a tedious trial-and-error process over numerous revisions to finally develop a correct prototype. Or the SEMA-member company could use another tool in the SEMA Garage: the FaroArm, a portable coordinate measuring machine.

Portable CMMs utilize computer software and an electronic probe at the end of a control arm to digitally record the coordinates of points on the surface of the part being measured. With different arm lengths and probe types—including laser scanners that read and record everything the laser hits—CMMs transmit X, Y and Z coordinate data to CAD files, which can then be used to create drawings, plans and prototype parts. Because the measurements are extremely precise, much of the trial-and-error fitment process is eliminated, saving time and money.

Portable CMMs can be used to measure and/or create nearly any type of part, according to Mike Koski, account manager for FaroArm. Depending upon the size and type of machine, everything from tiny screws to full vehicles can be scanned for CAD files. The laser allows the user to scan a component without touching it, moving the arm above the part. The laser projects a line onto the part so that the user can see where he’s scanning, and the probe—which has a camera with a lens—essentially builds a picture of the part in computer software using more than 45,000 data points per second. (The new Faro Edge ScanArm HD offers 560,000 points per second.) The picture can then be converted to a CAD file.

“FARO spends as much time as possible to train users,” Koski said. “Becoming proficient may take half a day or a couple of days, depending on the machine and the operator.”

Various companies also offer CMM and other prototyping services, but SEMA provides its expertise and tools at about a third the cost of what manufacturers might find elsewhere.

“We offer scanning when we don’t have access to the original-equipment files,” Spagnola said. “For example, Toyota does not offer us CAD files, so we can bring a Toyota vehicle into the SEMA Garage and scan the requested product ourselves with our FaroArm. Scanning tolerances can be as close as .0001 in., and we have two degreed engineers who are constantly scanning automotive parts to expand our library.”

Once a CAD file is available, either from the Tech Transfer library or from a CMM scan, product developers can produce actual prototypes using 3D printers. The printers build full-scale versions of parts from CAD drawings, stacking thin layers of material—plastic, in the case of SEMA’s Stratasys printer—to create a 3D model.

“A 3D printer can produce anything a designer can put into a CAD file,” said Steve Gibson, West Coast applications manager for Stratasys. “They can create things that are impossible to manufacture otherwise. Our smallest machine provides a 5x5x5-in. build envelope, and our largest provides about a 3-ft. build envelope. The smallest wall thickness would be about .003 in.”

“Printers are ever-changing,” Gibson said. “In fact, I was just reading about biological printing, where developers are producing ears and skin for grafts—not human yet, but that’s coming. The thought is that we will eventually be able to replace those types of body parts with actual human tissue built in 3D printers.”

Gibson said that there are also printers already in existence that work with metal, using high-intensity lasers to bond powder together with a binder to build a metal part. “A 3D printer speeds development but also produces better parts,” he said. “They are better designed because the manufacturer may try different things and build multiple iterations. All they have to do is change a digital file and grow another part.”

Commercial-grade Stratasys printers start at about $5,999 and can be as much as $500,000, with multiple unit prices in between.

“There is also a whole different consumer level at the lower end,” Gibson said. “A home hobbyist can get into one of those for a couple grand, but they have to work a little harder at getting a good output. They’re still working with CAD files, and they’re still working with layers, whether they’re formed from powder or liquid resin or extruded plastic.”

While some SEMA members are investing in their own printers and CMMs, Spagnola emphasized that the SEMA Garage can provide members with either internally generated and external vendor prototyping at far more economical pricing than is available generally.

“We get a lot of requests for performance engine components such as intake manifolds, air intakes, and mounting areas that locate an engine,” he said. “We also get a lot of requests for suspension components for either lifting or lowering a truck as well as modified suspension components for performance cars such as Mustangs and Corvettes, and we can do moving pieces. If you can dream it, it can be printed.”

Specialty-equipment manufacturers and many of the automakers understand that offering a wide range of products helps to sell more cars. The SEMA rapid prototyping program provides a great way for the original-equipment manufacturers to get involved, augment the products available for their models and ensure that all products are developed in the most professional way possible.

Companies that wish to take advantage of the SEMA Garage rapid prototyping tools and opportunities may contact Rachael Salazar, SEMA’s senior coordinator for OEM and product development programs, via e-mail at rachaels@sema.org or by phone at 909-978-6728.

The prototyping team will assess the request and provide a quote based on the services used and the size of the project. For more information about SEMA Garage capabilities, including help with Executive Orders, use of the professionally equipped photo alcove and the facility’s nearly $2 million worth of tools and equipment, visit www.sema.org/sema-garage or e-mail Mike Spagnola at mikes@sema.org.

SEMA News—December 2014

BUSINESS
By Steve Campbell

Rapid Prototyping Revolutionizes Product Development

SEMA Garage Provides Quick Turnaround of Prototype Models

New products shape the automotive specialty-equipment industry, and companies that get their innovations to market earliest have the best chance for success. Millions of dollars are spent each year to research, design, develop and produce prototypes that are eventually honed into the finished parts that reach consumers’ vehicles. Until recently, that process has been time consuming and expensive—especially for smaller manufacturers that don’t have huge budgets. But technology is changing the R&D process.

