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Gmail Tabs Have Little Effect on Email Marketing So Far

email keyboardWhen Gmail tabs rolled out in July, email marketers took notice of this auto-filtering inbox feature. You’d be crazy not to. After all, knowing that your brand messages are going into a “secondary” tab by default is cause for concern. Ignoring the roll out of Gmail tabs is something that no experienced marketer would do.

While it’s still much too early to know how Gmail tabs will ultimately affect email marketing open rates, early results are positive. According to a study by Return Path conducted during the first week after Gmail introduced it’s tab feature, email marketing message open rates changed very little. Here are the key findings from the Return Path study:

  • Traditionally Low Read Rate Users: Gmail users who didn’t read many email marketing messages before the tabs feature launched (11% of users) read fewer after the tabs feature launched dropping 80.82% from a 2.19% read rate to 0.42%.
  • Traditionally High Read Rate Users: Gmail users who read high percentages of email marketing messages prior to the tabs rollout (11% of users) read more after the tabs feature launched increasing by 2.11% from a read rate of 58.64% to 59.88%.
  • Traditionally Medium Read Rate Users: Gmail users who read “medium levels” of email marketing messages prior to the tabs rollout (88% of users) read slightly fewer after the tabs feature launched dropping 8.30% from a 10.55% read rate to 9.81%.

The team at Return Path speculates that mobile had a big effect in the study results. With 44% of Gmail users in the study reading their email via mobile devices, Return Path explains that these users would not be affected by the new tabs feature. Therefore, the results likely do not show the full impact of the tabs feature on email marketing message read rates.

Furthermore, Return Path notes that the results are likely skewed due to the “newness” of the tabs feature. For example, many Gmail users tested the feature during the first week after its launch and probably read more email messages than they normally would in order to “train” Gmail to recognize and appropriately categorize email messages to the right tabs in the future.

Finally, it’s important to remember that the Gmail tabs feature is optional. The real adoption rate of the tabs feature might still be quite low and would have little effect on marketing message read rates.

Bottom-line, it is much too early to tell how Gmail tabs will effect email marketing message open rates in the long-term. For now, the most important thing for email marketers to do is to ensure you’re sending the type of messages your audience wants to receive. Don’t assume you know what they want based on what you’ve done in the past. The battle for email inbox space is changing, and you need to do your research and craft campaigns that make consumers want to receive them and proactively look for them in the clutter of their email inbox—or in the case of Gmail, in their Primary tab or Promotions tab.

Image: T. Al Nakib

Two Years in the Making – ABC Rebranding Is Released

ABC Logo RebrandingABC is one of the big three television networks in the United States. It has been around for over half a century and has been owned by Disney for nearly 20 years. During that time, the ABC logo changed very little with just one major overhaul in 2008, but for the past two years, ABC has been working with Loyalkaspar on a rebranding effort that has finally been unveiled.

You can see the primary iterations of the ABC logo over the years that played roles in the rebranding effort in the image above. In the ABC Brand Identity materials on the Loyalkaspar website, you can find all the details about the project. For example, Loaylkaspar explains that the rebranding effort involved looking at the entire ABC brand architecture and then reimagining it “from the ground up.” The result is described as classy simplicity—“Go back to basics. Strip everything superfluous.”

The rebranding positions ABC as an “articulate, luxurious, cinematic” brand while reverting the logo back to a design much closer to Paul Rand’s 1962 design to give it the “strength and simplicity” it lacked in more recent iterations.

The rebranding is supported by a new marketing strategy that focuses on simplicity and branding “nights” rather than “shows.” The tagline has been dropped in an effort to reduce competing messaging and again, simplify things. However, the “ABC Light” has been added which casts the logo in three primary colors: blue, red, and gold. I’m not a fan of gradients in logos, but the “light” does work well on screen. Colors will be used to brand “nights” with Loyalkaspar explaining the brand overview as 53% gold, 30% blue, and 17% red.

Without a doubt, the rebranding effort is a good one if for no other reason than getting rid of the Web 2.0 logo design that was so outdated. Everyone was rushing to revamp their logos to the hot Web 2.0 design trend back in 2008, but it didn’t take long for the trend to start dying. For example, Google dropped its Web 2.0 logo design for Chrome in 2011, and Facebook and Apple started moving away from the Web 2.0 logo design trend earlier this year.

I’m also a big fan of simplicity in logo design and brand imagery, so overall, this rebranding ticks a lot of the check boxes that I like to see in a brand identity. I agree with Armin from The Brand New who wrote, “If we assume that gradients are a must for ABC, then this is one of the better executions we will see.”

