From: Crate and Barrel
Subject Line: Save up to 50% (including furniture, too)
Date: Friday, December 30, 2005

This subject line is a great click-through driver. A smart way of saying "It's not just junk! There's good stuff on sale too!" I clicked through.

Posted by lfharmon at 04:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

From: RedEnvelope
Subject Line: Save up to 50% at our Winter Sale.
Date: Tuesday, December 27, 2005

Both the psychological angle and the creative execution of this email are just plain weird. Are we performing an Anti-Santa ritual with those candles? All the same, I'd be curious to know how it performed. A lot of us return to our email on December 27th feeling tired, bloated and disappointed. Perhaps this campaign was a profitable exploitation of the post-holiday blues.

Posted by lfharmon at 03:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

From: babygap.com
Subject Line: End-of-Season Sale on Outerwear
Date: Monday, December 26, 2005

This EDM exhibits what I'd call "classically good form." We've got our logo and menu items at the the top, followed by a hero image and a color copy block with a clear call to action. Four image silos with product names and prices appear below, followed by two smart submessages.
This is an email design layout format you can use again and again. Now if only gap.com could get it's website to work in the Safari browser! They must be losing a ton of money when customers click-through to a website that doesn't work. Ouch!

Posted by lfharmon at 06:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

From: Eddie Bauer
Subject Line: Guaranteed Christmas Delivery With No Rush Charges.
Date: Monday, December 19, 2005

Eddie's pushing five different messages simultaneously, with very little creative distinction between each, employing the same colors, fonts, and even the same red ribbon treatment. Reads like a rush job to me. The email browser incompatibility (in the out-of-alignment red promo) confirms it.

Posted by lfharmon at 06:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

From: The Land of Nod
Subject Line: There's Still Time!
Date: Thursday, December 15, 2005

Land of Nod EDMs seem to vascillate between super-cute and super-sloppy. Here's an example of the latter - the classic "garage sale" - a messy amalgam of unrelated product. This must have been either a) done by one person in a rush in 20 minutes or b) "design by committee" - too many cooks in the kitchen.

Posted by lfharmon at 06:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

From: UrbanOutfitters.com
Subject Line: Time's not on your side: Shop now for holiday delivery!
Date: Thursday, December 15, 2005

Almost everyone offered amazing last-minute shipping options this holiday. I think sending out a message specifically calling out the cutoff dates is a great idea, and am curious about the kind of revenue it generates. Combined with a FREE SHIPPING offer, it could be extremely powerful.

Posted by lfharmon at 05:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

From: Neiman Marcus
Subject Line: Click quick: Last 3 days of FREE SHIPPING
Date: Wednesday, December 14, 2005

"Click Quick", both in the subject line and copy, is such a cute concept! Too bad the creative is so weird. Are those Christmas balls or bubbling lava?
Question to Nieman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman: Do you HAVE to send the EDMs EVERY DAY!? I only have so much room in my inbox. Every other day is fine. Let me miss you a little.

Posted by lfharmon at 09:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

From: holdeverything
Subject Line: web exclusive: 5 days only, free shipping on book-cloth
Date: Thursday, December 8, 2005

Tasked with merchandizing a decidedly "not hot" gift at holiday time (How many folks even know what book-cloth is?), holdeverything did something really smart that you don't see too often in email campaigns: they bulleted the technical virtues of the product. Real product info, topped with a free shipping promo - what a great solution to a tough sell.

Posted by lfharmon at 04:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

From: holdeverything
Subject Line: 5 days only - 20% off select leather jewelry boxes
Date: Wednesday, December 7, 2005

This is a beautiful, smart single product-family promo. One of this EDM's most fun features was not captured in the screenshot featured here: the pink jewelry armoire animates from closed to open. I didn't even KNOW I wanted a jewerly box until I saw this.

Posted by lfharmon at 08:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

From: giggle - healthy. happy. baby. store.
Subject Line: find the perfect gift at giggle!
Date: Tuesday, December 6, 2005

Giggle's got such a clean, boppy brand. Everyone's doing "Find the Perfect Gift" messages this holiday, but this is a notably nicely-executed one.

Posted by lfharmon at 04:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

From: Neiman Marcus
Subject Line: FREE SHIPPING plus our most luxurious gifts
Date: Saturday, December 3, 2005

Now there's something you don't see every day: a vertical submessage! Way to innovate.
On a totally unrelated note, why do you think it is that luxury product models always look so sad? Is it because, having finally attained all of their material desires, including a mink-trimmed cape, they realize they are still not satisfied in any kind of meaningful way?

Posted by lfharmon at 09:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

From: Ann Taylor
Subject Line: Cashmere, Buy One Get 50% Off Second plus Free Shipping
Date: Thursday, December 1, 2005

I don't know about you, but I experienced deja-vu every time I opened an Ann Taylor EDM this holiday. While it's important to give campaigns a consistent "look" throughout any season, I've seen either that garland or those gift boxes in what seems like every message Ann Taylor sent November 1 through December 25. Provide more help to customers by showing a variety of gift recommendations and imagery both within each campaign and throughout the season. In a cashmere message, at least show us a few sweaters!

Posted by lfharmon at 04:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

From: Old Navy
Subject Line: Holiday Hint 5: You Could Instantly Win Up to $1,000 - Play Now
Date: Thursday, December 1, 2005

Kudos to Old Navy for trying something new - an interactive EDM! Here we PLAY for our special offer rather than just CLICK for it Smart! Although I'm not sure how the "Holiday Hint 5" peice of the subject line relates to the message. A "hint" should be a piece of useful informtaion. It would have been better to use the SL to fully capitalize on the novel game element.

Posted by lfharmon at 10:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)