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Retail TouchPoints: Banana Republic; Urban Outfitters Shine in Email Design Look Book

Written by Guest contributor
By Amanda Ferrante

Through a special arrangement, presented here for discussion is a summary of a current article from the Retail TouchPoints website.

Digital marketing service Smith-Harmon, a division of Responsys, recently compiled an Email Design Look Book, bringing together 20 compelling emails, a large portion of which are retail-driven.

"While some form of conversion is usually the primary goal, engagement is becoming an increasingly vital goal of email campaigns," said Chad White, Research Director at Responsys. "With ISPs now factoring in engagement metrics into their filtering algorithms, email campaigns that generate opens and clicks are important to maintaining healthy deliverability rates. Plus, the growth of social initiatives also means that email campaigns are often focused on getting subscribers to participate in a brand's community by voting, uploading content, commenting or taking some other non-revenue-generating action."

Among the book's shining stars:

  • Banana Republic's February promotional email bearing a subject line "What to Wear 7 Days a Week," offered an image-focused message to create clicks. By only revealing half of the third image, the only way recipients could view the full "seven days of outfits" would be to click through.
  • With Valentine's Day in mind, Uncommon Goods sent a promotional email in early February with a cutout "Do Not Disturb" sign with directions to "Print. Cut. Lock the Door." "Very few emails invite physical interaction, so this email really stands out," Mr. White said. "But even if subscribers don't turn on their printers and pull out their scissors, the 'Do Not Disturb' messaging sets a great Valentine's Day tone and the 'Take a Peak' call to action is enticing."
  • To raise awareness around a new brand relaunch, Ann Taylor's September email communication stressed "What You've Been Waiting For: Meet the New Ann." The company sent nine emails over 11 days, boasting the company's new fabrics, new web site, new styles and new attitude.
  • For the busy holiday shopping season, Urban Outfitters kept it simple with an email that boasted "Gifts Under $50." The innovative campaign employed lettering that resembled gift ribbon, bringing the message to life via creative typography.
Mr. White points to three major elements of email messaging that email marketers should hold a lot of weight to. "First, is the preheader text optimized and the header nice and tight, preferably with a navigation bar that's composed of HTML text links?" White said. He also said rendering is important, especially when images are blocked. Lastly, Mr. White said email marketers should ask questions like:
  • How scannable is the email?
  • Are content blocks clearly defined?
  • Is the text easy to read?
  • Are calls-to-action clear and easy to spot?

"Consumers spend very little time looking at an email, so the design should aid them in quickly assessing the content," he said.

Discussion Questions:  Which design elements should retailers prioritize in driving engagement around e-mail campaigns? What have you liked and disliked in retailer e-mail campaigns that you have seen?

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