Email Newsletters - All Image, No Text

This is what happens when you design content to be image heavy and the user's default inbox blocks images. In this example, there are multiple CTAs and no clear objective as to what the recipient should do. 

Normally, Tinuiti produces emails with great marketing content. However, it just misses the mark. And.. into the delete bin it goes.

Data-driven diversity and inclusion (D&I)

Data-driven diversity and inclusion (D&I) adoption by US companies is a growing trend. There are many reasons for this, including:

• The business case for D&I is clear. Companies with more diverse workforces are more profitable, innovative, and better able to attract and retain top talent.
• Data can help companies identify and address unconscious bias. Unconscious bias is a major barrier to D&I, and data can help companies identify and address it in their hiring, promotion, and other practices.
• Data can help companies track their progress on D&I goals. This is essential for accountability and for making sure that D&I efforts are having a real impact.

There are many ways that companies can use data to improve their D&I efforts. Here are a few examples to use data:

• Identify areas where your workforce is not diverse. Include topics such as gender, race, ethnicity, age, or disability.
• Track your progress on D&I goals. Examples: the number of women in leadership positions or the number of employees with disabilities
• Identify unconscious bias in your hiring, promotion, and other practices, e.g., the use of biased language in job postings or the underrepresentation of certain groups in certain departments.
• Develop and implement D&I initiatives. This could include things like unconscious bias training or mentoring programs for underrepresented groups.

Data-driven D&I adoption is a complex and challenging process, but it is essential for companies that want to create a more inclusive and equitable workplace.

General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)

The complete guide to GDPR and compliance can be found at gdpr.eu

GDPR began May 25, 2018, and since then has levied harsh fines against violators of the EU's data privacy legislation. According to website GDPR Enforcement Tracker, the top 10 countries with the highest total fines are:

And the breakdown of violations by industry:

While the US and US companies are not represented on these tables, that's not to say their European offices haven't been fined by the GDPR. Read more about that here. Google (fined $50m by France) and Marriott ($100m fine for its Starwood customer data breach) are the two largest entities to face GDPR fines.

In a nutshell, GDPR covers businesses, government agencies, and other entities:

• In the European Union (EU);
• That offer goods or services to anyone in the EU;
• and collects, stores, transfers, or uses personal information about EU citizens

For individuals, GDPR offers extended protections regarding the use of personal data such as:

• Right to Access:
• Obtain confirmation as to whether or not their personal data is being processed, where and for what purpose 
• Access their personal data
• Correct errors in their personal data
• Right to be Forgotten:
• Erase their personal data
• Object to having their personal data processed
• Data Portability:
• Receive a copy of any personal data stored, and transfer that data to another vendor/controller

GDPR defines personal data as:

‘Personal data’ means any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person (‘data subject’); an identifiable natural person is one who can be identified, directly or indirectly, in particular by reference to an identifier such as a name, an identification number, location data, an online identifier or to one or more factors specific to the physical, physiological, genetic, mental, economic, cultural or social identity of that natural person. (source)

Email Campaign Tracking Codes

Some tracking codes in the footer of a commercially sent email are easier to decipher than others. It's like geek speak for marketers. With these, and appropriate ecommerce tracking with Google Analytics 360, companies can see how much, if any, revenue is generated by campaigns. It's usually paired with the assumption of "last touch" revenue source, where the last marketing activity a customer takes before a purchase is how credit is applied to a specific inbound or outbound methodology, be it from SEO, email, a product page on a website, a direct mail catalog SKU number, etc.

Here is an example. This comes from the Starbucks Rewards program, and their tracking code is just below the body of the email and above the footer; though many organizations place this tracking code in the AMP Script (if using a Salesforce product) and some place this below the footer/disclaimer text.

The tracking code text reads: Ref: 21-15-ANO-1-0-0-EM-SR-NA-ALL

Loosely, this reference translates to: ?? - ?? - ?? - 1 - 0 - 0 - Email - Starbucks Rewards - North America - All

I thought that the first two digits were the year of the broadcast, but Starbucks Rewards emails from 2020 also have this 21-15 starter tag. And, it's not sequential to time-order. There are campaigns that ran in January 2020 with the starter tag of 21-14 and emails that were sent in October 2020 with the starter tag of 21-13. So, maybe a campaign type? 

The middle "1-0-0" I think a null code placeholder. Here is a tracking example from their "Starbucks for Life" rewards campaign: Ref: 21-13-SFL21-1-0-0-EM-SR-NA-US

The easiest way would be to just ask someone who works for Starbucks marketing. But this is more fun. These tracking codes aren't meant to be memorable; but they are a good way for marketers to attribute sales revenue and customer engagement through email-to-store or email-to-mobile-order sales.

In contrast, retail stores with ecommerce websites often use coupon codes as tracking codes that are static and can be used by anyone whether or not they are a rewards customer; and as such, the coupon code variations reflect a simple code (e.g., holiday20, welcome10).