“In the Tech Transfer program, we receive the CAD files directly from Ford, General Motors, Chrysler and Scion and are then able to offer the files to our members,” said Mike Spagnola, SEMA’s vice president of OEM and product development programs. “For example, a member may be developing an intake manifold on a ’15 Ford Mustang or a suspension component for a ’15 Chevy truck. We can provide the associated OEM CAD files to that member, which they can use in developing the new product.”

Once an aftermarket manufacturer has created a CAD version of a new part, the company can send the modified file back to the SEMA Garage, where technicians can print a prototype on SEMA’s Stratasys 3D printer. The SEMA Garage staff can even test-fit the prototype plastic part directly to the applicable vehicle, if available, to ensure correct dimensions and tolerances.

Without the OE CAD files, an aftermarket manufacturer would have to perform as many manual measurements as possible on the subject vehicle, make CAD drawings based on those measurements and then go through a tedious trial-and-error process over numerous revisions to finally develop a correct prototype. Or the SEMA-member company could use another tool in the SEMA Garage: the FaroArm, a portable coordinate measuring machine.

Portable CMMs utilize computer software and an electronic probe at the end of a control arm to digitally record the coordinates of points on the surface of the part being measured. With different arm lengths and probe types—including laser scanners that read and record everything the laser hits—CMMs transmit X, Y and Z coordinate data to CAD files, which can then be used to create drawings, plans and prototype parts. Because the measurements are extremely precise, much of the trial-and-error fitment process is eliminated, saving time and money.

Portable CMMs can be used to measure and/or create nearly any type of part, according to Mike Koski, account manager for FaroArm. Depending upon the size and type of machine, everything from tiny screws to full vehicles can be scanned for CAD files. The laser allows the user to scan a component without touching it, moving the arm above the part. The laser projects a line onto the part so that the user can see where he’s scanning, and the probe—which has a camera with a lens—essentially builds a picture of the part in computer software using more than 45,000 data points per second. (The new Faro Edge ScanArm HD offers 560,000 points per second.) The picture can then be converted to a CAD file.

“FARO spends as much time as possible to train users,” Koski said. “Becoming proficient may take half a day or a couple of days, depending on the machine and the operator.”

Various companies also offer CMM and other prototyping services, but SEMA provides its expertise and tools at about a third the cost of what manufacturers might find elsewhere.

“We offer scanning when we don’t have access to the original-equipment files,” Spagnola said. “For example, Toyota does not offer us CAD files, so we can bring a Toyota vehicle into the SEMA Garage and scan the requested product ourselves with our FaroArm. Scanning tolerances can be as close as .0001 in., and we have two degreed engineers who are constantly scanning automotive parts to expand our library.”

Once a CAD file is available, either from the Tech Transfer library or from a CMM scan, product developers can produce actual prototypes using 3D printers. The printers build full-scale versions of parts from CAD drawings, stacking thin layers of material—plastic, in the case of SEMA’s Stratasys printer—to create a 3D model.

“A 3D printer can produce anything a designer can put into a CAD file,” said Steve Gibson, West Coast applications manager for Stratasys. “They can create things that are impossible to manufacture otherwise. Our smallest machine provides a 5x5x5-in. build envelope, and our largest provides about a 3-ft. build envelope. The smallest wall thickness would be about .003 in.”

“Printers are ever-changing,” Gibson said. “In fact, I was just reading about biological printing, where developers are producing ears and skin for grafts—not human yet, but that’s coming. The thought is that we will eventually be able to replace those types of body parts with actual human tissue built in 3D printers.”

Gibson said that there are also printers already in existence that work with metal, using high-intensity lasers to bond powder together with a binder to build a metal part. “A 3D printer speeds development but also produces better parts,” he said. “They are better designed because the manufacturer may try different things and build multiple iterations. All they have to do is change a digital file and grow another part.”

Commercial-grade Stratasys printers start at about $5,999 and can be as much as $500,000, with multiple unit prices in between.

“There is also a whole different consumer level at the lower end,” Gibson said. “A home hobbyist can get into one of those for a couple grand, but they have to work a little harder at getting a good output. They’re still working with CAD files, and they’re still working with layers, whether they’re formed from powder or liquid resin or extruded plastic.”

While some SEMA members are investing in their own printers and CMMs, Spagnola emphasized that the SEMA Garage can provide members with either internally generated and external vendor prototyping at far more economical pricing than is available generally.

“We get a lot of requests for performance engine components such as intake manifolds, air intakes, and mounting areas that locate an engine,” he said. “We also get a lot of requests for suspension components for either lifting or lowering a truck as well as modified suspension components for performance cars such as Mustangs and Corvettes, and we can do moving pieces. If you can dream it, it can be printed.”

Specialty-equipment manufacturers and many of the automakers understand that offering a wide range of products helps to sell more cars. The SEMA rapid prototyping program provides a great way for the original-equipment manufacturers to get involved, augment the products available for their models and ensure that all products are developed in the most professional way possible.

Companies that wish to take advantage of the SEMA Garage rapid prototyping tools and opportunities may contact Rachael Salazar, SEMA’s senior coordinator for OEM and product development programs, via e-mail at rachaels@sema.org or by phone at 909-978-6728.

The prototyping team will assess the request and provide a quote based on the services used and the size of the project. For more information about SEMA Garage capabilities, including help with Executive Orders, use of the professionally equipped photo alcove and the facility’s nearly $2 million worth of tools and equipment, visit www.sema.org/sema-garage or e-mail Mike Spagnola at mikes@sema.org.