May28
animated gifs, nhl, animated images, animated jpgs
NHL Network Scores Big With Animated JPGs
As a means to promote their Stanley Cup coverage between the Blackhawks and Flyers, the NHL Network sent this beaut, leveraging one of the best animated GIFs JPGs I’ve seen in a long time.
Check out the whole email here
The only flaw to incorporating an animated GIF JPG this compelling is it’s size. The image is a whopping 6.3 MB. It includes roughly 90+ frames and runs for a little over 15 seconds, so it’s no wonder the file is so large. This may have caused huge deliverability issues in the long run, but it really all depends on their reputation with the major ISPs. Considering NHL’s size and overall output when it comes to email marketing, I’m sure they’re in good standing with most of the major providers.
Another thing to consider are mobile users. This email has a link specifically for mobile users (merely a text version of the same email), but most smartphone users still receive HTML messages by default. Most of these users are likely using their provider’s network and not WiFi. When forwarded this to my iPhone, I viewed it using the 3G network with a good signal and it took a little over one minute for the image to start animating. Maybe if the NHL cut back on the image’s length and ultimately it’s file size (at the same time being just as eye-catching), it would’ve been more effective for your average smartphone user.
So, if animated images are appealing to you and your marketing campaign, there are a few programs that will easily turn any video into an animated image—ideal for email:
Find more information on video-to-image for email at Style Campaign’s blog.
Posted by Bryan Quilty on May. 28, 2010