WhatCounts White Paper - Seamless Video Email

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

Copyright © 2012 WhatCounts, Inc. 3630 Peachtree Rd. Toll Free: 1.866.804.0076 2
All Rights Reserved. Suite 900 Email: sales@whatcounts.com
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: sales@whatcounts.com
ATLANTA • BALTIMORE • SEATTLE • SYDNEY • WASHINGTON DC
.

WhatCounts White Paper - Seamless Video Email

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