Marketing Wrap-up: Week of January 9th 2012

 

Thirteen days in to the new year and already we have seen and heard some big developments coming from the marketing, tech and media world. So, to make your life easier, here are some of the top news and blog articles we have found most interesting.

 

Top links of the week:

 

1. An interview with Phil Simon: Business lessons from Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google MyCustomer.com

 

2. Ten social media strategies to define a successful 2012 Brian Solis

 

3. Help customers reach content and products more easily: How to streamline site navigation to attract and retain customers Marketing Profs

 

4. Apps to become universal - HTML 5: The future of AT&T’s mobile store Mashable

 

5. Real-life examples of how Google’s ‘Search Plus’ pushes Google+ over relevancy  Search Engine Land

 

6. Mercedes and Facebook? Who predicted that one? PSFK

 

7. Here to stay or marketing fad? 86% of marketers to use 2D barcodes in near future Econsultancy

 

8. The most downloaded social apps - Mobile social media: top apps, deal sites and more Marketing Profs

 

9. YouTube and Twitter are growing while Facebook stays static: Facebook loses share of social network visits as YouTube grows Brand Republic

 

10. Consumers seem to be more likely to click on an ad than on other devices: Mobile drives more search ad clicks ClickZ

 

11. Four timeless email copywriting commandments Marketing Profs

 

12. Mobile payments insight: How PayPal plans to scale its in-store payment system Gigaom

 

Be sure to drop us a comment below and tell us your favorite industry developments of the new year so far.

 

Millie Bartlett, Marketing Coordinator, e-Dialog UK

2012, the year of...

Big events! There will be some significant occurrences in the upcoming year including the Olympics and the Presidential Election. Make sure you have them marked on your promotional calendar now. Having well thought out promotions built around these special events can help you stand out from the crowd.

First up: Leap Year.  February 29 appears on the calendar once every 4 years. Therefore, Leap Year Babies are often thought of as being neglected. If you have enough customers born on 2/29 to justify a special birthday message, it would be nice to treat them to 4x the typical birthday deal. The majority of your database will likely be born on other days of the year, so celebrate them too by offering a special deal on their birthday if they enter or confirm their information on the 29th. Perhaps 29% off?  This will fill in gaps in your data and give customers something to look forward to. 

“Leap” also implies skipping over or avoiding something – like shipping fees! This holiday season we saw an incredible number of Free Shipping deals starting on Black Friday. Many companies extended the deal to the last minute, offering free upgrades to 2-day shipping and free express delivery. Some companies, like L.L. Bean, offer Free Shipping all the time.  If you are still charging shipping fees, Leap Year Day might be a nice day to temporarily suspend them – or charge a nominal flat rate like $2.29.

Another event occurring every four years is the Summer Olympics.  Starting in July, the Olympics will be the focus of much attention. Many athletes have interesting backstories and the news media will be doing a lot of biographies. Take a cue from this this channel and feature in-depth information on designers or employees that are inspirational or have shown great teamwork. J.Crew published a web video last spring on how a particular pair of shoes was made.  It provided a look into the personalities of the team who designed the shoe, picked the materials, and ultimately produced the product. The video made me much more attracted to both the product and the company. According to e-Dialog research, nearly 20% of consumers subscribe to email because they identify with a brand or the lifestyle it promotes. Let them in on more of that lifestyle by putting faces to your brand. 

An obvious tie-in to the Olympics is to feature a game in your email. Games promote interactivity and engagement. The current email from the Choice Hotels loyalty program advertises a simple matching game where you flip over cards and match each of the brand logos. The game times how fast you make the matches and lets you share it on Facebook.  Not only did it engage me, but it also familiarized me with hotels I didn’t know already. This could be replicated using brands or even products from a new line.

http://choicehotelscreative.com/ecrm/11-767/index.html

 

Election 2012.  An event we can expect to hear about for the majority of the year is the Presidential election. The population will be urged again and again to get out and vote.  Therefore, including a poll or survey in your email will be right in line with what customers are seeing and hearing in their day-to-day lives. This is an especially great way to refresh and/or build out the information in your preference center and to gain actionable data from your subscribers. Multiple choice polls can be built directly into your emails with e-Dialog and results are tied to email addresses.

See the example CVS poll below. Based on the answer chosen, you could direct customers to different landing pages. If they are done wrapping, show them gifts for themselves – they earned it! If they haven’t started, bring on the tape, scissors and gift bags.

 

The 12 Days of Christmas.  If you thought you saw a lot of companies doing a daily-deal and counting down the 12 days of Christmas, you were right. And if you think they won’t do it again – especially when the calendar turns 12/12/12 - you would probably be mistaken. Review your favorite daily-deal emails now to see what competitors did and start brainstorming creative takes on this concept. I like the approach L’Occitane took this summer by displaying outlines of the products they would be discounting but still keeping some mystery around them. 

