Updated: 021924
FEATURED ANIMATED EMAIL
Whataburger Rewards A Free Burger for You is simple and straight to the appetite for app users who haven't visited in a while. This may be due to the Radar's (Radar helps Whataburger increase repeat orders with real-time pickup ETAs and arrival detection) geofencing capabilities with the Whataburger partnership – leveraging location-based data. Overall we feel the animated email takes the reader's time into account with the word "free" and the burger which enters stage-left. There is a button just below the fold whereby email recipients can "Redeem Now" for Curbside Pickup or Delivery which felt very welcoming.
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We take time each week to examine new animated email marketing messages from the top brands. We give our two cents about some and on a soapbox about others. Each email message has a measure of creative content that attempts to make our email inbox come alive. Just beyond the email subject line, marketers capture the readers' attention in micro-moments with cleverly designed animations.
Some of the best marketing consultants in the world use email animation to keep readers engaged and inspire consumers to take action – just long enough to sink memorable impressions about the brand. We add new animated email samples each from the leading brands.
At Oevae, we know that producing standout creative email animations and brand messages requires the marketing and design team to leap over hurdles and crank through headaches when time is slim, so it was fun to choose our favorite from these animated email marketing messages. Each brand has a different message and one just didn't make a lasting impression on our group of marketers. Our favorite: Bust Buy “Rock Your Resolutions” sparklers that twinkle delicately and naturally bring home the fun days of childhood. Take a look at the other email promotions: Best Buy, Dominos, PetSmart, Redbox, Papa Johns's, Pizza Hut #Hutlovers, Obama Organizing for Action, MOO, and more to come. Perhaps our growing list of email marketing messages will inspire you.
Refresh: IF the animated image is not animated, open the .gif image file in a new tab or refresh the browser to view the animated email graphics.
Jack n the Box JACKAPALOOZA remastered by Oevae.com a big surprise to our panel of email marketing experts – we remastered the party with a simple animation to make the party more appealing to the email reader. Not all email looks great animated, but we think even Jack would like to bob his head to this one! We see the Jack in the Box brand as a strong competitor among the most popular fast food restaurant chains, because of the brand's heritage and highly recognizable symbol for Americans on the road. Founded in San Diego, CA, it's no wonder for those moving to Texas with its nearly 600 Jack in the Box locations, the brand is a regular go-to for consumers on the move from California to a new home in Texas. For this reason, we feel animation gets the party moving and catch eyeballs. #JACKAPALOOZA
The first image is the remastered version by oevae.com
(remastered to animated email by oevae.com)
(original full email marketing graphics)
Google AI for Small Business Trends and it's very clear that AI (artificial intelligence) can help small businesses leverage data insights to find out what's trending in the world of search. This email is straight to the point and what we liked about the animation is the smoothness, and rhythm of the human breath, almost as one might when climbing a mountain, as depicted in the animated graphic. We also liked that the call-to-action button was high on the page. Ture to Google brand color pallet and multiple call-to-action buttons with a variety of statements almost tells a great short story, each starting with a welcoming tone "Discover," "Find," and "Learn," make this animated email our featured post for June.
New Year! New Nike Gear! Just do it with Fintech AfterPay can put a new pair of ground cushions on your feet in less time than you may have thought – buy now, pay later with Interest-free repayments. This may sound great, but call-to-action was so low on the page, none of us knew exactly what we were being asked to do, other than to "shop in the app" which we already know to do. Clearly this animated email is directed to those closer to 18-years-old (They feel as if they have reached the stage of full maturity, and They make their own decisions), which can be a valid point of interest for both older adults (shopping for self/gifts for friends or relatives). The colors found in the Nike shoes corollated with the Afterpay brand colors. We didn't find this to be the most exciting or memorable email promotion. However, the email Subject line was a nice play on words: New Year! New Nike Gear! as well as the phrase "Upgrade your rotation," which complimented the animated graphic.
No qualms about it, Peach & Lily's animated diversity will certainly connect with more people. In fact, on the date of this post (March 29, 2023) Google says there are "About 4,120,000,000 results" for the word "Diversity" – the practice or quality of including or involving people from a range of different social and ethnic backgrounds and of different genders, sexual orientations, etc.
