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The Best of 2018’s Interactive Emails (so far!)

 In Email, Interactive Content
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If 2018 is known for one thing other than the year of Post Malone, it’ll be known for being the year of the interactive email campaign. Marketers from brands of all shapes and sizes are embracing the interactive email trend that’s been building for a few years now, making 2018 the year with the most sent interactive emails so far!

Let’s examine how to get this email marketing staple right and craft an interactive content campaign that converts straight from the inbox! We’ve gathered our 5 favorite interactive email campaigns so far this year to dissect why they work and how you can get inspired to craft your own interactive email marketing campaign.

Aaron Simmonds – Super Mail Quest

The first outstanding interactive email campaign this year came from self-proclaimed “email geek” Aaron Simmonds. Driven to push the boundaries of email marketing, and explore the interactive space of gamification, Simmonds crafted a fully embedded email video-game with a protagonist attempting to overcome the “Warlock of Outlook Mountain.” This game stretches what we think of as possible in interactive email marketing, and certainly captures the attention in the inbox. We guarantee your customers have never seen something like this before!

If you’re not an “email geek” like Simmonds, you can still take a lesson from his approach by focusing on gamification in your email marketing. Even if you’re not creating a full video-game using game-like interactions, such as spinning a wheel or swiping, can help bring a dose of entertainment to your email messages and will enhance your customer’s likelihood of remembering your brand and marketing campaigns.

Tom’s – Flip the Switch

Another fun approach to interactive email marketing this year comes from the well-known philanthropic shoe brand Tom’s. In order to promote their new glow in the dark kid’s shoe collection, Toms crafted an interactive email that allows the user to flip a digital switch and turn the lights out! By adding this extra dose of interactivity to their campaign, Tom’s was able to easily communicate the value proposition of their new product while providing some entertainment to spice up their customer’s inboxes.

You can take a page from Tom’s book of marketing by focusing on the value proposition of your product or service. What makes your brand different from the competitors? What do you offer that others can’t beat? Is there an easy way to turn that value prop into an interactive message? Focus on consumer actions like sliding, swiping, spinning or clicking to bring that entertainment factor that makes interactive marketing so compelling.

Penguin Random House – United States of Books

This kid-friendly approach to interactive email keeps things simple, all the user has to do is scroll down to kick off the interactive element. A penguin driving a VW bus moves down the page as the user scrolls through the email, making stops along the way to learn about new books. Even better? This campaign created unique emails for each state, taking their mascot on a USA-wide tour of summer reading material.

For your next interactive email marketing campaign, you can take a note from Penguin Random House and utilize the scroll function of your user’s laptops and phone screens. Creating an interactive email that is responsive to scrolling makes the barrier for interaction exceptionally low, surprising the customer with a burst of entertainment when your email behaves in a unique way.

Nike – Train Like A Pro

Another interactive element with a low barrier to activation is to use elements that respond to a scroll over motion. Without even requiring your customer to click, you’re able to get them engaged in your marketing campaign. That’s what Nike did for their Train Like a Pro campaign. The emails, featuring photos of famous pro athletes, allowed users to hover over each image to discover what Nike gear the athletes were wearing. Of course, the hover boxes linked directly to shopping pages for those features items.

You can utilize this method by crafting an interactive email campaign that directs customers straight to your shopping pages or other e-commerce portals. Making it easy for customers to identify and buy the items featured in your marketing photos will boost revenue while ensuring your efforts get the ROI they deserve.

PrettyLittleThing – Pet the Unicorn

The final campaign we’ve loved this year comes to us from the clothing and lifestyle brand PrettyLittleThing. Capitalizing on their brand’s trademark image of whimsy and cutesy items, their email featured an interactive unicorn image that, when clicked, reveals a unique discount opportunity to the user. This method is effective because it makes the most of one of the key elements of interactive marketing, the reveal! When you withhold information from a customer until after they’ve completed an interactive action, you build curiosity and increase the chances of your brand being remembered.

You can use this method in your next email campaign by researching reveal marketing a little more on our resources page and finding a way to work a hidden element into your next email campaign.

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