 

I also liked the video Best Buy did right before Christmas where they summarized their deals-of-the-week in a 2 minute video. The video was a nice change from having to click and scroll through all of the deals. Furthermore, it was engaging and entertaining with a little humor sprinkled in.

 

Others.  While Leap Year, the Summer Olympics, the Presidential Election and 12.12.12 are events special to the new year, there will indubitably be others that pop up along the way.  (I’m not even going to address the end-of-the-world stuff predicted for next December). Be flexible and ready for these “events” too with branded templates. At a minimum, create a postcard-like shell with your branding that can be pulled off the shelf to promote something last minute or to match a competitor’s offer.

Wishing you a happy and health 2012!  (And, Happy Birthday leap year babies!  Go Team USA…)

Are there any events I missed?  Please send them my way!

Animation Adds Interest to Retail Emails

Email volume was way up this holiday season and made it more important than ever to grab a recipient's attention quickly. Increasingly, the way to do this is through animation. I've seen an increase in animation in email by retailers and wanted to share a few examples. 

One of the trends I noticed was animation for the call to action, or to highlight the offer. J. Jill had a 5 days of gifts promotion, and animated the countdown in the series of emails.

 

 

 

Here's the animated section in action:

In this email from Boden, they use animation to reinforce the urgency of the one-day deal. The text changes from Monday to One Day to Today. Click the email to see the animation.

Another trend was animating products, like in this Coldwater Creek example, where the sweaters stack up. Click the image to see the animated version. 

Then there are animated design elements. OpenSky has been experimenting with adding subtle animation to their hero images. This example features host and hostess gifts and uses an image of the ribbons from the gift box blowing in the wind.

In this example from CVS, to emphasize their gift card offer, they add a garland of animated gift cards at the bottom of the section. Click the email to view the animated version. 

 

Do you think we'll continue to see an increase in animated elements in email? I'd love to see any examples that cut through the clutter in your inbox this holiday. 

 

Liz Lynch, senior marketing communications associate,

e-Dialog, @eDialogLiz

 

 

What Facebook's Timeline Cover Photo Means for Brands

With the official launch of Facebook Timeline for all users, there has already been speculation about when brand pages will get the Timeline treatment and what it means. That's not what this post is about. Instead, I want you to think about how brands can leverage the Timelines of individuals, and in particular, the prime real estate of the cover photo.

 

Brands on Facebook today drive engagement primarily via page likes, comments, and photo shares. But the cover photo presents a new opportunity for engagement. Consumers who love your brand can now make your imagery their own, enhancing your reach. VW was early to the party, offering a cover photo back in October. Mountain Dew is already on this, offering several versions of Dew-themed cover photos to their fans. HBO's True Blood is offering their fans images from the show for their cover photos as well. 

 

For email marketers, your images can do double duty. Retailers like The North Face often use a stunning hero image in their emails. Imagine offering that photo as a downloadable cover image. Other uses for the cover photo could be wish lists, product reviews, or purchased items. 

 

Then we get to contests. Contests are huge on Facebook. Certainly a brand could ask fans to create a cover image and those could be voted on and the winning image offered for download. I could also see posting a brand's cover image as a prerequisite for entering a contest, in the same way liking a page is now. 

 

And of course, there will be the "just for fun" options that can be a great way to keep fans engaged and checking in with you for new content. It could also be a way to reward brand advocates and super fans, by giving them an exclusive image for their page.

 

I'd love to hear what you think about these possibilities for the Timeline cover photo and any ideas you are thinking about. Leave me a comment!

 

Liz Lynch, senior marketing communications associate,

e-Dialog, @eDialogLiz

 

Recruiting Facebook Fans Via Email

Many brands are harnessing the interactive power of Facebook to build relationships. To increase exposure to their Facebook page, they are using their email list to promote the benefits of joining other fans on Facebook. 

Bob Evans, a restaurant chain with locations in the southeast, prominently promotes email sign up on their website, and also promotes Facebook to their email subscribers. This example is pretty light on the reasons why you might want to like them on Facebook. It just mentions promotions and offers. On a creative note, I have no idea why the blue box is there. It shows up in the hosted version as well. It is pretty much the same size as the above the fold area, so perhaps this was from a proof and wasn't removed before the message was deployed. 

 

 

The next example is from Driscoll's Berries. You might wonder why a berry company even has an email program or a Facebook page, but I think Driscoll's does a nice job of creating content, such as recipes, and coupons that drive people to remember the brand when they are in the supermarket. I like this example highlighting their Facebook page because it does give some info on what people can find, implying that you can get even more content than you get via email. I also like to inclusion of the upcoming Facebook event talking about how to use berries in recipes for frozen pops. Design-wise, I like the Find us on Facebook button in the header. It makes it really easy to take action. 