The Peach & Lily email includes three women; African, European, and Asian. In less than 4 seconds the recipient will feel included when it comes to beauty. The animation is smooth, and compelling, and uses large images (subconscious influence) to connect with the reader, instantly build trust in the product, and one of the fastest ways to inject positivity into the email messaging – right in the face. Overall our group found the email to be very attractive and easily embraced the message with powerful imagery, especially when referring to the color of human skin.
Hey, say hello to two convenient Zelle® features animated mobile phone shows us how to sync contacts – helping you send and receive money with people you know and trust.
Chase and Zelle help you settle up with friends, at least that's what the email's primary content says with the quickness, but most of us in the group felt that the email animation should repeat a few times. However, the simple two-step illustrations may help reinforce the animations of the mobile phone. Big Banks like Chase are adjusting to Digital Banking, disrupting traditional banking to the extent that fintech companies now have tens of millions of users.
"One of the ways that big banks stepped up and faced the competition from Venmo, Cash App, PayPal, and others, was by introducing Zelle, an instant payments service." – Top Mobile Banks
Linkedin, you're on a streak animated email is intended to help users "keep the momentum" by sharing with your network and building a following. The email is short and to the point, however, we have conflicting feedback. One of our panel members says the email "would encourage them to "Start a post" while the non-technocratic member of our marketing team said the email nor the animation would not prompt them to share. The graphics seem to be low-caliber considering Linkedin site revenue surpassed $10.0 billion in Q4 2021 according to Earthweb.com. Overall our marketing group felt the email lacked oomph.
Get more out of Instagram's animated email chat log connecting with your friends has never been easier – At first glance, the email seems to be very simple and to the point (a chat conversation between two people), which reinforces the email Subject Line immensely. Most of us in the group even overlooked the call-to-action (Open Instagram) button. The photography used evokes a passion for adventure, while the colors in each image protrude a homey and relaxed vibe. Overall most of our group found the Instagram animated email quick, and easy to understand with a dash of intrigue.
GoApe Zip Line is sure to raise your heart rate and this animated zip line looks like the prerequisite for fun. The graphics are large and makes the email a virtual experience. The GoApe Promo Code and copy are simple to comprehend which reinforces a "speed" and the tagline "The Weather You've Been Waiting For!" aka anticipation.
Yelp for business "Let's get back to business" animated business owners follow the brand colors and character. The animated graphics show diversity in ethnicity, industry, and gender. The Get $300 credit offer seemed like an attempt to counter Google Adwords promotions. Overall the email was short, simple, informative, and easy to comprehend.
AirDogs #BatteryPowered Animated Fan taking a page from the book of TESLA to Bring on the Battery-Powered Breeze with a portable, space-saving folding fan. The simple and smooth animated fan is an instant eye-catcher when you open your email. We found the graphics to be simple, yet very compelling. The AirDogs fan is actually a lot bigger (11.65 " x 11.65" x 6.5" when folded) than it appears which raised a small amount of concern for a few of our email examiners.
CreditOne Bank animated money falling from the sky is something most anyone would welcome which helps this email trigger anticipation, which could lead to a "unique click" and a sign-in to view Cashback Rewards. Everyone reviewing this email felt that using real money would have added more authenticity and anticipation, rather than the illustrated bills – lending more emphasis to the tagline "Browse, Boost & Earn Big".
The SABRE Awards North America used an animated trophy to promote the 2020 event. The invitation is simple and to the point with its animated trophy. A few of our email examiners would like to have seen smiling faces (past event photos). None were convinced that the animation or overall email reinforced the excitement of SABRE (The world's biggest PR awards programme, dedicated to benchmarking the best PR work from across the globe.). Because PRovoke Media is the PR industry's leading source of news, trends, events, career information & intelligence, our group felt the email did not measure up to its credentials.
Spectrum Internet® brings a tiny animated butterfly to the "See MY Deals" button. The flowers obviously align well with the butterfly, however, it is an immediate clash with anything "high speed" as most prefer the Internet. The animation is very smooth and the natural (organic) movements make the butterfly life-like. Overall most email examiners found the email to be cute but not compelling enough to generate a "unique click" or strong engagement.
