Animated GIFs in emails are controversial, to say the least. Despite that, more and more companies are using them lately – at least that’s what I’ve noticed in my inbox. And more and more, they do it in a fun way, pleasant to the eye and actually making sense. Although that’s not always the case, which I’m going to show you (warning – toward the end of the post, you may get a severe migraine!)
[hint, if you can’t see the image animate, click on it to open it in a new window]
Related:
How to promote a product through emails
Holiday email marketing examples you have to see
1. Product showcase
GIFs are actually a good idea when you want to squeeze more products into your newsletter and take up less space. Simply rotate them on a single image – this draws attention and allows you to show more. Do it in a straightforward way:
Bonobos
Ann Taylor
American Apparel
or add a pinch of fun:
American Apparel
or an enormous dose of cuteness:
Stuck On You
2. Promo ends soon
GIFs can be useful if you want to emphasize that your promotion is coming to an end. What easier way than with an animated countdown?
Ann Taylor
eBags
Walmart
3. Attention grabbers
Well, they’re animated, so they certainly are eye-catching elements of your newsletters (as long as your email client displays animated GIFs; most of them do, except Microsoft Outlook, which displays only the first frame; so make sure that first frame is the most appealing).
These can be anything from animated fragments of text:
Lomography
to an animated header appearing in all newsletters:
Miista
to animations for the sake of adding a fun factor:
Anthropologie
Brooks Brothers
4. Headache inducers
Well, this is where the designers went a few steps too far in their desire to grab the reader’s attention. Not to be imitated – unless you really want to give your subscribers a severe headache or nausea. (I can’t even look at these for more than a few seconds without getting serious eye-problems. Let alone click on them!)
United Nude
Kenzo
Have you come across some fun (or just the opposite) GIFs recently? Share them!
(And if you haven’t used them in your emails, why not GIF them a shot? 😉 A shot with moderation, of course).