  March 05, 2008Bare Feet
From: Michael KorsSubject Line: Now online: The NEW Spring Catalog Date: Tuesday, March 4, 2008 After a very rainy winter in Seattle, and in an inbox full of emails about shoes, I have to say I found this image of bare feet really refreshing. It's not that often that you get an email that actually shows feet. Think about it. It's stimulating, remembering what it feels like to walk around barefoot outside. February 29, 2008Enviro-Silo Photo Mix
From: CoachSubject Line: Introducing Signature Stripe: Online Today and In Stores Monday Date: Friday, February 8, 2008 I'm a fan of the enviro-silo photo mix. Square-cut environment shots set the mood, bring lifestyle into the design and show product in use, while silhouette photography is great for featuring product details and close-ups. Visually, adding silos to the mix (as opposed to a grid of many square-cut shots) opens up the design and keeps file size light. Try it, you'll like it ;)! January 31, 2008Hello, color!
From: PiperlimeSubject Line: Say hello to color! Date: Thursday, January 31, 2008 This is a fantastic example of imagery, copy and content aligning to create a delightful user experience. Heck, it's just plain happy. I love rainbows! And patent leather! I really want a purple patent leather Mulberry Bayswater bag right now. Piperlime generally does a good job with photography, propping their product in playful ways that make imagery relevant to messaging. Sign up for their emails if you're looking for product photography inspiration. January 11, 2008Towels in the Tub
From: Brocade HomeSubject Line: Save Up to 40% on Rugs & More Date: Thursday, January 10, 2008 From: Garnet Hill Subject Line: Soak it Up - Save 30% on Our Signature Towels Date: Friday, January 11, 2008 Here, Brocade Home and Garnet Hill come up against a common challenge: depicting a textile in multiple colorways. Brocade Home's rugs are not only poorly cropped; they also appear to need vacuuming. (Thanks to Smith-Harmonite Sarah Milsow for that particular callout!) I personally love a little frill - I'm a fan of the brand - but I'd like to see BH do something more exciting with their email creative. They have an opportunity to bring the Baroque ornamentation their brand is famous for into their creative in a much more dynamic way. Moving on to Garnet Hill: love the towels in the tub. I feel like I get emails from Restoration Hardware pretty much every day featuring vertical towel stacks; it's fun to see them featured differently here. January 10, 2008Who Nose?
From: fredflare.comSubject Line: you have a nose for NEW... Date: Thursday, January 10, 2008 This is rather bizarre! December 18, 2007Shelf-Improvement
From: Abercrombie & FitchSubject Line: Exactly What They Want. Date: Wednesday, December 5, 2007 From: FreePeople.com Subject Line: Our Gift to You: Free Shipping! Date: Monday, December 17, 2007 Here, I like how Abercrombie and Free People photographed a holiday gift mix on shelves and in cabinets. It gives the product more of an environmental, in-store feeling. Although these montage-type photos become difficult when one of the items featured goes out of stock! I also can't resist but mention the "Our Gift to You" verbiage in the Free People subject line. Those most be four of the most overused words in holiday email, particularly when associated with Free Shipping. The thing is, they're rather charming and convenient! Please let me know if you've found something equally-useful and cute to communicate the same meaning; I'd love to hear some other options! November 20, 2007A Unique Vision for Holiday
From: katespade.comSubject Line: shop pop & color Date: Tuesday, November 20 2007 I agree with Shannon Milar, who loves this message for it's "unique vision for holiday." Like kate spade's fall imagery, their holiday photography feels fresh and fun. It's so easy for us to fall into blahliday mode, slavishly aping last year's creative (only redder!), but this campaign illustrates the opportunity to consider how we can mix our unique brand elements with traditional holiday visual cues to bake up something new. November 06, 2007Open Door Policy
From: Bluefly Subject Line: Exclusive Access to the Blue Room - Extra 20% off Today Only Date: Tuesday, November 6 2007 We often talk about emails as doorways into websites; I enjoy this creative illustration of that concept. The idea of "Exclusive Access to the Blue Room" intrigues me; I feel compelled to take hold of those gold handles and throw the blue doors open! May 01, 2007Wendy Learns from Kate
From: Built by WendySubject Line: Anchor Print Date: Tuesday, May 1, 2007 From: kate spade Subject Line: classic elegance - shop new sunglass arrivals Date: Tuesday, April 17, 2007 These images look like they could have been on the same roll of film. I love the colors and the environment in both. In fact, the designs are similar in many respects as well. Both feature a single hero image, a logo with no menu navigation, and a few words of text on a white background. Wendy could learn three things from Kate: 1) Kate includes a category-specific call-to-action: "shop sunglasses", as opposed to a single product name: "Anchor Print". Wendy need only add the word "shop" or a carrot to increase clickthrough. 2) Kate's design is more visually sophisticated. A few subtle touches - the headline-over-hero overlay, the college-ruled paper graphic and the typewriter font - make for a tighter and more engaging campaign. 3) Everybody loves a story. Rolling kate spade sunglasses into a Newport story put them into context - a lifestyle, a world. The anecdote gives them an air of mystery and exclusivity. It's a fantasy we can imagine and, once properly sunglass-ed, inhabit. April 17, 2007Mum Says: "Two Thumbs Up!"
