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Date Archive: January 2009
January 27, 2009
From: Moosejaw
Subject Line: Free Chinese Food and We're not Joking
Date: Monday, January 26, 2009
I absolutely love how much fun Moosejaw has with their emails! Their brand has a sense of humor that definitely plays out in their emails. This particular email seems like it might be a huge joke but they really are offering free Chinese food with an online order, just read the fine print. Humorous offers like this might not fit for all retailers out there but I would challenge them to come up with creative offers that are new and exciting to entice their customers to click through.
January 26, 2009
From: Pacific Sunwear
Subject Line: New Arrivals + Get the Look! Shop By Outfit
Date: January 24, 2009
The top 200 pixels can be the most important part of an email. If subscribers open the email they are guaranteed to see all the content in this section, especially when they are looking through a preview pane. Every once in a while I’ll see an email that reminds me to pay attention to what the subscriber experience is like.
Here Pacific Sunwear invites me to “Get this look,” yet the model is seemingly naked.
But hey, it works for Abercrombie, right?
January 23, 2009
From: Urban Outfitters
Subject Line: Take 25% Off What's Already On Sale!
Date: Wednesday, December 31, 2008
I'm used to seeing Sale emails in my inbox that say something like, "Additional discounts on all our sale items". This Urban Outfitters email was a refreshing site for my inbox. It was a creative way to announce that there were additional discounts in their sale section. I would challenge all retailers out there to be like Urban Outfitters and be creative with your copy and figure out new and refreshing ways to announce things such as additional discounts on your sale items.
January 22, 2009
From: Jaguar
Subject Line: 0% Financing on the XF Luxury
Date: Tuesday, November 25, 2008
I have been receiving Jaguar's emails for awhile now and I continue to be impressed with how well their emails fit their brand. I am also impressed because they are coming from a car company. When I think of designs that come from a car company I think of a cheesy car-driving-down-a-country-road scene. I usually don't think of nice, clean design so Jaguar really surprised me when this email arrived in my inbox. The email itself is very clearly laid out and doesn't just speak to one specific car and the imagery is top-notch. The top section talks about their newest car and urges the recipient to locate a dealer. The module below talks about the online portfolios that you can view for Jaguar's cars. The other module lets you know that you don't have to buy an expensive car as a gift, you can treat them to merchandise. Jaguar finishes off the email by reminding Jaguar owners that they should update their navigation systems on a regular basis. I love that they take the time to do this but it doesn't really apply to me as I don't own a Jaguar (unless someone wants to surprise me...). I think the next step for Jaguar would be to create modules that they can swap out to make their emails more relevant for each recipient.
From: Old Navy
Subject Line: Last Chance to Save 20%, Plus Perfect Gifts for $5, $10 and $15
Date: December 12, 2008
From: Chico's
Subject Line: New Sale Arrivals: $14.99 & Up
Date: January 22, 2009
My inbox is teeming with Sale emails. The most common design treatment is large type on a colored background generally featuring the word “SALE” or a large percentage, but two retailers are trying a little something different. Nothing says SALE like numbers on a tag.
But who wore it better?
Old Navy’s brand is lively and bright, so the cartoon-y illustrations and LOW prices feel like a real bargain, however all the sub-messages seem to clutter the primary deal. According to the Smith-Harmon creative team, Chicos’ sophisticated look and clear messaging squeak by with a win for this round. While Old Navy’s “Hot little numbers” copy gets an honorable mention.
January 21, 2009
From: InStyle.com
Subject Line: Look of the Day: Michelle Obama
Date: Wednesday, January 21, 2009
From: Barneys New York
Subject Line: Mrs. Obama and Barneys LOVE...
Date: Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Yesterday, the world wasn't only inspired by President Obama's inaugural address. We were also wowed by the beautiful colors that Hilary, Jill, Michelle and other leading ladies - and babies - paraded onstage. I admit it: I was absolutely waiting to see which brands would get major points for inbox relevancy and react to the inaugural opportunity via email. Kudos to two of my fab five favorites - Barneys New York and InStyle - for pulling together these messages lickedy-split.
P.S. J.Crew threw an error when I attempted to browse their "gloves" category today. Could it be that everyone's trying to pick up a pair of Mrs. Obama's moss greens?
January 20, 2009
From: abercrombie
Subject Line: get the coolest fleece by christmas.
Date:Thursday, December 11, 2008
From: abercrombie
Subject Line: winter coats to keep you warm.
Date:Thursday, October 30, 2008
From: abercrombie
Subject Line: classic fleece to keep you warm.
Date:Thursday, October 9, 2008
From: abercrombie
Subject Line: classic fleece to keep you warm.
Date:Thursday, September 4, 2008
From: abercrombie
Subject Line: get the coolest new looks for fall.