What do you think?

Image: Loyalkaspar

It’s Google’s Turn to Launch Retail Stores

mallIt’s hard to resist the success of Apple retail stores when you’re a competitor like Google. First, Microsoft copied the look and feel of Apple brick-and-mortar stores, and now The Wall Street Journal reports that Google retail stores are coming with Google Inc. reportedly, “studying Apple Inc.’s playbook for building a consumer-electronics brand. [Google] stores would likely sell Google-branded hardware.”

It’s unknown if Google will actually follow through and launch retail stores, but there is certainly no ignoring how well the Apple retail stores have helped to not only sell Apple products but also to create brand experiences that drive loyalty. For both tech-savvy consumers and tech novices, Apple stores can be hard to resist when a consumer walks by the sleek window displays and crowds of people testing out everything from Angry Birds on an iPad to Facebook on an iPhone.

The Wall Street Journal speculates that products like Google’s Chromebook laptops, phones manufactured by Google’s Motorola Mobility, and the highly buzzed about Google Glass product, which is expected to go on sale next year, could all find places on the retail shelves of a Google brick-and-mortar store. It’s easy to imagine that Google could use its retail stores to allow consumers to demo its tools and applications, including its Google TV software.

I can see Google retail stores doing everything that’s being speculated. In addition, retail stores would be a perfect place for Google to demo its suite of business applications. Imagine how easily Google could integrate its products and applications into various aspects of each customer’s purchased technology. The possibilities are endless as Google continues to find new ways to integrate its search, social, and other products.

The question is whether or not retail stores represent the right strategy for Google. The brand is so closely aligned with “virtual” that creating brick-and-mortar stores seems to run counter to its image. That’s not to say retail stores won’t work. They could be very popular and would give Google a way to create tangible brand experiences that demonstrate how important Google is to its customers’ lives. That’s a form of brand building that can deliver significant results. In-person brand experiences can give a brand new meaning that leads to powerful consumer relationships.

What do you think? Are you hoping to see a Google retail store in your local area in the future or do you think this is the wrong strategy for Google? Leave a comment and share your thoughts.

Image: Caroline Hoos

5 Brand Marketing Trends for 2013

new year 2013As 2012 comes to a close, it’s time to reflect on the brand marketing trends that emerged over the past 12 months that will not only carry over into 2013 but become critical components of brand marketing strategy and tactics.

I spent some time going through all of the brand marketing articles I wrote for Corporate Eye during 2012 in search of articles that discussed topics that are here to stay. Looking at those articles only, here are the brand marketing topics that will keep us talking, thinking, and strategizing in 2013.

1. Data, Data, Data!

Data was the big buzz topic in 2012 and it will remain so in 2013. However, there are many companies and brand marketers who haven’t yet figured out how to effectively collect, analyze, and interpret data. To those companies and brand marketers, data is still the missed marketing opportunity. The trick is to learn how to move beyond data paralysis in marketing and find ways to use big data to optimize marketing results. Data should be a brand marketing priority in 2013.

2. Behavioral Targeting Is Hotter than Ever

The past 12 months have been filled with brand marketers seeking ways to target consumers using behavioral data collected from their online activities, particularly their activities using social media sites like Twitter and Facebook. In October 2012, word got out that Facebook was allowing brands to see fans’ “likes” in an effort to lure more brand marketing dollars to the site. At the same time, consumers and privacy groups rallied against the availability of behavioral data. You can bet behavioral targeting will continue to be a hot topic for brand marketers in 2013.

3. Mobile Marketing Opportunities Exist

In 2012, we learned that mobile advertising results were gaining momentum with four out of 10 mobile device users reporting that they have clicked on mobile ads. However, mobile shoppers want more from brands than they’ve been getting. Research found that prioritizing email in mobile marketing strategies is a big opportunity that many companies and brand marketers aren’t effectively leveraging. More people view email on mobile devices each day and email marketing should capitalize on that fact.

4. Social Media Marketing Budgets and Threat Tracking Should Follow

Consumers use social media tools, and in June 2012, research found that two out of five consumers recommend brands that they like or follow online. However, the debate between social media marketing and advertising continued even as brands secured higher social media marketing budgets than ever. Despite those growing budgets, companies have invested little time or money into social media threat management. Research in 2012 found that only one out of four B2B brands track and follow up on social media complaints and fewer than half of companies are prepared for a social media threat. Without a doubt, social media threat management should be a top priority for brand marketers and companies in 2013.