Saks 5TH Avenue animated models wearing styles for working out and hanging out was a bit misleading with all buttons stating "MEN'S" and having both male and female in rotation. We felt more options and ethnic diversity would have made the email more appealing. The time of year (April) the email was sent seems to fall in line with the apparel choices, however, most email examiners felt the "Get Active" markup would be a better fit for the "New Year Resolution" crowd.
The Google My Business app, animated smartphone using Google Maps is very compelling and simple, and easy to comprehend. As normal with Google, the email branding aligns well with the brand's primary colors and illustrations. The email content and graphics offer the viewer a step-by-step use of the new Google Business Profile for small business owners that is simple, smooth, friendly, and has fantastically fun UX.
Twitter Inc.'s "Stand out with a profile photo." animated Twitter profile seemed a little generic. A majority of our email examiners felt that the images should be actual user photos rather than cartoon emoji style. According to Twitter, having a profile photo will help you get more followers.
Cotton Patch Cafe's animated dinner plate looks like it comes with at least two options according to this Cotton Patch Cafe email promo. Our group felt that more options could have been added for variety and appeal to more viewers. The graphics and animation speed is great for attracting the reader's eye as soon as the email is opened. Most agreed that the photography of the food makes it look fresh and appealing.
The New York Times limited offer features an animated plant. The email promo is subtle and calm, graphics depict someone reading the newspaper and watering the plant simultaneously. Overall this email must be targeting calm and reserved individuals. Nothing to write home about or particularly memorable said our email examination panel.
Groupon dashes in with a fast and furious styled animated message telling you how you could win $100,000 when you take the Groupon survey. None of our email examiners felt the "curse word" replacement text "#@$%ing" was necessary or added to the overall impact. Nor did they see a connection between the visual (eating pizza) and winning $100,000. The overall thoughts were that the animation heavily outweighed the visual impact.
D Magazine "Subscribe and Get This Issue for FREE” | Animated Magazine is how you get more people to subscribe to your magazine. Offer readers a free issue if they subscribe for 12 months, and allow them to sneak a peek inside the free issue. That's what D Magazine did in this animated email that features a magazine with animated pages (3) turning. The animation reminded our group of standing in line at the grocery store checkout, flipping through the magazine. The best thing here is there's no lower back issue picking up the "blow-ins" (those little subscription cards that fall out of magazines and promise you this, that, or the other). Overall we found the email to be a bit wordy and the primary suggestion would be to place the "Subscribe Now" button higher in the content.
Tata Harper "Goodbye Summer Hello Fall Beauty Event” | Animated cosmetic bag is made up of only 10 frames which immediately catch your eye with the sparkling glitter of the cosmetic bag (vegan leather Jet Set beauty bag). Our creative director commented on the natural flow and movement of the twirling makeup products that climb into the bag before it is zipped closed, like a scene from an old Walt Disney cartoon. Tata Harper says these products will "Meet your defense against drying plane air and red-eye flights" with this "glammed-up skincare bag" during your travels. We all thought the email campaign was memorable and gives email contacts a great impression of the Tata Harper brand.
Amazon Prime "PrimeDay” | Animated Flying Origami Airplane is made up of only 96 frames. Amazon's PrimeDay is a two-day event where you will see deals and offers on a number of electronics. Our best guess is, that Amazon Air will be delivering the packages across the United States based on the animated airplane with a trailing banner (Aerial advertising is a form of advertising since the early 1920s) – one of the first uses of marketing with advertising which allow large numbers of people and potential customer to view an ad at one time. The animation has a higher number of frames (96) which allow for a smooth or "epic" flight around the globe. Our design team agreed that the paper (Origami) represents the shipping/packaging of the products. Overall, we do like the subliminal aspects of Amazon's animated email marketing campaign.
MOO "Chop that melon!” | Animated Watermelon Karate Chop is made up of only 6 frames. Moo email marketing campaigns offer some of our creative design team's favorite animated email marketing graphics to critique. Like many we've already seen, here's another creative approach to "slashing prices" or offering discounts, "cutting prices" or in this case "chop that melon" with a Karate chop. We found the graphics to be not only funny but also an incredibly clever use/play on words. Very simple and effective use of a popular prop tool to hold the watermelon – Iyengar's famous yoga blocks, obviously giving the natural support necessary for the best chop asana.