 

 

 

 

The third example is from New Balance, a sneaker company. They keep it simple, but point out that you can get exclusive content and access to contests on their Facebook page. I love the creative, using the shoelace to spell out "like us!" but I wonder if some people had a hard time seeing it at first.

 

 

 

Finally, this example from Rite Aid, which doesn't specifically ask for a follow, but instead promotes excusive coupons and when they will be going live. Coupons are big on Facebook right now, so this is a smart strategy to get people to follow your page. 

 

 

What do you think of these examples? Do you think it's better to use email to drive traffic to Facebook, use Facebook to build your email list, or use both equally?

 

Liz Lynch, senior marketing communications specialist, e-Dialog

Break The Mold--Think BEYOND "Above The Fold"

As we rate and review clients’ acquisition score cards, we preach the good word on moving email enrollment to a prominent spot above the fold on the website, but is that really the best that we can do? To be fair, ecommerce teams do put up a solid argument to occupy that same real estate with more customer-centric site search or social plugins. So what now? Does email sign up get demoted to the footer? Or maybe for the adventurous, a test homepage kicker? I think not--and neither does Neiman Marcus.

I’ve been paying close attention to their recent beta site re-launch, Facebook chatter about the release and supporting emails sharing, “we heard you, check out the enhancements, and continue to tell us more.” This retailer is clearly focused on a path of self-improvement and using the “customer voice” to catalyze change (thanks ForeSee or Bizrate)…or just doing a great job at socializing that the NM customer experience is top of mind.

To support these changes,  Neiman Marcus is testing or has launched a very smart email acquisition strategy and it’s directly on the product page--a pop up!

 

Why is this so great?  This is the synergy of 2 very successful acquisition tactics at play.

1) Pop Up

In testing opt-in strategies for a multi-channel retailer, this strategy yielded a 3X increase in email opt-ins during a 30-day test. Also, a pop up doesn’t deter the customer from a specific product page. A customer’s site experience is unaffected if they choose to X out.

2) Product Detail Targeting

Asking for email centimeters away from an exclusive product that a customer is browsing. You get them right where you want them: looking at YOUR content!

 

Now to optimize this, add some flash to the call to action/sprinkle in an offer and voila: Asking a customer to share a crucial piece of information can bridge the gap between browse and buy!

 

If not now-then make an offer later down the line. At that point, if you know the exact product that drove the email sign up, why not serve up a welcome offer with this specific browsed product & toss in free shipping to sweeten the deal!

Moral of the story….as retailers become more aggressive, customers become savvier, and the inbox continues to crowd—what will your brand do to stand out and get the opt in?   

 

Anna McCarthy, Strategy, Client Services, e-Dialog

How Much Is Too Much Repetition?

In advertising, there is a general rule of thumb that a consumer needs to see an ad multiple times in order for it to make an impression (and hopefully result in a sale). In email marketing, this concept is usually executed by sending multiple emails promoting a particular sale or product. However, generally it is the subject line or promotional message that is repeated, not the creative. But I did notice an exception this past weekend.

 

For July 4th, Land's End ran a promotion offering $40 off a purchase of $100 or more, plus free shipping on a purchase of $50 or more. They sent 7 emails over 6 days, and each email featured the same animated GIF showing fireworks. The subject line of each email was different, and there were secondary elements that differed for most of the emails, with the exception of the final two reminders. 

 

 

Here's the timeline along with the subject lines:

June 30-Oooh... Aaah... Yay! See what all the noise is about...‏

July 1-We're having a blast!

July 2-Save from sea to shining sea: $40 off $100 including School!

July 3-Stars, stripes, even solids! Big savings on everything including School.‏

July 4-Summer's just begun but the fireworks end tomorrow.‏

July 5-Oh, say can you see, that our sale ends tonight!‏

July 5-Hurry! The last sparks are falling on the Stars & Stripes Savings Event‏

 

I have to admit I am on the fence about whether or not I like this strategy. On the one hand, I appreciate that the repetition of the main creative element reinforces the offer and may lead the recipient to read and click on the third or fourth email. On the other hand, repetition may lead to increased avoidance as recipients think "oh, it's that same offer again" and actually annoy them! 

 

I would be really interested in feedback on this one. Have you repeated creative like this? What were the results? 