5. The Invasion of Multiple Screens Will Not Go Away

2012 was the first year where brand marketers faced the widespread problem of multiple screens deteriorating audience attention. Research found that tablets and smartphones were stealing eyes from TV ads and younger audiences led the movement with Generation C redefining media consumption. As 2013 nears, online content consumption shows no signs of slowing down. Brand marketers need to plan for the rapid spread of multiple screens as more consumers purchase smartphones and tablets and use simultaneously.

Image: Billy Alexander

94% of Consumers Think Businesses Should Give Back

business of giving backConsumers are more likely to reward businesses and brands that give back to the community and world through charitable donations and socially-conscious initiatives. According to research from Cone Communication and Echo Research (infographic from Zendesk, no longer available), 94% of consumers think businesses should do more than make money. Businesses and brands should give back.

Specifically, consumers think businesses have a range of resources available to them, which those businesses should use to positively impact global issues. This isn’t an isolated sentiment. Over 10,000 consumers in 10 countries were surveyed, and the consensus was clear — consumers expect businesses to give back. Businesses that do can gain loyal customers. 47% of survey respondents indicated they are more likely to be loyal to a company that supports social and environmental causes, and 53% indicated they are more likely to recommend those companies and brands to other people.

It’s important to note that while there are specific causes that consumers are passionate about and believe that companies should support in order to drive changes (see the infographic below for the details), consumers also want companies to make internal changes to positively affect social and economic causes. According to the participants in this study, consumers most want companies to:

  • Change the way they operate = 34%
  • Apply unique business assets = 19%
  • Develop new products or services = 16%
  • Raise awareness and educate = 11%
  • Develop partnerships = 11%
  • Make donations = 7%
  • Donate employee time/expertise = 5%

Take a close look at the data above. The first step most companies and brands take to demonstrate their commitments to impacting social and economic causes is to donate money or require employees to donate money and time to charitable organizations. Are you surprised to see that the internal changes consumers most want companies to make in order to support social and economic causes don’t include making donations and donating employee time and expertise until the sixth and seventh items on this list?

Businesses should support economic and social causes for multiple reasons. Most importantly, they have the resources to make positive changes, but also because consumers want them to and will reward them with referrals and loyalty. For brands the benefits are numerous. At the most basic level, economic and social causes evoke powerful feelings in people, and tying emotions to your brand can have significant results to loyalty, advocacy, and sales. Never underestimate the power of emotional branding.

The Importance of Brand Storytelling in 2013 and Beyond

business man writingOver the past several years, brand marketers have navigated through an onslaught of changes that have re-shaped many of their tactics. We’ve lived through “the year of social media,” “the year of content,” “the year of curation,” and more. These changes are here to stay, and at the forefront of everything brand marketers do today is storytelling.

Building a deeper emotional connection between a brand and it’s audience of consumers through storytelling is no longer a consideration. It’s a strategic imperative. To that end, I’d argue that companies should be looking for both content engineers (the strategic data-driven leaders) and content creative directors (the strategic creative leaders) to become integral senior management positions within the larger marketing team. Together, the scientist and the creator can be a powerful team.

Unfortunately, few companies have come to recognize the need for these two leadership roles, and they’re struggling to develop brand marketing success beyond the status quo. It’s a new way of thinking about marketing, which in the past, has been ruled by the demands of the sales team. I’d argue that the marketing team should be the driving force with this strong leadership team of creative thinkers and data junkies. Only time will tell if large companies figure it out and make the necessary changes.

In the meantime, how can brand marketers effectively increase awareness, recognition, sales, loyalty, and advocacy through storytelling? It starts with the brand name and carries through every customer touch point. These stories should appeal to consumers’ senses through visual, auditory, and even cerebral content that is engaging, meaningful, and emotional. Brand stories shouldn’t make people feel like they’re being sold to. Instead, they should lead consumers through a journey over time.

Brand stories should make the brand seem more human, accessible, and real. They should support what the brand stands for and reaffirm what people already believe in a unique way. In other words, don’t push the company’s wants and need at consumers. Instead, pull consumers to your brand by allowing them to see and feel their own beliefs and feelings in your brand story.

In 2013, focus on creating brand stories that tap into emotions, make people think, support their beliefs, and move them to action. Ensure your brand story is consistent across all consumer experiences with your brand, and remember, consumers are unlikely to believe your brand story if you and your employees don’t believe it. In other words, internal branding is a critical first step to sharing your brand story with the world.

Image: Kristja