You know what I love about the beginning of a new year? Things like resolving to try something new, the sense of turning a new leaf and the desire to start something fresh. So I thought we’d round-up a couple of our favorite emails around the theme of ‘new beginnings’ – let it be the launch of a new site, product, or moving to a new space. Lets get started.
Cabedge: Putting personality into it
A few months ago, our great friends at Cabedge launched a radically new company site. So radical, that they decided to send this proactive campaign in anticipation of what their subscribers would say. They’re a funny gang and know it – the ‘Top 5 beefs’ does as much in the way of sharing their identity and brand of humor as inducing people to visit their site. Ten points for personality, a lovely layout and nice use of type, I say.
Alertful for Business: Graceful in all conditions
Talking about uplifting, here’s a great example of a launch email that sure may look detailed, but comes back down to earth gracefully when images are blocked. The use of ‘backup’ calls to action (note the red ‘Click here to try the service for free’) is a technique we don’t see enough of – but undoubtedly does its part in pushing response rates sky-high. Great work by the Email Spring team!
Flexibits: Focused on one task
When it comes to email designs, we’ve always said, ‘keep it simple’. The Flexibits campaign designed by Komodo Media is a perfect example of this in practice, with its easy-to-skim message and a single call to action (‘Grab a Free Trial!’). There’s absolutely no visual clutter or confusion as to what the email recipient should do after receiving the message – which I’m sure was their goal to begin with.
Different Projects: Picture this
Now, I know what we say about images in email (ie. be careful, they often get blocked), but this campaign by Different Projects has added some really eye-catching ones to great effect. The textboxes tacked on top of the illustrations give visual depth to the design. As they contain actual text, won’t disappear when images are turned off.
All around, a great way to announce a move, while wowing clients with a little creative flair.
Virb: Getting the message across
Finally, I wanted to showcase a corporate-style campaign. One that carefully balances copy with visual elements to communicate detailed information. If only to prove that such a thing exists. Duly, I came across this email announcement by Virb, which has a serious side, but doesn’t forget to have a little fun while it’s at it.
In appearance, it’s totally austere – all clean lines and shades of business-like blue. But the text is full of personality, easy-to-read and is complimented by images of their upcoming product. It’s almost the opposite of what many of us imagine a corporate email to contain: stodgy layouts, stock photography and endless columns of teeny-tiny text.
Hopefully, you’ve enjoyed our brief round-up. If there are any particular themes you would like to see us cover (eg. emails for hotels, charities etc), let us know – we’d be happy to shine the light on some great examples for you.