From: CB2Subject Line: modern dinnerware in bloom Date: Tuesday, April 17, 2007 I'd like to give CB2 a standing ovation for their work on this campaign. They took a relatively run-of-the-mill product - "verde dinnerware" - and married it to both the season and a holiday (Mother's Day) through photography and copy. As far as effectively using what we have at our creative disposal to form a coherent, visually-appealing, relevant message, this EDM is one of the few to make it into the same league as Apple's legendary February 2006 "In the Ear" campaign. It should inspire all of us to put more forethough and preparation into our email creative. Thank you CB2! April 03, 2007Shooting Specifically for Email
From: shopbop.comSubject Line: Gleaming Accents: Sunglasses, Shoes, Handbags & Jewelry Date: Monday, April 2, 2007 What could be smarter than an email promoting four low pricepoint, high margin accessories categories? Being prepared enough to coordinate it! I want to mention shopbop again as being one of the best examples of a retailer who approaches photo intelligently. They shoot product across a span of categories and sources in the same environment, allowing them to successfully weave disparate items into tight visual stories, thereby managing to avoid the dreaded "garage sale" look of a cobbled-together campaign that has the marketing message down, but not the assets necessary to address it cohesively. I am a big proponent of shooting specifically for the email channel; it makes sense to push for it as email marketing continues to drive a larger and larger percentage of ecom sales. March 13, 2007Lighten up!
From: gap.comSubject Line: Lighten Up for Spring Date: Tuesday, March 13, 2007 Someone needs to tell this model to lighten up. Honestly, she does not look psyched about her khakis. Let's try to keep our copy and imagery synchronous. Otherwise we're saying "no" when we really mean "yes", right? March 07, 2007Refreshing
From: CB2Subject Line: wait til you see this chair Date: Tuesday, March 6, 2007 This campaign from CB2 is a breath of fresh air. It's simple, bright, seasonally-appropriate, and just plain happy. And the subtle butterfly animation makes the whole thing that much more "just so." There's a tangible sense of creative and marketing teams getting excited behind this one, and subscribers can feel that. You guys win the spring spirit award this week for sure. March 06, 2007A Familiar Face
From: shopbop.comSubject Line: Trend Alert: Wide-Leg Pants, Vintage & Navy for Spring at shopbop.com Date: Tuesday, March 6, 2007 Those of you who receive email updates from shopbop.com are probably familiar with this face. This redhead has been appearing in shopbop's campaigns consistently for as long as I can remember. I'd thought I was sick of seeing her day-in and day-out (Like, can't shopbop afford a second model?) until, recently, she began appearing less. Opening campaigns to find random brunettes and blondes, I found myself missing the redhead - as though my personal rappaport with the face of shopbop was left dangling. When we were finally reunited with this campaign on March 6, I was embarrased to find myself feeling quite content. (I'd like to think) I'm not alone in my imagined internal dialogues with said redhead. But even if my particular experience is more ridiculous than most, the big-picture reminder here is that your customers - the most "die hard" in particular - are looking to your brand for a sense of continuity. They want consistent visual and verbal cues. They want a solid relationship. They've bonded to your imagery, your voice and your design - that's one of the reasons they are "buyers." So be careful and gentle when you make changes to your email creative. And have good reasons for changing direction. Don't switch things up just because you as a marketer are personally sick of the proverbial redhead. December 13, 2006Holiday Photography
