September 2008 Archives

From: Bloomingdale's
Subject Line: Rock With Motorcycle Boots + Free Shipping.
Date: September 20, 2008

From: Piperlime
Subject Line: Rock out! Biker boots and bags are in.
Date: September 30, 2008

Trend alert! Looks like all you rocker chicks and wannabe biker babes can rejoice in this season's biggest trend. Within a little over a week, I received these two emails from Piperlime and Bloomingdale's. I think Bloomingdale's showed a killer breadth of assortment, but Piperlime nailed the copy and showed off the handbags to complete your look. They also had a strong secondary shoe message for the shoe gal who's a little more Mad Men vs. Rock of Love. Bloomingdale's, on the other hand, went with Children's Clothing as their secondary. Hmmmm. Seems like a missed opportunity there. It's a tough call, but I think I'm going to have to go with Piperlime for overall execution. Rock on.

From: Anthropologie
Subject Line: Dust off the dog-ears.
Date: September 29, 2008

With an inbox that boasts 571 unopened emails, I think it's safe to say that I probably subscribe to more emails than the Average Joe or Jane. So when a subject line truly stands out from the hundreds I get each week from retailers, airlines, credit cards, non-profits and others, well, I think that's an accomplishment worth mentioning. Right out of the gate, this week's honors go to Anthropologie for their subtle invitation to revisit their fall catalog. Dust off the dog-ears. is one of the most creative subject lines I've seen in a good month. I loved the SL so much that I was actually a little nervous that maybe the email wouldn't deliver on such cleverness. But it definitely did. It featured torn pages out of the fall catalog with even a dog-ear on one (talk about detailed!) and the copy simply stated: Isn't it time to revisit your favorites?. Yes, Anthropologie. I think it is.

We are excited to announce that we are OMMA Award-Winners! Our REI Member Mail Series has won the OMMA Award in the Email Campaign Category. Thanks for your votes-we're honored! REI's new Member Mail campaign is a series of messages sent to new REI co-op members, highlighting benefits of membership and linking to content that illustrates REI's commitment to its members, communities, and the outdoors. Each mail covers a single topic, keeping the focus tight, the message brief and the look inspirational. Each email contains something different, from videos and photo galleries to coupons and member reviews. Props to the REI email team, too! This crew is sharp, on-brand and fun to work with.

From: Starbucks.com
Subject Line: Starbucks has nutritious ways to start your day
Date: Monday, September 15, 2008

I like that Starbucks used a letter format to notify rewards members of their new breakfast options; it lends a sense of importance to the content and a delivers a feeling of personal communication to the recipient. I was, however, somewhat disappointed when I didn't see Howard Schultz's name and signature at the bottom of the message. I've enjoyed reading articles about his intense turnaround efforts, and - as a Seattleite - I like listening to Howard anecdotes from baristas around town.

I personally was pleased to see the new food items last week; some of the previous options had looked - well - not so nutritious ;)...

From: Apple
Subject Line: The new iPod touch. Game on.
Date: Thursday, September 11, 2008

Normally, I love just about everything Apple sends me, but this email left me speechless and a little disappointed. What did it to me? The headline: iPod Touch. The funnest iPod ever. Really? With all the creative genius coming out of Apple, that's the only word they could come up with? Funnest!?! I get that language evolves and that non-words become words over time simply because we use them in our everyday conversations. I also totally get that in today's TXT world, it's cool to ditch the grammar we learned in school and go straight for the slang. But, funnest? IMHO, the writer could have at least tried to make it relevant by using the word fun as a comparison. So maybe other iPods are fun, but iPod Touch is the funnest. I could have played along with that, but this just missed the mark for me. On another note, the subject line totally reeled me in with The new iPod touch. Game on., and the body copy did its job by supporting the SL with The new, ultrathin iPod touch was born to play. Tilt, tap, shake, and swipe your way through stunning 3D games and applications. It's just that headline. Sorry, Apple. I still love you, though. Write soon.

From: Boden
Subject Line: Absolutely last chance for the tastiest discount at Boden
Date: Thursday, September 11, 2008
See the email >

I absolutely adore this email from Boden. The headline is catchy and so is the imagery! Boden is very good at differentiating their sale emails from the rest of the retail pack. I see way too many sale messages that are simply colored text on a plain colored background. I always appreciate a good message that is different from the norm and makes me smile and Boden's emails almost always make me do that :) Keep up the refreshing emails Boden!