 

Liz Lynch, senior marketing communications specialist, e-Dialog

Mobile Email: Optimizing Your Email For M-consumers

I recently had the pleasure of presenting at the 2011 Internet Retailer Conference & Expo, sharing the stage with John Lazarchic (VP, E-Commerce) of PETCO.  Our session was entitled “Mobile Email: What you need to know to make your email intelligible to m-consumers.”  While John spoke about growth in mobile usage, in the industry and for PETCO, and the need to be accessible to omni-channel consumers, I spoke about tips and practices for optimizing your email creative to render well on mobile devices.

For me, it was an opportunity to speak about the often-overlooked Blackberry audience.  Because these phones don’t display images by default, whereas iPhones and Android devices do, it appears to many that no one is opening email on those devices.  By analyzing clicks, you’ll likely observe that many are still using the once very popular Blackberry Curve, “and chances are your email looks downright awful - Chris Heine, Marketing Sherpa.”

Beyond covering a few ‘graceful degradation’ design tips for Blackberry devices (single column layout, super subject line, super comment tag, image vs. text considerations) we also spoke about the need to cater to the smaller screen and the time-crunched consumer by using less copy, bigger buttons and a narrower message width.  We sold these as simple tactics that you could apply to your existing campaigns today, which they are.  And in preparation for sending mobile specific versions of your email,  we suggested that marketers let their customers request mobile versions via a mobile subscription option on preference center sites and by polling, in addition to getting counts on your mobile penetration from your ESP.  

Our presentation appeared to be well received, with many questions, applause, and handshakes following.  One person asked about the additional costs associated with a mobile specific version.  In a two part response, John spoke to the value they see for PETCO and the factors for making your own determination, and I spoke about the custom published version; build it once, stick to the plan, let the content populate on its own and you may never need to set it up again.  Another person asked about the 300 pixel wide email and whether that would display at its natural size on the iPhone.  With a short response, I simply responded “yes.”  To elaborate further, you could lay out and code a more complex email design at 300 pixels without running into the Blackberry image scaling and code wrapping issues highlighted in the presentation.

Throughout the night at the block party hosted by Knotice, I was approached by many people that had attended the session who thanked me for the level of detail and actionable advice presented.  It felt great.  In a room so huge, with many big screens, a spotlight on you and microphone delay, you really wonder how you were perceived.  It turns out that the message was clear and valuable to many; which is the end goal.

 

Should anyone have any further feedback or questions, feel free to comment or drop me a line.

 

Jim Kelley, creative services manager, e-Dialog

 

'Tis the Season: Selling Summer Needs

We've talked before about the importance of lifecycle marketing and creating Moments of Engagement, or MOEs. One of the ways to create a communications touchpoint is by taking advantage of the seasonal needs of your customer. I have two examples to share that are based on summer activities.

 

The first is from Crate and Barrel and features items that are useful when shopping at the many farmer's markets that pop up in the summer. It includes products to use to bring your bounty home, as well as storage and serving options. As always, they coordinate the product colors with the color pallette of the email, which is a nice touch and makes for a more unified look. Perhaps it's a subliminal way of linking the products together in the customer's mind?

 

 

 

The second option is from Solutions, and features products to keep mosquitos and other bugs away. At first I thought it was a little strange as a topic for an email, but then I realized it's actually genius. Mosquitos are a huge annoyance this time of year, and can actaully be a health concern too, since mosquitos can carry diseases. Nothing ruins a party like bugs buzzing around. I like that they included customer testimonials as well, both in the featured customer review, and the star rating for the itch reliever at the bottom.

 

  

 

What's your favorite seasonally-themed email for the summer? Share it with us in the comments.

 

Liz Lynch, senior marketing communications associate, e-Dialog

Creative Critique: Tips for Tweaking the Email Template

LivingSocial is one of the many social sites I subscribe to for great deals on local dining, entertainment, services and shopping. Below is an email I received that got me thinking about small design changes that could have a big impact. Let's take a look at a recent email.

 

While I love the deals they offer me and think highly of their creative, I have four minor recommendations for their email template:

1. Check Rendering in as Many Places as Possible: While the addition of the 4/25 aerial background shot is a fun idea, it actually breaks the email when viewed on a wider monitor, as you can see in the screenshot below.

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This is a tricky one! To avoid this, a much wider image could be used and/or the left and right sides of the image could be blended to a solid blue color (in this case). The background would also need to be changed from black to blue in the HTML, which would create a seamless viewing experience for users on wider monitors.

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2. Make it Easy to Read : “YOUR DAILY DEAL”  at the top is difficult to read on the blue background. White would make it more legible on blue, and would still render it clearly if images were disabled and the user was viewing the email on a solid black background.

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3. Maximize Your Real Estate: The two column layout utilized here doesn’t take full advantage of valuable real estate as you can see below.