From: American Eagle OutfittersSubject Line: Get Gifted with Great Gifts under $30 Date: Wednesday, December 13, 2006 While it's a challenge we face all year long, avoiding the dreaded "garage sale" mish-mash of product photography becomes particularly difficult during holiday, when strategy calls for random groupings of product to be featured together under various promotional umbrellas such as "free shipping" or, in this case, "under $30". But American Eagle Outfitters has done something extremely intelligent in order to avoid that. They've photographed all of their giftable product in a super-holiday environment, which, rather than playing up the "garage sale" factor effectively neutralizes it. Think about the amount of work and hassle this saves: creative no longer needs to fake backgrounds to make products shot in different environments look as though they were shot at the same location; business and creative don't have to argue about what products can be tastefully featured in tandem. This is total genius! Let it inspire us all to do better photo planning for Holiday 2007. Let's photograph absolutely everything in front of a Christmas tree, then rest just a little easier for the the rest of the holiday season. High five, AE! P.S. AE, if you actually did a great job of PhotoShopping these products onto this background, think of how much easier it would have been if you'd photographed them all this way in the first place! July 22, 2006Creepy Quints
From: FreePeople.comSubject Line: For the Season In Between Date: Tuesday, July 18 2006 Come play with us, Danny... May 16, 2006Delivering a Demon
From: Saks Fifth AvenueSubject Line: EMAIL INVITATION ONLY: Vince Fall 2006 Trunk Show Date: Tuesday, May 16, 2006 While Saks campaigns are generally dull, this one is slightly frightening. Pay attention to imagery! Rather than inspiring folks to attend the Vince Trunk Show, the model pictured here, looking actually possessed, is acting as a major deterrent. While we are intimately familiar with our product, imagery, and models, we have to remember that our customers are not. A normally beautiful woman can look awful and a usually gorgeous dress can look wrinkled, so do examine imagery carefully (or have a more objective person take a look) before delivering a demon. We cannot allow our familiarity to eclipse our discrimination. April 21, 2006I wanted the handbag, not the trenchcoat!
From: BurberrySubject Line: Gifts for Her and complimentary shipping from Burberry.com Date: Friday, April 21, 2006 Wow, she sure doesn't seem too pscyhed about her gift, does she? Maybe she's upset about receiving a wintercoat in the spring. Burberry has been using this model for almost every EDM I've received this season. Maybe she's getting tired. April 04, 2006Lighten Up
From: Athleta.comSubject Line: Surf's Up and so is Athleta's New Summer Lineup Date: Tuesday, April 4, 2006 While I find Athleta's consistent use of full-width outdoor photography appropriate to their product, the images are consistently undersaturated and dull, begging for whiter whites and brighter colors. Notice how the surf in this shot is a dull grey? It's depressing. Now imagine it a crystal blue. This is a happier picture: infinitely more effective. It's all about the PhotoShop Hue/Saturation, baby. Additionally, I'm curious about the use of capitalization in the main body text. We should be grammatically incorrect only when it benefits the overall aesthetic or meaning of the message. I don't think miscapitalization improves this campaign in any way. March 17, 2006Blue Space
From: adidas Online StoreSubject Line: adidas by Stella McCartney Spring Collection has arrived Date: Friday, March 17, 2006 Love the use of whitespace (or blue space, rather) in this design. Totally not my area of expertise, but how does it make sense for Stella McCartney to design for adidas? March 16, 2006Strange Scents
From: BurberrySubject Line: Children’s Apparel, Accessories and Fragrance Date: Thursday, March 16, 2006 The unearthly halo and black, pupil-less eyes make this baby look downright creepy. I get it that retailers want to profit on the celebrity-fueled "it's hip to have babies" trend. Babies in tartan plaid are one thing, but baby FRAGRANCE!? March 15, 2006A Picture's Worth...