Date:Thursday, September 18, 2008
Since I started subscribing to abercrombie kids email, I've been seeing the same girl and boy models over and over. This isn't too strange--some of my favorite brands like Free People and Anthropologie also feature familiar faces across multiple creatives. What's baffling about these abercrombie photos is that it's the same kid, wearing the same thing, in the same location--sometimes even the same photo used again and again? Why is this? Is the boy just so adorable in this flannel shirt that he generates more click-throughs than displaying a variety of clothing or range of environmental shots?
This isn't the first time we've been baffled by Abercrombie & Fitch's email creatives, as you can see in other entries. Are they going for irony? Are they being lazy? Does this approach really work? We're not sure. If anyone has any insight, please tell us...why??
January 15, 2009
From: Smith-Harmon
Subject Line: Holiday Retail Email Volume Sets Record
Date: January 15, 2009
The holidays may be over for regular folk, but for us email marketers, not so much. We're still culling through all the data to get a detailed view of the '08 holiday stats and facts. Thanks to our resident research expert, Chad White, we now have a new FREE reportlet to help us sort through the mountain of numbers and focus on the biggest stories.
Check out some of the stats he's uncovered:
Retailers ratcheted up their send volumes by 43% during the holiday email season
Retailers sent approximately 3.9 promotional emails during the week of Dec. 19
The Retail Email Index was up 15% year-over-year during the holiday email season
This season, 15% of retailers more than doubled their email output
And that's just the short of it. Chad goes into great detail to explain the results of the holiday email hoopla that sent retail email volume through the roof. This 6-page reportlet discusses trends around the overall frequency increases during the holidays, the breakdown of weekly holiday vs. pre-holiday send volumes, and the impact of pre-holiday frequencies on holiday frequencies.
Ready to dig into the data? Download the free reportlet now.
January 13, 2009
From: Apple
Subject Line: Thanks for purchasing your MacBook Pro.
Date: Tuesday, January 6, 2009
After purchasing a MacBook Pro through Apple.com, I received this well-purposed and informative email. It provides helpful links to watch video demonstrations & read tutorials, while using the opportunity to cross-promote Accessories and a Service Plan. And the design isn't too shabby either.
From: CB2
Subject Line: Our first new catalog of the year is here
Date: Wednesday, January 7, 2009
I just wanted to share this email design which I think is a very imaginative way to display products. Creative, beautiful, and amazing Photoshopping (if that's a word). :) They also use it for their website homepage and on their catalog cover.
January 8, 2009
From: Smith-Harmon
Subject Line: Get a FREE Email Redesign
Date: January 8, 2009
Hey, all you EEC attendees, listen up. This is your chance to get a FREE email redesign. Yep, you heard that right. A FREE email redesign! As part of the Email Creative Fight Night session during this year's Email Evolution Conference, three top agencies will be redesigning emails chosen from those submitted by EEC attendees, like you!
I'll be moderating the session and the ringside judges will be Dylan Boyd from eROI, Julian Scott from Responsys and Mike Corak from Mighty Interactive.
Interested in throwing your current email program into the redesign ring?
Submit your emails for redesign by January 13 to Ali Swerdlow at aswerdlow@the-dma.org.
P.S. If you're looking for some pointers on how to improve your current email design, be sure to check out the Email Design Workshop at the Email Evolution Conference .
Learn how to design for images off, optimize subject line and body copy, use animated gifs and video, create strong calls to action and put together strong content strategies.
Speakers include: Matthew Caldwell, Creative Director at Yesmail, Aaron Smith, Principal at Smith-Harmon; Jessica Morris, eMail Marketing Manager, Pottery Barn Brands (Pottery Barn, Pottery Barn Kids and PBteen); and Chad White,Research Director, Smith-Harmon.
Get more info about the Email Evolution Conference >
January 6, 2009
From: Smith-Harmon
Subject Line: Retail Email Year-End Trends for 2008
Date: January 6, 2009
If you're in the midst of planning your 2009 email marketing strategy, this free reportlet from Chad White, Smith-Harmon's research director, is a definite must-read. It's packed with stats, trends and charts about the overall retail email volume, frequency and timing among the top online retailers in 2008. Want to know which days of the week were most popular to send retail emails? Interested in the top 20 retail email days of the year? Ready to learn what the SECOND biggest retail email season was, behind Christmas? Fasten your seatbelt and get ready for a few surprises.
Download the free reportlet now to get the panoramic view of what happened in the world of retail email in 2008.
January 5, 2009
From: Tommy Bahama
Subject Line: Relax
Date: January 5, 2009
I love the imagery and sentiment of this Tommy Bahama email, which hit my inbox today. On the plus side, it totally makes me want to plan a mid-winter escape to some place warm and sunny. On the down side, I think they should have dropped the "spirit of the season" idea and focused on "Happy New Year". The holidays are definitely over, so the copy of this email feels a little late to the party. Kudos to the subject line though, which simply says: Relax. The perfect mantra for the first back at my desk.
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