SKYY Vodka:: A Double Take

I just started getting email marketing messages from SKYY Vodka. The messages look good. There are a few best practice elements and a legal requirement that are missing.

I almost always recommend a request to whitelist somewhere in the message. Our email messages have the request at the top. And I have read articles for and against this particular placement. It can take up valuable space above the fold, but it really depends on how your message is designed.

Another missing element I recommend is a view in a browser link. This could be a huge plus for these messages because the imagery is really, really nice. And if the images don't load, subscribers have missed out.

The missing legal requirement is the physical address. A simple addition, and while they probably won’t be prosecuted for it, it is a legal requirement according to the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003

These elements aside, one of the most fascinating features of the message I received yesterday was the header image.

I opened the message and commented to a co-worker about the stunning picture. I decided to forward him the message (There was no forward-to-a-friend link either, now that I think about it). I clicked on the forward button in my email client and the message appeared, with a different picture.



I forwarded it again and the original image I saw was there. It seems that the there is some sort of php randomizing code in the message that inserts one of four images. (We've seen four separate images playing around with it).



Am I really impressed with these emails. And maybe most people will only look at the message once and never know there are multiple images. But how many people like me return to the message, over and over? To see a different image and then spend time engaged with the brand trying to figure out how many images there are.

Brilliant!