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It would be economical to integrate the offer image in a more horizontal way (or make it shorter) so that the deal description can wrap under it. Additionally, the “1 Deal Location” copy is surrounded by unutilized white space.

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In this quick revised mockup below, you can see that the deal location is pulled up next to the price (now you can quickly glance at the exact town of the deal before you even decide if you want to view it!) and the copy is extended 100% across the email. This is a more compact arrangement and makes for a shorter email.

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The same principles can be applied to the “Find Out More” offers below the hero section. This will make the email shorter and will raise more content above the fold, while allowing for less scrolling.

4. Social Sharing: LivingSocial currently has two friend referral programs in place. If you buy a deal, you can then share a unique user link on your social network. If three friends buy from that link, you get the deal you just purchased for free. Additionally, if you invite a friend to sign up for LivingSocial and they purchase something, both you and your friend get $5 in deal bucks deposited into your account. Both of these programs are important incentives for the cost-conscious shopper (LivingSocial’s target audience) and should arguably be advertised in LivingSocial’s emails. At the very least, regular Facebook, Twitter, and Forward to a Friend functionality can be added at the top to simply share the deals. On that note, I am interested to see which daily deals website integrates the new Facebook Send button first!

LivingSocial offers a great service, has a beautiful website, and is well-branded. In my opinion, these few relatively minor enhancements to their emails would be easy to implement and would prove worthwhile. What do you think? 

 

Anna Boyadjieva, creative specialist, e-Dialog

 

 

 

 

Returns and Exchanges: Business in the front, party in the back.

No, I’m not talking about mullets, I’m talking about Bare Escentuals having the best of both worlds when it comes to their email program.  These days, I see too many companies getting caught up in hitting customers repeatedly with the same promotional message, without realizing the possible consequences of doing so. Consequences could be as dramatic as lost revenue and increased unsubscribes or as simple as the customer blocking out the messages because of redundancy. Either way, this approach means sacrificing potential email opportunities for  brand-building and customer engagement.

 

Bare Escentuals approaches their marketing in a refreshing light. They stick to the business aspects that work for email and social to drive revenue, yet they aren’t afraid to have fun and take risks.

 

A great example of simple and smart marketing recently mailed was the new Glowing Skin collection campaign. What could be a better way for a product kickoff than introducing it to your most loyal customers, your email database? Bare Escentuals also leveraged this campaign to include a banner outlining their “Review It and Renew It” programs. A program where you can setup automatic refill products and customers can review any products on the website.

 

But who says it needs to be all business and no play? Bare Escentuals has a great balance of the two with smart campaigns that also have fun, engaging content. Their monthly newsletter is always a hit in my book. Each month, they email a newsletter packed with product highlights, social content, customer input and relevant tips. It's a message that connects to customers on a personal level and is relevant to the Bare Escentuals customer base. What I love most about this campaign is that it is not promotion heavy and is more about brand and relationship building.  Social calls to action bring customers to the Bare Escentuals Facebook page for additional engagement opportunities.

 

 

Emails offer a unique conversation between your brand and customers. This means the type of email you send says a lot about how you value their business and will mold the way they see you and your products. By offering relevant and fun content, it shows customers you care about their lifestyle and will boost engagement.

 

Nobody likes a party-pooper, so mix it up, take risks, and have a little fun!

 

Leanne Letourneau, Strategy Specialist, e-Dialog

Friday Favorites: Emails of the Week

Here's my version of Twitter's Follow Friday: emails that I liked this week from organizations you might want to check out. 

 

I recently began subscribing to Uncommon Goods and I have been really impressed with their email creative and copywriting. Today I got an email from them with the subject line "You Came, You Saw, You Voted!" Right away, I knew this email would feature products rated by Uncommon Goods customers.

 

The top message says "Brand New & Chosen by You" and the text treatment is nice, and little different, reading up and down, not left to right. Just below the headline is a block of text thanking customers for voting on products and a call to action to shop the products that got the most attention. Below that, individual products are featured, along with actual customer reviews. At the bottom, they let me know that they'll have a new batch of potential products that I can help choose every Wednesday at noon. Overall the tone is personal and inclusive and totally fits with the brand image.

 

 

Another email that caught my eye was from Eat Better America, a site run by General Mills which offers advice on healthier eating, including recipes and coupons. This week's email offered a guide to the top nutrition trends of 2011. The email design had some nice dimension to it, looking like a print piece with the top page curled up, giving a sneak peek at three of the trends. Design elements like this are a good way to encourage click-throughs without actually saying "click here." Plus, the food photos always look delicious and definitely contribute to my clicks. I like that for each trend, they include a "Download trend guide" link. Tracking each of these individually could provide some great data on my preferences that could be used in future messages. 

