Research Reflects Surge In Spam Mail
The volume of email spam has drastically increased over the past year, according to new research from email security company, MessageLabs.
One in fourteen emails were found to contain spam in 2002. This compares to an average of one in every nine emails in the US. Last month, one in eight emails contained spam.
The increase reflects the growing popularity of email as an advertising tool. According to the results of a survey carried out by the DMA and Experian earlier this year, 60% of marketers currently use email as part of the marketing mix (see Email Marketing Is On The Up).
The surge in this form of advertising and promotion has created problems for email users and businesses alike. Mark Sunner, chief technical officer at Message Labs, commented: “It has become increasingly evident in recent years that spam has the ability to severely compromise business productivity and these new statistics bear that out. We estimate 10% of the working day is spent dealing with spam.”
Anti-spam filtering group, Brightmail has warned that spamming may damage brand credibility: “Spammers use well-known brands to draw attention and attach credibility to their scams or unauthorised marketing. Furthermore, spammers have had to become increasingly sophisticated in 2002, partly in response to a world-wide backlash against the dramatic rise in spam.”
There has been a wealth of research on the increasing proliferation of spam in email, leading many commentators to question its long-term viability as a marketing tool. Marketers have been searching for ways to make email viable in the face of a multitude of new anti-spamming software and negative press. In the US, the concept that spammers should pay users to read their bulk advertisements has moved from an academic idea to a formal business plan, in which case email marketing may get a stay of execution.
MessageLabs: 01452 627 627 www.messagelabs.com
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