whatcounts white paper - seamless video email

SEAMLESS VIDEO EMAIL Best Practices for Dramatically Increasing Response Rates & Success

SEAMLESS VIDEO EMAIL

Copyright © 2012 WhatCounts, Inc. 3630 Peachtree Rd. Toll Free: 1.866.804.0076 2 All Rights Reserved. Suite 900 Email: [email protected] Atlanta, GA 30326 Website: www.whatcounts.com

SEAMLESS VIDEO EMAIL HAS ARRIVED

BEST PRACTICES FOR DRAMATICALLY INCREASING RESPONSE RATES & SUCCESS

Thanks to the enabling prevalence of broadband and the immense popularity of

YouTube and video in general, consumer interaction with the internet has changed

dramatically over the last few years. According to comScore, some 139 million U.S.

internet users now watch an average of 83 videos online each month. Consumers expect

to see videos everywhere from news sites to Facebook pages to email. The promise of

seamless video in email has already tantalized many CMOs as a means of engaging

customers, driving greater response rates and higher revenue from email campaigns.

But until now, truly seamless solutions available to a wide audience have been

unavailable.

David Daniels, a veteran of Forrester Research and expert on email marketing trends,

says video in email offers a 2-3x performance leap versus traditional email. It’s a logical

leap, as we intuitively grasp the power of visual communication over simple text. Video

in email represents a significant evolutionary advance of digital media, not unlike the

leap that broadcast TV represented over broadcast radio. It is a game - changing step

forward that will soon pull almost all companies in, and then separate them by how

smartly they leverage their new advantage.

Just as there were those who used the new television medium as a mere extension of

radio, there will also be some marketers who fail to grasp the new possibilities that video

in email offers. And in doing so, they will be placing their brands and companies at a

disadvantage. For instance, TV favored photogenic personalities and as the 1960

Presidential debates proved, good looking politicians as well. Likewise, video in email

will stimulate the aspirational side of marketing campaigns versus simply the actuarial

side. Traditional text email may simply tout the low interest rate of a home loan, but a



video email can showcase the dream of a nice neighborhood. An email targeting baseball

fans could present raw data or, through the use of video, entice them with a shot of the

previous night’s winning home run. Video email represents a whole new game, requiring

bigger thinking, a separate set of rules, and involving more sophisticated metrics for

winning.

Video email is the best of three worlds, bringing

together the immediacy of the internet, the precise

control and metrics of direct mail, along with the

visual appeal of television and YouTube. At its best it

has the potential to double or triple the overall

efficiency of your marketing program, but employed

in the wrong way it can turn off existing customers.

Video in email requires upfront planning and strategy, like any good campaign, but it

doesn’t necessitate either a large upfront production cost, or even a large marketing

budget.

CREATE A CASE STUDY FOR EMAIL Despite its popularity, email is still an under-allocated component of the marketing mix

for many companies. The traditional ad agencies, which have significant input in

corporate marketing budgets, are still investing too many dollars in more expensive and

less measurable (and less effective) broadcast and print advertising because this is what

they know. According to research from Nielsen and the Direct Marketing Association,

U.S. commercial email expenditures are just slightly in excess of $1 billion annually and

represent only about 1% of 2009 U.S. advertising expenditures.

The mathematic case for greater deployment of video email in marketing campaigns is

certainly compelling. The Direct Marketing Association has claimed that traditional

“The traditional email return for

every one dollar of email

investment is $43.”

~ Direct Marketing Association



email returns over $43 dollars for every one dollar of email investment, and as noted

above, respected analysts are claiming video email can improve that ROI by a factor of

2-3x. And while these numbers may seem too good to be true, they can be readily tested

and validated quickly within the confines of your business or brand, via simple A/ B

comparison testing, in a matter of days.

Video email ups the ante and pressure on marketers to shift more of their budget away

from traditional advertising because video email co-ops the unique visual benefits of TV

and print advertising in a way that traditional text-based email could not. More and

more marketers will view video email as both complementary to, and interchangeable

with traditional advertising tactics. This is particularly true in an economic climate

where CEOs and CFOs are demanding proof of marketing ROI and where there may be a

greater priority on retaining and enhancing revenue from existing customers vs. more

expensive investment in new customer acquisition.

Video email also promises to be much more viral than text-based email. End users are

more likely to forward video emails to their Facebook and social media sites than

traditional emails. And when that does indeed occur, a marvelous chain reaction takes

place. According to Nielsen, social media use makes people consume more emails not

less.

VIDEO EMAIL IS A GAME CHANGER FOR ANY VERTICAL

TRAVEL

Imagine you’re an airline and you are starting a new non-stop route from Seattle to

Rome. Your best prospects are those existing customers in the Pacific Northwest that

already use you for business and vacation travel but are intrigued, like most of us, by

spending time vacationing in Italy. With an integrated video email capability, you can let

short video clips of famous Italian sites tell the story for you in a progressive series of



video emails. And to ensure optimal response, each video email would include a

promotional offer such as an additional number of frequent flier miles for those who

travelled within the next 90 days.

RETAIL

For retailers, video email can be a dream come true. Imagine you’re a merchandiser and

you received late word of the initial arrival of Copper River Salmon. Instead of using

expensive print magazine advertising with long lead times and inexact returns, you can

quickly and visually showcase the “cold waters” story for this highly prized, tasty

delicacy.