From: Sephora
Subject Line: Rate. Review. Win!
Date: Thursday, September 11, 2008
See the email >

Some of you might have already seen my EEC blog post about Customer Reviews. I'm psyched to see Sephora doing such a great job kicking off their Customer Review effort.

Deep thoughts:
(1) I love that they've branded Customer Reviews "kiss and tell." This is a cute way to make the feature feel special to Sephora.
(2) I'm laughing that they chose Dior DiorShow Mascara as the featured product, as I've been seeing it promoted everywhere lately and was just thinking this morning, as I applied my Chanel Inimitable Multi-Dimentionnel, that I needed the Dior. I like the Chanel, but for some reason I seem to poke myself in the eye with the wand much more than any other mascara I've had before. Or maybe I'm just not getting enough sleep and my motor skills are suffering because of it.
(3) It's smart that they incentivized review creation with contest entry.
(4) It's even SMARTER that they actually fed a product I recently bought into the mail. Yay for dynamic content! I'm not sure that Gift Certificates merit review, but who really cares? I'm happy enough to see Sephora bringing relevant, personalized elements into their email.
(5) I appreciate that - because the primary message won't drive many dollars - they included two sure-thing secondary messages in this mail: Free Ship and Best Sellers.

OK, last thing: I heard that Sephora employees are only allowed to wear red, black or white on-site, and that if they want to park their cars in the company lot, they must have either a red, black or white car. Is this actually true :)!? Friends at Sephora, I am curious! Do tell!

Happy Weekend!

From: Ann Taylor
Subject Line: Celebrations: New Dresses Have Arrived!
Date:Wednesday, August 20, 2008

I can't explain why, but this email was like finding out that I've been cheated on for sure by somebody that I've been so loyal to. My friends have been telling me for years that Ann Taylor was "not good enough" for me... that the quality is lacking, etc. But I was like, "Ann Taylor has gotten me through so much: I have worn Ann Taylor suits to my Fancy Restaurant job for years and felt so classy." When I saw this, like a ton of bricks hitting me, I realized what they meant. Part of me feels like I'm being mean writing this, but this blatant sell-out to the Bridesmaid crowd seems just wrong and totally cheap. Look closely at the hems of the dresses - they're coming apart!

From: Saks Fifth Avenue
Subject Line: WANT IT! Fall Trends are Here!
Date: Monday, September 8, 2008

I can't stop staring at this Email! (And it's not for a good reason.) The giant Call to Action or Recovery Module or whatever it is right there in the middle of it is really bothering me. Maybe it's me... but it seems like it's just trying too hard and comes off too obvious. For the record, I know my budgetary limits, and Saks isn't in there, but I don't ever feel even tempted to click thru. When I get Nieman's or Barney's email I have the Wistful Thoughts: some day... :)

From: Old Navy
Subject Line: The 40% Off Baby Sale, Plus a Special Deal for Adults
Date: Friday, September 5, 2008

I had to blog on this just because I thought the picture was so stinkin' cute!! How in the world did they get that little boy to pose like that?!

From: Horchow
Subject Line: NEW Transitional Classics - a fresh twist on traditional...
Date: Friday, August 29, 2008

I know that Horchow updated their email design awhile ago but I haven't seen any blogs about it so I thought I would post one! With this email in particular I am really impressed by their redesign. The navigation is a lot cleaner and looks more high-end, same with their updated color palette. I think that they could possibly find a better use for the real estate next to their logo, like special offers for example. However, it is a good start with sticking the "forward to a friend" link there for now :) This particular email flows really well together with the clean design. I think that the imagery is beautiful and the way that they treated the type is creative. Overall I am a big fan of this email. Now if only they could use a little html text for those subscribers that have images disabled... :)

This post is a follow-up to my Anthropologie Sign-Up Mix-Up post at the beginning of August. I posted that particular blog on August 8th and a little over a week later I received a package from Anthropologie in the mail. I didn't remember ordering anything offline so I was a little perplexed. I opened up the package and much to my surprise, inside there was a very nice note and a gift card apologizing for the sign-up mix-up with their email newsletter. Now that is customer service people! :)

For those that are curious, here's what I bought: Satu Eau De Parfum. Smells delicious! Thanks Allison!