Via TechCrunch comes news that Google has quietly rolled out a new Gmail feature called "Sponsored Mail with Enhanced Content." The reporter noticed the change in his inbox, where favicons suddenly appeared for his notification emails from Netflix:
LifeHacker explains that, besides inserting favicons, "enhanced content" also means that sponsored emails can contain widgets. Not only does the Netflix icon appear in the inbox view, but when one opens the message, the content is interactive in ways that normal email isn't. You can page through a list of recommended movies and add them to your rental queue without having to click a link and leave the Gmail message.
Google doesn't tell us when, or if, sponsored mail and enhanced content will be made available to other email marketers. But it's a safe bet that, if this program is opened to new participants, email authentication will be a strict requirement for joining. Gmail help states, "aside from the convenience of being able to interact with certain websites from inside Gmail, the branded content will help identify that your messages are legitimate and not spoofed (we'll only show branded content when the sender authenticates their mail)."
This program reminds us of another Gmail innovation, so-called "super-trustworthy" email. That's the Gmail effort to make clear which messages, purported to be from PayPal or eBay, are legitimate and not phishing scams. Here again, it's not known when or how other senders can become "super-trustworthy," but this will definitely be among the criteria: "all of the sender's email is authenticated with DKIM"
Authenticating your email is the one thing you can do now to prepare for these Gmail programs becoming more widely available. Delivra can help with authentication methods such as DKIM, DomainKeys, and SPF. Contact us for more information!
Chris Broshears | Product Development
Powered by Compendium
Comments for Gmail Enhanced Content Highlights Importance of Email Authentication