• by Sean Hargrave , Staff Writer, August 3, 2016

Context has been a very trendy word to throw into any debate around digital marketing, particularly when it comes to mobile. With a mobile device in the consumer's hand you can get a good idea of potentially where they are and what they are doing -- which, in turn, could help get a relevant offer in front of them. A person browsing for game app downloads is on a coach's WiFi is probably just killing time, but the person next to them researching hotels is likely to be in market for a bed for the night when the bus reaches its destination.

Email plays a role here, like any other digital marketing channel. However, could email marketers be missing a really obvious mobile targeting trick that could help them segment their lists that little bit better? There is a lot of talk about hitting second screeners during the evening as they check email. After the charge to get in front of people at the start of the working day and then again around lunchtime, the evening appears to be opening up as a good opportunity to reach shoppers on the couch.

It almost certainly is, of course, but there is a potential fly in the ointment. People aren't just checking their personal accounts, they're checking work emails and it's causing burnout. it's not a surprise to hear that some British academics have studied the impact of executives always having to be "on" and never having an excuse not to be next to an email device.

This begs the question of whether email marketers wish to be a part of this. If not, what are they doing to classify what are clearly work email addresses and distinguishing them from the Gmail and Yahoo email addresses that are more likely to be personal? Once separated, an email expert could then ensure that campaigns don't appear in an inbox which is being begrudgingly checked after dinner and which is almost certainly opened with a sense of trepidation -- hardly the emotional state you would choose when looking for a receptive audience. Instead, such emails could be sent during work hours at a time that your testing gets the most engagement, while for campaigns where you really want to hit second screeners on the couch, perhaps just those personal email addresses should be targeted.

It may well not be an issue for every email marketer's brand, but it surely must be a consideration for many. You don't want your brand to add to a prospect's anxiety, but it is likely over the next few years responsible employers will begin to place limits on when work emails can be accessed to protect their top talent. Rather than being excluded when that happens, surely it's better to be deciding now to be on the side that solves an issue rather than contributing to it?