Email Marketing Strategy & Tactics
[SARCASM ALERT!] First, let me state for the record that I am a staunch supporter of walking in the rain; so I in no way condone GrubHub’s anti-moisture message of “Stay Dry”. I feel it’s irresponsible messages like this that keep children from splashing in puddles and infringes on my right to drive and spray unsuspecting pedestrians and bikers with a wall of water. It’s the little things that bring me joy.
Now let me step down off my soapbox and tell you why this email from GrubHub is this month’s Best Creative Ever!
Last month the Austin area had a run of rainy days that wreaked havoc on many neighborhoods and cities; which made it difficult for many people to get around town. The morning the storms were predicted to hit I received this email from GrubHub, which immediately grabbed my attention. GrubHub is a delivery service that will pick up and deliver food directly to your front door from local restaurants in your neighborhood or city.
As email experts, we all strive to send timely, relevant content to our subscribers and GrubHub nailed it. Typically, I am not in favor of sending one large image as the main content of your email message but in this case using the animated GIF file works. Knowing many people are not going to want to go out and brave the storms to grab some lunch or dinner, GrubHub sent their subscribers truly relevant content at the perfect time. Their simple message of basically “don’t go out and get soaked, let us bring the food to you” is probably music to thousands of Austinites ears… and we know music.
From a technical and layout perspective, the large image/gif with large headline, simple clean button and straightforward message is a great example of not overthinking an email message all while having some fun. I love the use of the animated rain background image. It invokes an immediate reaction and puts the reader in the state of mind where they have to weigh the risks of going out or not.
For their layout, the large image and headline scale down nicely on a mobile screen making the message easy to read and see, without having to scroll which is a huge plus.
Overall, their message and timing was spot on and that in the email world is a recipe for success. For GrubHub’s sake, as well as for the Austin area, I hope we see many more rainy days ahead. But for now we celebrate GrubHub on their well-executed, well-timed email message.
Did you miss last month’s Best Email Ever! Check it out the entire series here.
Corey Duncan
Corey serves as PostUp’s Interactive Creative Director, where he manages and designs all creative development for the Professional Services department. He is responsible for designing, implementing and tracking everything from email, web banners, websites, social media and SMS while adhering to digital marketing best practices.