Branding in the Inbox
Evaluating & Elevating Email Campaigns
Email remains the powerhouse of digital marketing, offering an unmatched return on investment—36 dollars for every one dollar spent. Yet with more than 376 billion emails sent daily, the challenge isn’t just reaching the inbox but standing out once you’re there. The answer to that lies in branding.
For marketers and CMOs, your email templates and campaigns are more than just communication tools; they are a direct extension of your brand identity. But is your brand coming through as powerfully as it should? If it’s falling short, how can you tell and how do you fix it?
Read on to learn how to identify where your email may fall short, and the actionable steps you can take to stand out in your subscriber’s inbox.
Why Branding in Email Matters
In a world of crowded inboxes and generic templates, branding is not a novelty. Your audience is inundated with messages every day, and only those with strong, consistent branding are recognized and trusted. In fact, a significant majority of small and medium-sized businesses rely on email as their primary channel for customer acquisition, and nearly half of consumers are more likely to open emails from brands that consistently send relevant messages.
While we love the channel cross-over strength of social media channels, email is still better suited to building your brand reputation. In social, messages compete for attention in a crowded feed, but the inbox is a space you control. When a subscriber opens an email on their device, they engage directly with the brand, free from distractions. This is why clear and consistent branding in emails is essential for building trust, driving engagement, and ensuring your messages get noticed. Email is the only space where an organization can build a one-to-one connection with subscribers, and the stronger the brand, the more personal that connection becomes.
Try the “Cover the Logo” Test
One simple way to assess your email branding is to ask: If the logo wasn’t visible in the email, would your audience still know it’s from you?
Consider the example of Starbucks’ iconic red cup or Apple’s minimalist design. Their emails are instantly recognizable, even without a visible logo. These companies set the gold standard for email branding, and can help you understand and identify the strength of your brand in your own campaigns.
Evaluate campaigns by asking if your color palettes, imagery, voice and tone are consistent with your brand. Review your other digital media and determine if your email feels like a natural extension of your website, social media, and other brand touchpoints. Run some blind tests and find out if a subscriber would recognize your brand at a glance, even when your logo was hidden. If not, it may be time to revisit your program.
Core Strategies for Better Email Branding
To achieve strong branding in your emails, start by developing email-specific brand guidelines. While most organizations have general brand standards, email deserves its own set. Your guidelines should detail how your logo is used, specify your color palette (including exact hex values), define your typography (make sure it is email- and accessibility-friendly), and describe the style of imagery you use. Next, dictate language guidelines. Your voice, tone, greetings, and calls to action should all be clearly articulated and consistent across campaigns.
Templates are what professionals depend on to maintain consistency and efficiency with every campaign. A well-designed template should use the organization’s brand colors and fonts, feature clear and visually striking calls to action, and be mobile-friendly. It’s also essential that the templates render well across all devices and email clients, including dark mode, and meet accessibility standards such as alt text for images, appropriate color contrast, and readable fonts.
Top marketing professionals recognize that messaging and tone should never be an afterthought in digital channels, and email is no exception. The voice of marketing emails should match the brand everywhere else, from website to social media. Calls to action should be consistent; avoid switching between phrases like “Book Now,” “Schedule a Consultation,” and “Get Started” unless there’s a strategic reason.
Personalization and segmentation are one of the most critical determinations of success in email marketing. Reference past interactions, purchases, or supported causes to make your emails feel like a one-to-one conversation, increasing both relevance and engagement. In the end, personalization alongside brand are the factors that help subscribers feel connected to the brand in their inbox.
Action Plan: Audit, Assign, and Improve
When you’re ready to take action, begin by auditing your current emails. Review your recent campaigns and automations, looking for inconsistencies in visuals, messaging, and calls to action. Compare these emails to your brand guidelines and identify any gaps. This process will help you spot where your branding may have broken down and where improvements are needed.
Next, assign ownership of your email branding. Designate a team member or agency partner to be responsible for brand consistency in email. It’s important that the person in charge of your brand standards is aligned with those executing your email campaigns, ensuring everyone is working from the same playbook.
Now it’s time to focus on quick wins. Create or update your email brand guidelines, and refresh your templates to align with these standards. Develop a checklist for every send, covering elements like hero images, calls to action, tone, and footer information. Make sure your entire email team is trained on the new standards and templates so that everyone is on the same page. Take your time and make sure they all understand the importance of consistency in their work.
As an agency, we know that regular testing and iteration are essential for ongoing improvement, and we do this for all of our clients. We recommend you conduct A/B tests on elements such as button color, imagery, and messaging to see what resonates best with your audience, and retest it every time there is a brand update or when you see results change in your campaigns. Don’t hesitate to survey your most engaged subscribers for feedback, as well. You can learn more in one conversation than a battery of tests.
Finally, schedule periodic audits to ensure that your branding remains consistent and effective as your organization evolves. Whether you do it internally or bring in outside help for perspective, auditing is essential to staying up to date with your brand changes, email best practices and industry trends.
Pro Tips for Marketers & CMOs
Worried about your template design? When it comes to design, remember that simplicity is preferable to a broken or unreadable email. If you’re worried about complex layouts and how they will affect usability, accessibility or internal use, opt for a simple design that is on-brand and easy to read everywhere.
We also recommend that all email marketers test every campaign before sending. Using your ESP, industry tools or agency support to preview campaigns across all major clients and modes ensures quality every time. You can’t take back an email once it is sent, so an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
Elevate Your Email Branding
A strong brand presence in the inbox isn’t just about aesthetics—it’s about building trust, driving engagement, and achieving results. If you’re ready to audit your email program or need help refining your templates and strategy, 108 Degrees Digital Marketing is ready to help.
Make your brand unforgettable in the inbox. Start your email brand audit today—or let us do it for you!
