Actionable Marketing Advice

A great dynamic email template example

London 2012 template shows Enewsletters don’t have to be boring

While this email template didn’t entertain me as much as Danny Boyle’s opening ceremony I thought I’d share it as an example of “state-of-the-art” email marketing.

It shows all these features well:

  • Dynamic content insertion for relevant events/images for days based on location
  • Multi-column design style
  • Accessibility and mobile support through text version
  • Simple social media integration

It also ticks many of the boxes in a previous post giving other Enewsletter examples and a 24 point creative checklist. 

Maybe something to show your agency when you’re next briefing them – it shows a style that could work for both B2C and B2B email templates.

I’m not sure who’s behind it, but I was discussing it with Tim Watson and he though from eDialog. Not sure how. Tim?

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  • http://twitter.com/tawatson Tim Watson

    This email is a great example of a balance of content, its got it all…
    - What happened
    - What’s on next
    - Audio content links
    - Mobile App promotion
    - Merchandise promotion
    - Tickets promotion
    - One click competition (cut off on the screen grab in the post)

    So plenty of good engagement content with some sales offers throughout. The promotional content is mixed in with the informational content to ensure it gets seen.

    BTW to find the ESP I looked at the headers of the email to determine. These are hidden by all email clients but normally accessible from menu options. In Outlook, open the message, pick the File tab, click properties button and then read the Internet Headers text – its all in techie speak so not easy without experience.

    • http://www.smartinsights.com/ Dave Chaffey

      Thanks Tim for calling out these additional features of this template.
      And the hack for finding out who developed it.

      Kudos to the eDialog designers.

      • Dave

        Hacking is bad.

        • http://www.smartinsights.com/ Dave Chaffey

          Hacking maybe bad but hacks aren’t – don’t you know the O’Reilly “Hacks” series.

  • James Doman

    The email is also responsive, appearing as a single column on mobile phones! Check it out on an iPhone for a neat, single column email with all the same content.

  • Claire Bending

    What an engaging email! Really proves that best practice doesn’t need to be boring. Also shows how a pre-header can work hard and be hugely relevant with a bit of simple personalisation.

  • Terry M

    This template was designed by Elliot Ross during his time at e-Dialog. He now has his own consultancy called Action Rocket.

    • http://www.elliot-ross.co.uk/ Elliot Ross

      hey Terry – thanks for the shout – I was only briefly involved in the games time stuff as it was right at the end of my time at eD – the credit for these goes to the UK eD creative team, and the London 2012 email team (who AFAIK are both working pretty much 24 hours on these), good work guys!

    • http://www.smartinsights.com/ Dave Chaffey

      Thanks for the info guys, all the best for your consulting Elliot. Anyone browsing the comments looking for more email inspiration should check Elliot’s Email Design Review blog: http://www.emaildesignreview.com.

  • Dave

    I find it hilarious how the logo was criticised as rubbish and that their niece could design something better using crayons, and later there was that massive racism accusation by the national Olympic committee of the Islamic republic for using the word ‘Zion’ for the logo design. This email was based off the logo as the source of inspiration for the main email template design itself, and it is immediately picked up as a fine example of engrossing email templating.

    Regarding your bullet points:

    - Multi-column design style
    It’s an email, it will be multi-columned to organise that much information. In fact, maybe because I am right handed that I much prefer the right column with it’s ‘glimpse of current action’ modules to be on the left as I am not used to reading the main article on the left. I keep shifting my eyes between the columns in a confused flurry. The main focal point for me is the red London 2012 shop module on the right, and not the main image. Maybe that is what they were going for, who knows.

    - Accessibility and mobile support through text version
    We’re going to have to take your word on this because the only example provided in the HTML version.

    - Simple social media integration
    Simple is true, there are only 3 options. Where’s digg? I like choice and variety.

    • http://www.smartinsights.com/ Dave Chaffey

      Ha – I’d forgotten the logo controversy – just enjoying the games now – thanks for raising that – and your comments.
      A lot of email designers can’t be bothered/don’t have the budget to go for multicolumn – or at least not like this here panels vary from 1 to 3 column, so that’s why I called out this.
      Enjoy the games!

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