The View From Here

By Melissa Campanelli

About Melissa

Melissa Campanelli is the editor-in-chief of Target Marketing's eM+C brand and Retail Online Integration, a monthly print magazine, website and e-letter (The ROI Report) that's all about the integration of sales channels, including print/catalog, transactional websites and retail stores, as well as email, mobile, social media and more.

Prior to becoming editor-in-chief of eM+C, Melissa spent ten years at DM News, where she was first a senior editor and then deputy editor. She's also a leading expert in small business e-commerce and author of the books "Entrepreneur Magazine's Open an Online Business in 10 Days" and "Start Your Own e-Business."

Conversations

Putting Pinterest To Work For Your Brand

Apr 20, 2012

Pinterest is the new hot property. Overnight this visual curation powerhouse has generated more traffic to websites than Twitter, Google+,...

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Engagement Matters

3 Key Lessons for Mobile Email Marketers

Mar 1, 2012

With mobile devices ranging from smartphones to iPads to e-readers to netbooks, the question isn't if you need a mobile strategy for...

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Inside Mobile Marketing

Building a Mobile Presence

Dec 15, 2011

Mobile is a revolution. The power of the personal mobile device has created the potential for businesses to build stronger...

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Redefining Performance Marketing

Facebook's Timeline for Brands: A Facebook Performance Opportunity

Mar 29, 2012

Facebook's new Timeline for Brands enables marketers to foster engagement with participants. This engagement can equal Facebook performance. Brands can...

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15 Minutes Ahead

How Evolving Mobile Behaviors are Raising the Stakes for Marketers

Jan 5, 2012

While none would argue that 2011 was the year of the mobile app, marketers have been hearing more noise about...

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Digital Marketing Takes Action

Which is Better for Mobile Shopping, Tablets or Smartphones?

Jul 7, 2011

Are you wondering whether it’s worth providing your online retail offering on tablets, particularly the iPad? Are you also facing...

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Ways of Thinking

A Facebook Fan is $136 in Lifetime Value, $3.60 in Media Impressions

Jun 29, 2010

The lifetime value of a Facebook fan is about $136 to top brands, according to this study on Facebook fan...

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Online Retailers Need to Get Serious About Online Security

By Melissa Campanelli | Posted on April 16, 2009

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Online retailers, listen up: Earlier this week in its e-mail authentication report, the Online Trust Alliance (formerly the Authentication Online Trust Alliance) gave online retailers a failing grade in preventing deceptive e-mail and phishing scams. Deceptive e-mails and phishing scams refer to forged e-mails that purport to come from legitimate brand owners. If you’re receiving a failing grade in this, you’re really shooting yourself in the foot. E-mail authentication, which equips e-mail messages with verifiable information so recipients can recognize the nature of each incoming message automatically, has grown over the past year, according to the OTA. Nevertheless, the OTA found that 45 percent of the top 300 revenue-generating e-retail sites have not adopted e-mail authentication. The alliance said this lack of adoption leaves brands, domains and consumers exposed to security and privacy threats. "Authentication is the best tactic to use to counter phishing scams," OTA Chairman and Founder Craig Spiezle told me earlier this week, adding that authentication is an easy fix. And for goodness sakes, it’s free. Many leading brands — including Amazon, Dell, Office Depo t, Apple, Costco and Staples — have adopted increased online security measures, according to the OTA. But many others — including Sears, Victoria's Secret, Gap and Nordstrom — still don’t adequately protect their brands and customers through e-mail authentication. "These brands need to step up to the plate and protect their consumers and stockholders," Spiezle said. Spiezle did indicate that among the top 100 online e-retailers, "we are close to 70 percent of adoption. So, what this indicates is that, in general, bigger companies are recognizing the value of authentication." When you look at the top 200, Spiezle said, “adoption drops to 59 percent and then to 55 percent when looking at the top 300." OTA will also release similar data on the Fortune 500 at the upcoming OTA Online Trust Town Hall Meeting on April 23 in San Francisco. At the forum, OTA will also present best practices including data governance, privacy and behavioral targeting with the goal of increasing the adoption of best practices to protect consumers. It seems to me that if you're an online e-tailer, it would make sense to do whatever it is you can to make sure that your brand is protected. And since it's easy and free, it makes even more sense. Do your brand a favor, authenticate!

Companies Mentioned:

Dell

Sections:

Management