MEDIA & PUBLISHING

Video in email holds special promise for news and

media organizations as well, which are often visual by

nature. Now an online newspaper can, with user

permission, send a breaking news video on a topic of

particular importance such as business, sports or

national politics.

Video in email also holds special promise for marketers of transportation products like

cars, tires, strollers, and bicycles that are best demonstrated in motion. And major

college and professional sports teams can enhance their standing with season ticket

holders and fans by sending game highlights using video.

“Video in email can increase

click-through rates by as much

as 2-3x.”

~ Forrester



BEST PRACTICES FOR NEW VIDEO EMAIL CAMPAIGNS Video in email, like any new breakthrough medium, has pitfalls if not used correctly.

Generally speaking, it is better to use with prospects who have a high level of interest in

the product category or for existing customers.

FREQUENCY

Research shows that 78 percent of existing customers look forward to receiving emails

from companies they do business with. But even here the rule of thumb is no more than

one email a week unless there is some educational, entertainment or news value, or

specific transactional email requirements such as shipping notices and account change

notifications.

DURATION

Length of video is also an important consideration. Generally speaking, video emails to

existing customers should be no more than 15-45 seconds, but this varies depending on

product and customer engagement. Experiment with different lengths and use your

usage and click-through reporting to determine the optimal length for your video before

the user breaks off.

CLICK-TO-PLAY VS. EMBEDDED

There are two basic ways to deliver video to email

recipients: click-to-view and embedded.

The one that most people think of first, embedding

(where the video appears and plays directly inside of

an email message), is also the one that’s least com-

patible with most email clients and environments.

“139 million U.S. Internet users

now watch an average of 83

videos online each month.”

~ ComScore



If embedded video is used, it’s important that audio be set to “mute” so that the simple

experience of opening a mail message isn’t met by the recipient with an unexpected and

potentially jarring interaction.

The recommended method of delivering video that also happens to have universal

compatibility is called click-to-play. It’s typically implemented by using a static or

animated image with markings that encourage the email recipient to click on it. That

action automatically launches a web browser where the video can begin playing. Options

can be set to control whether the video and sound begin automatically.

Animated images are implemented using the GIF89a format and can be produced using

a variety of tools. Design professionals will likely find the use of Adobe Flash a

comfortable tool for creating these animations. There are also specialized applications

for both PCs and Macs that can be used to create them, as well as open-source utilities

like ffmpeg and ImageMagick.

If animated GIF images are used, be careful that they’re not too elaborate (duration and

dimensionally) because that can cause unnecessary download delays for your users.

Simply compositing a play icon (which is often represented by a simple right-facing

triangle) may be all that’s necessary to encourage users to click on the image which leads

them to view your video.

KEEP IT RELATIVE

Video in email, like any new breakthrough medium, has pitfalls if used improperly.

While it makes a bigger “splash” by appealing to more senses, it also necessitates a

higher level of engagement. Make sure the video content adds value to your subscribers’

experience. Consider testing, initially, with your brand’s more passionate customers and

warmer prospects. Utilize customer data to create content that is of interest to your

customers.



EMAIL BEST PRACTICES

Make sure your campaigns are CAN-SPAM compliant and that you continue to follow as

many of the email industry’s recommended best practices as possible.

Your effectiveness with any marketing tool such as video email ultimately depends on

how relevant your message is with your customers’ needs, lifestyle and attention span at

the moment. Because it includes compelling visual elements, video email campaigns are

better able to engage the interest of your target audience. Testing and the assistance of a

knowledgeable email marketing partner can help ensure that you and your company are

taking full advantage of this exciting new medium.

THE ARRIVAL OF TRUE SEAMLESS VIDEO EMAIL

Recently, WhatCounts introduced a pioneering advance in video email technology with

a fully integrated, enterprise level video email platform. The product conforms with

proven industry standards and is tightly embedded with the existing WhatCounts email

platform. And because there are no attachments, there is minimal risk of being blocked

by spam filters.

AUTOMATED CLIENT DETECTION

WhatCounts uses both Flash- based and HTML5/H.264 videos with smart tags to

automatically deliver the highest quality video possible to the broadest possible

audience. Video files are stored in the “cloud” and managed by WhatCounts servers so

inboxes are not clogged with large attachments.



ABOUT US

WhatCounts, a private Atlanta-based company

founded in 2000, is a leading email technology

innovator offering a fully integrated lifecycle

marketing platform supporting dynamic and targeted

content delivery, robust segmentation, API and

transactional capabilities as well as integrated video

and social media tools.

WhatCounts offers deliverability management,

strategic coaching, best practices benchmarking,

CRM integration and advanced analytics facilitating

ROI maximization.

The robust WhatCounts platform is delivered as a

hosted Web-based SaaS application and as part of the

unique Broadcaster on-premise appliance line.

WHATCOUNTS, Inc.

3630 Peachtree Rd. Telephone: 404.995.8600

Suite 900 Toll Free: 866.804.0076

Atlanta, GA 30326 Fax: 404.995.8611

www.whatcounts.com

Email: [email protected]

ATLANTA • BALTIMORE • SEATTLE • SYDNEY • WASHINGTON DC .

http://www.whatcounts.com/

mailto:[email protected]

whatcounts white paper - seamless video email

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