 

And finally, I liked the email I got from the Tennis Channel promoting their Facebook page. It's pretty simple in execution, with a single CTA, and nicely outlines the benefits to me if I follow them, such as behind-the-scenes video and alerts when big matches are being aired. I also liked that they used "Facebook blue" and placed the content on a computer monitor. 

 

 

So, those are my top three for this week. I would love to hear whether or not you like these examples as much as I do, or see what your favorite email of the week is.

 

Liz Lynch, senior marketing communications specialist

Returns & Exchanges: Shop or Play?

I received a site re-launch campaign from Kate Spade in my Inbox a couple weeks back.  At first glance, I thought it was another retailer using their new site to manufacture a Moment of Engagement, or MOE.  The sight of this MOE would make any e-Dialoger proud as we are always talking to our clients about the importance of screaming web site overhauls from the rooftops.  It’s the perfect time to generate a renewed buzz about the brand and encourage customers to explore the site, hopefully resulting in a purchase.

 

 

When I clicked through to the new katespade.com, however, I was presented with one question: “Shop or Play?”  Upon choosing shop, it looked much like the Kate Spade e-commerce site that I peruse on a regular basis.  But, when I opted to play, I was presented with a wealth of information on Kate Spade, the brand.  This included everything from videos, to a blog, to philanthropic partnerships.  I wasn’t stunned by the fact that Kate Spade had all of these important brand building elements, but that they made them just as much of a focus on their site as they did the web store.  Usually, retailers only devote an email badge or a single web page to these important aspects of their brand, but Kate Spade realized their value and gave them prominent real estate. 

 

The new katespade.com is not just a virtual store front anymore.  It’s a place where you can immerse yourself in the brand and if you just so happen to pick up that cute green purse you’ve been eyeing on the way out, then so be it.  So I ask you one question – would you rather shop or play?

 

Elisa Kleniewski, senior account manager, e-Dialog

 

Snow on the Ground Says Winter, but My Inbox Says Spring

Here in Boston, the snow on the ground and the additional 3 inches forecasted for tomorrow tells me we're not done with winter quite yet. However, my inbox has clearly moved on and is already thinking Spring.

 

Actually, signs of Spring have been showing up for a few weeks now. The first mention of Spring was from Lands' End, which promoted Spring Break swimwear on March 6th. Inside, they  featured "today's break" which was girls' dresses, and promised a new break the next day.

 

 

Borders Rewards urged me to "Spring Ahead. Start the new season with the best books" on March 11th, just before the switch to daylight savings time, and followed that up with a spring break-themed message on the 18th using the subject line "Your SPRING BREAK Itinerary: Relax. Recharge. READ!"  

 

Solutions used a little bit of word play and offered me "Your "extra" spring break: 10% off + NEW markdowns." I really liked the fact that the creative had a college theme with the font style, and the surfboard.

 

A few retailers were less literal about Spring, including Crisco Cooks, a newsletter that features recipes using Crisco products. They sent their March newsletter with the subject line "Prepare for sunny days ahead with these great dishes‏."

 

 

Crate and Barrel used the sunshine theme as well in their email. The subject line was "Welcome spring into your home with these bright, warm yellows" and the primary text in the email body was "Bright, bright sunshiny day."

 

 

So while I may still have the Winter blues, these emails did brighten my inbox. What Spring emails did you enjoy getting?

 

Liz Lynch, sr. marketing communications associate, e-Dialog

Tactical Design Solutions for Better E-mail Mobile Rendering

Many marketers are in the process of creating mobile versions of their websites, which is a great idea, due to the increasing use of smart phones and consumers' desire for mobile shopping. However, if you're not quite ready to launch your mobile site, you should still be thinking about mobile, and in particular, mobile e-mail. Here are some useful tactical tips and solutions to ensure quality e-mail rendering across all devices. You can easily implement one or all these tips today to help your audience get the most important and relevant information in your e-mail, be it a marketing campaign or a transactional message.

Add a Super Subject line. A super subject line is a small line of teaser copy at the top of an e-mail which appears directly after the subject line in the preview panes of e-mail clients (like Outlook and Gmail) and mobile devices. This HTML text can easily be added to the top of an existing e-mail template before the white listing. And with old mobile phones, new phones, disabled images and e-mail pop-ups, this is the thing people will read... everywhere.

 

Try a slim, one column layout. Design a one column layout so that it breaks down gracefully and the degradation is cohesive. The narrower the width of the e-mail the larger the creative will display on mobile devices. Most smart phones have a display around 300 pixels wide, and a typical e-mail is designed around 600 pixels, so try a 450 pixel wide layout which will compliment both.

