Customer Speak – A Marketing Blog from Bridgz Marketing Group

Green Spam by Bridgz

My new friend Chuck Falco, who is with an “Internet marketing firm” in Chicago called the Hyper Text Group, has been corresponding with me for the past couple of months. I’ve never met Chuck, nor have I heard of his company, but he keeps sending me messages trying to sell me email lists — not just the lists, he’s offering to manage “highly targeted” campaigns for me, using their exclusive Hyper Mail software. He claims they have 85 million opt-in consumer email addresses, updated as of July 20, 2009, and can tailor a “niche market” list that’s just right for my needs.  It’s hard to fathom that so many people have given Chuck permission to sell their names and email addresses on the Internet to anyone possessing a credit card.

“With a click of the mouse,” Chuck says, “I can mail out millions of targeted emails.”  It’s a pretty big target.

I’m wondering how they got my email address and why in the world he would be spamming me to buy his spamming services. So, out of curiosity I visit hypertextgroup.com to find that the company’s tagline is “Email for the Masses.” That doesn’t sound very targeted. Their stated mission is: “To redefine the way people currently think about the use of homegrown mass email marketing.” They go on to say that, “Technology is constantly changing and the way we did things yesterday aren’t the same as the way we’ll be doing them tomorrow.”

Ripvanwinkle.com might have been a more appropriate name for this group.

I find that the real play, other than delivering highly targeted mass email lists, is jumping on the environment bandwagon — they’re out to cash in on helping companies like mine “Go Green” by blasting out millions of unsolicited emails to the masses, rather than mailing out millions of pieces of unsolicited mass mail and killing all those trees in the process. I guess this truly is the way of tomorrow: green has become the most important color in the spectrum and “e” is the most important letter in the alphabet — put them together and how can we go wrong?

Nothing personal Chuck, but I think I’ll pass on the mass email offer. I decide to unsubscribe but it doesn’t take as I get another email from Chuck with the same offer, and then again. Now I’m seeing that the true benefit of their Hyper Mail system is getting through my spam filters, which is why technology has to keep changing.

Chuck, if you’re out there, please take me off your list. With 85 million email addresses, one less shouldn’t be a big deal. Thanks.

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