Spectrum Mobile "Stay Connected” | Animated Text Message is made up of only 6 frames. Read over the shoulder of two moms with their babies using the Spectrum Mobile Unlimited Data Plan. This is a cute and cozy way to tell a short story most anyone can picture. The animated text is a bit faster than a real-time conversation, however, as a viewer your eyes are instantly drawn to the conversation as if you are the fly on the wall. Although the email in its entirety seems a bit heavy on content, the message may be lacking more punch. If you don't read the text message (ignore as bogus and rarely use text messaging) you will miss the part about "No contracts or hidden fees." Overall this is a simple and unique way to get across the "Stay Connected" message.
Groupon “Groupon Select” | Animated Groupon Bucks is made up of 79 frames. Not a lot of pizzaz here but it does stress more than one Buck with the animated graphic fanning the four bucks. The Groupon Bucks (bills/currency) has the number five in each corner and the ad says you get $20 Groupon Bucks After Sign Up! If you're looking to get people to move, offering money can be a great incentive for email recipients' impulsiveness. Groupon's Fanning Money animated GIF could be a great way to help replace a portion of your customer base that some businesses lose annually. Offers to stimulate repeat purchases from existing customers and attract a new set of loyal customers which is highly beneficial for growing your business.
Our Daily Bread “Devotional” | Animated Video is made up of 60 frames. This is a unique way to grab the viewer's attention. A snippet of the video loops and the animated graphics include a "play" icon which can possibly lead to a higher email click-through rate and ultimately take email recipients on the buying journey. This is a very clever animated graphic because large .gif files used for animation can grow in file size rather quickly. The graphic artist in this case reduced the dimensions of the video animation graphic which keeps the .gif file size low.
CarMax “4 Year Anniversary” | Animated Car Illustration is made up of 110 frames that scroll across the page. The email uses animated music notes over one of the cars to emphasize the anniversary, which is reinforced by the text which reads "That's a lot of dashboard drumming. Go ahead turn it up." A simple email reminder from CarMax adds value to the company's push to say we care about you (our customer) in a fun manner.
Google “Local Guides” | Animated Mobile Phone is made up of 165 frames that make this small promo really pop. The graphics show you exactly what you can do as a Local Guide and don't take a lot of time doing so. Our marketing team suggested that the "Start Contributing" button should be above the fold to increase conversions. The colors are well-balanced. The use of orange could not be any better – energy associated with red and the happiness associated with yellow. Overall the grade was a B+ for this animated email promo.
Vimeo “Meet Vimeo Business” | Animated Video Marketing Tools The Vimeo Newsletter had nice icons for the different business solutions but really doesn't express "video" in any manner. Our creative team suggested that alternating background colors could have been more aligned with the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers #SMPTE color bars – a television test pattern used where the National Television System Committee #NTSC video standard is utilized – often seen at The End of a television stations' broadcasting day. The overall grade for the animation is a D.
GoDaddy “World Gratitude Day!” | Animated Gift Simple, smooth animation with call to action (Shop Now) button at top center. The use of the strongest color (yellow), psychologically – could lift spirits and self-esteem. The use of a soothing color (blue) adds trust and peace to the animation. Overall we thought this animation was self-explanatory and received a C+ for speed.
Rhapsody “Give the Gift of Music” | Animated Mother's Day Heart The small red heart is bouncing around the image like the 1972 Pong game – a two-dimensional sports game that simulates table tennis. Atari engineer Allan Alcorn designed and built Pong as a training exercise. We could not make the connection between Pong and Mother's Day and Music, so please comment if you have a clue? Perhaps we're supposed to ask mom? Our marketing gurus commented that using such a tiny heart fails to express a great deal of love for mom. Therefore, this email animation received a D- from a creative standpoint.
Overnight Prints “Want to Get Lucky?” | Animated Pot of Gold Great idea that our marketing team felt lacked oomph. The gold coins in the iron pot could use more sparkle and the rainbow and the four-leaf clovers are barely visible. Overall, the members of the graphics team said this was designed by someone tardy for the party.
General Assembly “Where Will You Land?” | Animated Spin Wheel Simple and very catchy promotion for those who want to learn how to code HTML, CSS & Web Design Circut. After a while, our marketing team thought this cute and probably a very quick idea that could be changed on the fly to stop on specific topics related to the different email campaigns. We also suggest the use of the company "General Assembly" or "GA" be more prominent throughout the email.