 

Think about the rendering.  Many Blackberry devices break HTML table structure and scale images to fit the screen. Design your e-mail by combining your CTAs and imagery into one sliced graphic, to the width of the e-mail. This will minimize the variation of rendering sizes and will ensure that your layout renders proportional as it was designed.

 

Get creative with font size and color.. Most mobile devices use their default font face, which almost always is sans-serif like Arial or Verdana. When designing a large amount of HTML content, try varying up the information with font sizes and color. This will bring what could visually be an unpleasant experience to something quite pretty and fun to read on a mobile device. And make your CTA’s (text or image) big for thumb clicking.

 

Use alt tags. Alt tags show up when the images are off for both mobile and web viewing. It is always a best practice to include them where you can and to make them relevant. For example, use New Waterproof Jackets rather than Image 1 to describe a product image. A more descriptive alt tag will drive recipients to enable the "view with images" version of the e-mail.

 

Give your readers options. Include options at the top of the e-mail to click out to a mobile version or web browser. This will ensure a more user-friendly experience for your readers as well as give them multiple ways of viewing the e-mail. Take it a step further and design a separate mobile version, using all these tips mentioned, instead of having the reader click out to a text version of the e-mail.

 

Hopefully these tips have been helpful. Feel free to share a tip of your own in the comments!

 

By Emily Anthony, web designer, Creative Services, e-Dialog

Research by Jim Kelley, manager, Creative Services, e-Dialog

Best Subject Lines of the Season

As we've all heard, e-mail volume is way up this holiday season. Chad White of The Retail Email Blog posted that the number of e-mails sent was up 25% over last year, and Sherry Chiger of Chief Marketer shared that she got 701 marketing e-mails in her inbox last week. Today I wanted to recognize some marketers who were able to cut through the clutter with subject lines I thought were cute, smart, effective and attention-grabbing.

 

This first one that caught my attention this week was from White Flower Farms, which sells plants. The weather in different parts of the country has been challenging, so I really liked their subject line "Homebound Due to Bad Weather - Shop the 10 Best Gifts to Send This Season‏." Although the grammarian in me says there should be a question mark in the middle rather than a dash.  

 

I got a kick out of a recent e-mail from Spoon Sisters. The subject line was "Spoonsisters newsletter - Oh Calm All Ye Stressful‏" and the e-mail featured items to pamper yourself with during the hectic holiday season.

 

A colleague in our London office forwarded a somewhat shocking e-mail from RyanAir, with a subject line of "F**k the Freeze, with this weekend seat sale!" The e-mail offered airfares of 3 euros for weekend getaways. I think it's timely given the recent snow in the UK, and it fits with RyanAir's reputation for being unconventional. It's definitely a risky strategy for cutting through the clutter and not sure I would recommend it.

 

New York and Company had a couple different subject lines that stood out. One was "$75 off...Get Gifty!" which is very cute. Another was "Here's 50 bucks...never mind reindeer." And finally, one e-mail's subject line was simply "40" and the creative offered $40 off a $100 purchase.

 

Rhyming is always a fun way to go for subject lines. YourMusic.com recently sent "Don't miss the sleigh! Order today" and Wilson's Leather used "You've still got time to shop online!"

 

And finally, a really interesting e-mail from Expedia UK arrived in the inbox with the subject line "How far will our gift take you?" When opened, the e-mail scrolls horizontally, showing a ribbon with gift tags that feature different destinations, and at the end offers a discount on a hotel stay and wishes you a Happy Christmas.

 

 

 

I'd love to see your favorite e-mails of the season so far!

 

Liz Lynch, communications editor, e-Dialog
 

Making Your E-mails Boogie, Part 3

Here are four final tips that complete our baker's dozen. I hope you've enjoyed hearing our take on some best practices and how to implement them. If you'd like to hear the songs that inspired us, purchase the iMix on iTunes!

10. Dynamic Images Forever (Strawberry Fields Forever – The Beatles)

 

Take personalization one step further with dynamic imagery.  No longer do you need to be confined with Arial, Verdana & Times while publishing copy in from your data. Use your brands stylized fonts, bend, warp, rotate and merge in some wow factor.

11. Shine On You Mobile Friendly Version (Shine On You Crazy Diamond – Pink Floyd)

 

Many of your customers are now receiving e-mail on-the-go.  It’s time to analyze how they’re viewing these messages, and to optimize your creative accordingly.  From the 450 pixel wide e-mail to “graceful mobile degradation”, there’s an array of new tactics to consider.

 

12 When a Man Loves A Wireframe (When A Man Loves A Woman - Percy Sledge)

 

As long as image and layout specs stay the same, you can mix and match content easily for efficiency and targeted performance.  Be smart and plan for the future when designing an e-mail template, and don’t think data-driven e-mail can’t be beautiful.

