Email Watch: Happy New Year!

Posted on by Beth Negus Viveiros

landsend-dog.jpgDid marketers ring in the new year in your email inbox? A few staggered through mine after the clock struck 12, with varying results.

The honor of the first email crossing my inbox in 2012—on January 1 at 12:01 a.m. no less—was local restaurant chain The Halfway Cafe. While the design and subject line was pretty much standard for them (a rundown of their "seven items for $7" for January and February), care definitely went into choosing menu options that tapped into the comfort food loving child in all of us such as a grilled cheese, American Chop Suey, hotdogs & beans, a turkey dinner. The "content" was filling, to say the least.

A few hours later, Best Buy opted to share a brief (35 second) video greeting from their CEO, simply thanking recipients for shopping with them in 2011 and promising continued good service and offerings in 2012. The lack of sales pitch was nice, especially given that some folks who opened it in the middle of the night might have had one too many and be prone to the shopping equivalent of online shopping drunk dialing. ("Huh? What? I bought a 72-inch flatscreen last night? Uh-oh.") Of course, they did follow up with an outlet center sale email about seven hours later, but hopefully everyone had sobered up by then.

Lands' End also sent out a "thank you" email, with a cute shot of dogs smooching under the mistletoe. Their wishes for good cheer in the new year also included a link to their winter sale, solely out of the goodness of their hearts. After all, January is cold and we all need clothes, right?

The rest of my inbox on January 1? Pretty much standard, with lots of emails that felt, oh, so last year. The only other email of note was one from Lego, promoting Lego Friends, their new line aimed at girls. How do I know it is aimed at girls? Simple. The roofs of the structures kids can build are pink, and girls only like pink, right? Sigh. Instead of doing my own rant, I'll let Riley handle it for me. Happy 2012, y'all.

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