• by Sean Hargrave , Staff Writer, March 24, 2017

It makes perfectly good common sense. Moving emails perform better. By that I don't necessarily mean tearjerkers, although it never hurts to appeal to the human behind every email address. No, we're talking kinetic emails -- where static images can move around. Think of those carousel ads on Facebook and you've got the picture, quite literally.

Considering that the technology to power kinetic emails has been in use with a few brands for more than a year now, it's surprising that the technique hasn't caught on, particularly now that the majority of emails are now opened on a mobile device. Perhaps email marketers are slightly lagging behind and not quite seeing how mobile is a far more tactile medium. Or perhaps the investment isn't worthwhile, they believe, until we get to a point where the vast majority of emails are opened on a mobile device. It depends whom you listen to, in which market, but there is a consensus that around 55% to 60% of emails will be seen first on the small screen.

Maybe all that has been needed are some stats for a bright email marketer to slap down on the CMO's desk to prove the brand can no longer ignore adding some dynamism to their campaigns. Well, Experian's Email Benchmark figures were quoted yesterday in BizReport, showing that with kinetic email campaigns deployed, unique clicks go up 18% and perhaps more importantly, click-through rates leap 10%.

You can just imagine the types of emails that are doing well. Fashion retailers can no doubt show a full collection of summer looks as a recipient advances through a carousel of pictures and a real ale fan or wine aficionado swipes until the bitter or Chablis of his or her choice leaps out of the inbox. Whatever it is, the very fact that you can interact and see moving images simply has to have an impression on users and help a brand stand out in a crowded inbox. 

Regular readers will know that I am always dismayed at how email marketers have not evolved the medium from the static, lifeless messages we have all been receiving since the '90s. There's no slider or button to press to reschedule a delivery, there's no "buy something extra" button to automatically be upsold through, there's no "what's the next train or flight time" window. I'm thinking off the top of my head now, but you know what I mean? There's just static information and the only way you're ever going to find out more or alter a service in any way, no matter how small, is to click to go to a home page, log in and then find a hidden page that offers what you're after.

Why not pre-empt next moves and make them simple? Why not have beautiful emails? Why not have emails you can return with a question that gets automatically answered, like a chatbot?

If email marketers do not begin to evolve the medium, it will be harder and harder to stand out and overcome inbox fatigue. Making a message come alive with a bit of kinetic technology has to be a good start.