 

13. Show Me The CTA (Show Me The Way – Peter Frampton)

 

Visible, clear calls-to-action will attract a reader’s attention and prompt them to click through.  Make those clicks super obvious: button it, bold it and underline it to motivate the readers to action.

 

I hope you've enjoyed our tips on how to crank your e-mails up to 11! Please share your favorite best practices with us in the comments.

Jim Kelley, manager, Creative Servies, e-Dialog

Making Your E-mails Boogie, Part 1

The need for visual and technical integrity coupled with relevant, memorable messages has never been more pressing.  We want your campaigns to rock,  so we've packaged up tips and advice that we feel “sound good” for sharing.  Each tip is our take on a best practice, along with the tune that inspired us. We have 13 tips in all, so we've broken them down into 3 posts for easy listening.  

 

01. I Heard It Through The Super Subject Line (I Heard It Through The Grapevine – Marvin Gaye)

Add this little copy teaser to the very top of your e-mail to ensure your message gets through.  From old mobile phones, smartphones, disabled images and e-mail pop ups, this is the first thing people will read… everywhere.

 

 

02. Should I Stay Or Should I GIFeo (Should I Stay or Should I Go – The Clash)

 

For a little more visual excitement in your e-mail campaigns, add GIFeo - simply a video converted to an animated GIF.  It allows you to utilize that same video motion from your Web site in e-mail, viewable by almost everyone.

 

 

03. One Nation Above-The-Fold (One Nation Under A Groove – Funkadelic)

 

The dominant area of your e-mail lives at the top 300 pixels.  Be seen right away; use this space to be clear, actionable and visually compelling. You don’t have much time to grab one’s attention, so make every pixel count.

 

 

04. Welcome To The Rendering (Welcome To The Jungle – Guns N’ Roses)

 

Our medium continues to evolve, offering new rendering challenges for us constantly; know that “graceful degradation” is the answer. Strategize a layout for efficiency, rendering, results… and “beauty”.  Revisit later, as things continue to change.

 

 

05. Social Sharing U.S.A (Surfin U.S.A – Beach Boys)

Allow your best customers to do some marketing for you. Let them share the e-mail campaigns you send them with their friends and followers by a simple click of a button.

 

Until next time-keep on rockin'

 

Jim Kelley, manager, Creative Services, e-Dialog

5 Ideas for Your Holiday e-Card

Using e-mail to send a fun holiday greeting to your subscribers is a great way to spread some cheer, share your brand personality and an opportunity to communicate with customers without a hard sell.

 

Here are five ways you can pump up your holiday creative.

 

Wow them with a videogram.

Video campaigns are fun, engaging and compelling. From a simple GIFeo to a full-fledged video, use it and watch customer engagement climb.

 

Dazzle them with their name in lights.

Take personalization to the extreme by using dynamically-published imagery to compel customers to connect with your brand.

 

Amaze them with a game.

Be interactive! Games are fun, memorable and can communicate a lot about your brand. They can also help generate online buzz.

 

Excite them with a treasure hunt.

Bargain hunters are looking for ways to save. Make them savor the hunt even more by veiling your offer in a creative way.

 

Dress it up with seasonal fixins'

Give customers a reason to take a second glance at your e-mail by adding seasonal flair. Show them your brand shares in the merriment of the season!

 

Here's one example of a card that does several of these things. The original e-mail included a GIFeo, and was personalized with first name. The card included a link to a game that was further personalized by having the snowball fight opponents be members of the client's account services team. You can hear from the team that created the card in this video and you can take a turn at the Snowball Throwdown too!

 

 

 

What do you think? Are holiday e-mails worth the extra work? I'd love to see any fun examples! If you'd like some help developing your holiday card, let us know. Our Creative team would love to help!

 

Liz Lynch, communications editor, e-Dialog

 
 

Discovering Columbus Day Deals

Last week, I shared an example of one e-mail that leveraged the Columbus Day holiday in a clever way, and over the weekend I received a couple more that I thought were share-worthy. Both are from retailers.

The first is from L'Occitane en Provence, a purveyor of skin care and body care products incorporating natural ingredients inspired by the Provence region of France. In this e-mail they combined a message of "Discover a New World of Beauty" with a discount of 14.92% on a World of Beauty product purchase.

 

The second example comes from SpoonSisters.com, a site which sells fun and unusual items for kids and adults. The discovery they are promoting is free shipping for Columbus Day weekend. They use a similar graphic to the L'Occitane e-mail, with a drawing of the ship, but they customize it with a cute drawing of two crossed spoons, which ties in their company name.

What do you think of these two e-mails? I'd love to see any examples you have!

 

Liz Lynch, communications editor, e-Dialog