Best Buy “Rock Your Resolutions” | Animated Sparklers Email Promotion If this isn’t the yacht club or cool kids all grown up, we missed the message. Best Buy wants to “help make it fun to keep your New Year’s resolutions.” Twinkling sparklers light up the mood with a childhood favorite and bottle service must.
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| Best Buy "Rock Your Resolutions" | Animated Sparklers Email Promotion |
Obama “Organizing for Action” | Animated Shot Clock Count Down instantly deals the reader a sense of urgency with big bold red numbers and sporty shot clock countdown. The caption reads, “The clock is winding down.” Normal Obama logo brand colors are replaced with solid black images. The animated graphics end with a "sad face" when the clock stops. The overall tone is simple and direct in your face. You have a decision to make. 15 seconds can save you up to 10% at GEICO, but this promotion asks you to chip in now and not wait until the last second.
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| Obama “Organizing for Action” | Animated Shot Clock Count Down – Refresh web browser to see count down animation – |
MOO “Happy Holidays” | Animated Snowflakes turns up the drama with the upside-down pineapple. Who would imagine that the top of the pineapple would frost the tips during the winter holidays? MOO did. They ask the reader to look at two extremes and make friends with new worlds and possibilities using familiar images. The first stop, MOO “Hopes yours is full of the unexpected delights!” In retrospect, one from our group remembered his mother always cooking Pineapple Upside Down cake during the holiday season. The tone is very simple and charming.
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| MOO “Happy Holidays” | Animated Snowflakes |
Redbox | Minions, King Bob, Animated Mic Drop funny in the theater as well as the email. This clever design will draw the viewer into the email content for a longer period of time (more micro-moments). The animation appears to be video but it's an animated .gif file format that is low in file size, which is paramount when it comes to email and saving precious loading time.
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Papa John's | Papa John, Pizza Maker, Founder Animated Signature looks pretty snappy when you first open your email. A nice quick and easy way to personalize the Papa John's brand with a very organic "natural ingredient" at the essence of the overall tone.
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Dominos | DXP Delivery Vehicle Built-in Warming Oven way to go Dominos. and I can’t believe I can go for a ride in the DXP, Dominos new wheels. The very simple animated warming oven door opens and closes in what could be an infinite loop as the count superseded our willingness to count past 10 as we all had other emails to read and no time to kill counting. It would have been nice to see a bird fly to bring it home. Overall the email made the point - Dominos appears to be ahead of the curve. We caught up with the original Domino's DXP (Delivery Expert) The Chevrolet Spark EV Delivery Vehicle on the road.
Petsmart | Ever had Deja Groundhog Day | Happy Groundhog day again Coupon is simple, cute, quick, and to the point. The timing would have to be right for this one. The little groundhog bats its eyes while the clouds drift in the light blue sky. If you want $5 off a $10 purchase - get a coupon. We thought 50% off would cause a larger head-jerk and be more favorable than asking the reader to do the math. Overall the animated email promotion was a win.
HOW Design Magazine | Double Loop Roller Coaster has spunk, even though it's really tiny. It takes 5 trips around the double-loop coaster. The coaster actually hops off the track and it's so funny - this is a Coster with attitude. Would have liked to see this in full color. There are 6 flags waving in the wind which makes the whole experience fun and worth watching or sharing. No doubt the creators know how to get your attention.
Pizza Hut #HUTLOVERS | Animated Fireworks and count down to more pizza was our least favorite. We thought that Pizza Hut missed the mark. Steam could have been rising from a warm soft crust while slices started to vanish. The hungry consumer counts down the number of pizza slices by the number of people who return to the box for more. The overall tone is elementary in design and a bit on the annoying side for most in our group. We all agreed that if it's cheap pizza the reader is wanting, Pizza Hut dropped the mic!
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| Pizza Hut #HUTLOVERS | Animated Fireworks |
Cond̩ Nast | All Magazines Flash Sale Animated Email is subtle and classy. We thought the animation could be a bit smoother; the image size is larger so they may have wanted to keep the file size low to keep image loading time to a minimum. One difference with this email is the entire email is an image Рno text links.
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