From: west elmSubject Line: Best-Sellers: bedroom storage + 20% off jute boucle rugs Date: Wednesday, March 15, 2006 west elm is one of my favorite furniture brands; they've really been pioneers when it comes to trends in home furnishings. When they initially introduced chocolate-finish furniture I found it distasteful, but now, a few years later, the rest of the market has "caught up" and everyone's featuring it, and I'm itching to replace my blonde-finish bedroom. The imagery in this EDM showcases the storage sets nicely; we get a great sense for two entire collections in one shot. Unfortunately, as dark wood finish is notoriously difficult to capture on film, the pieces do look a little "black" and lack differentiation; shoppers may be reluctant to purchase a product they can't really "see". This is something that could have been fixed easily using PhotoShop curves and saturation settings. March 08, 2006Nice Rugs, Plus a Note Concerning Tuesdays
From: The Land of NodSubject Line: Calling all piggy toes. Calling all piggy toes. Date: Tuesday, March 7, 2006 This email was brought to my attention by a colleague. Thank you! The Land of Nod always seems to walk the razor's edge as far as copy goes. While employing the current energy crisis to drive rug sales is brilliant, "piggy toes" is just annoying. I agree with my colleague concerning the rug photography here. Notably difficult to depict online, The Land of Nod has done a wonderful job here showcasing their rugs. Nice work. On another note, I'd like to make a general observation concerning Tuesdays: I'm not sure they're the best day to launch email campaigns anymore. While I received only 3 EDMs on Monday, I received 13 Tuesday, and, even as a self-described EDM Freak, did not get through all of them. How much more would this be true for the average consumer? Hmm... are Wednesdays the new Tuesday? Let me know what you think. March 02, 2006Easter Greetings from the Damned
From: GymboreeSubject Line: NEW! Dress up for Easter and $5 Flat-Rate Shipping! Date: Thursday, March 2, 2006 Wow, looks like the Children of the Corn are celebrating Easter this year! The graphical treatments used here are happy and holiday-appropropriate, however the photography is, in my opinion, downright strange. March 01, 2006Manzilla
From: BananaRepublic.comSubject Line: New spring polos + get 15% off... Date: Tuseday, February 28, 2006 Ahhhh! Attack of the enormous scary Willem Dafoe-like Raptor Man! I promise, I'll buy as many polos as you want. Just let me live! Seriously though, that hero image is enormous. Too big? What do we think? February 28, 2006Ann Taylor in the Spring
From: Ann TaylorSubject Line: The New Collection is Here, with an Exclusive Offer Date: Tuseday, February 28, 2006 This is a such nice, clean creative execution. It has a light, refined quality that really says "Ann Taylor in the Spring." I think it captures the overall brand cleanup that's been happening recently at Ann Taylor. On a separate note, since January, Ann Taylor has been doing a notable job executing multiple messages within each campaign. This email manages to address the Spring Collection, a Shoe Sale AND an Online Sale without overwhelming viewers. A rare achievement. Bravo, Ann. One recommendation for improvement: the New Arrivals main message features the PETITE call-to-action so prominently, we loose sight of the opportunity to click through to the main collection. The two call-outs should really be given equal weight. February 25, 2006Crackozian Style
From: Anthropologie.comSubject Line: a vision of summer... Date: Thursday, February 23, 2006 Anthropologie is actually my favorite store, but this is a "vision of summer" I could do without. Yikes! Since when did Crackozian Refuges living in tenements have enough money to spend several hundred dollars on a smock? February 06, 2006Rainbow Tees
From: Abercrombie & FitchSubject Line: New at Abercrombie & Fitch Date: Tuesday, February 2, 2006 Although I do have objections to Abercrombie & Fitch's usual soft-core porn approach, I like the use of rainbow imagery in this particular message. A grudging "good job". One recommendation for improvement: add more obvious click-throughs to the mens and womens collections. The Subject Line calls out what's "New at Abercrombie & Fitch", so it would have been appropriate to add "shop mens" and "shop womens" links. February 03, 2006Radioactive Meat
From: Safeway.comSubject Line: We Deliver Your Football Party Date: Wednesday, January 25, 2006 This EDM came to my attention via a colleague - thank you! I'm not an expert on Football or Deli Trays, but this is some of the weirdest imagery I've ever seen. At first I wasn't sure if it was a gag, but it's true, the glowing deli tray is hovering over a football field. January 19, 2006Chad, Darling
From: Brooks BrothersSubject Line: Spring 2006 and Suit Savings at Brooks Brothers Date: Thursday, January 19, 2006 Muffy love, have you seen where I parked the yacht? Seriously though, Brooks Brothers EDMs are consistenly sharp and effective, and this one is no exception. They sweat the details, and it shows. Nice work, Chad! March 24, 2005Bright and Delicious
From: Williams-SonomaSubject Line: Last-Minute Easter Savings at Williams-Sonoma Stores Date: Thursday, March 24, 2005 Williams-Sonoma food photography is consistently great. This looks delicious! June 23, 2004Breezy and Calm
From: west elmSubject Line: shop our new design favorites for summer Date: Wednesday, June 23, 2004 I love this EDM because the window sheers image is so beautiful. This may or may not have been a huge revenue-driver, but this is very strong, brand-building imagery. |
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