{"id":124,"date":"2020-02-11T18:16:08","date_gmt":"2020-02-11T18:16:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/proofjump.com\/blog\/?p=124"},"modified":"2020-03-15T23:14:11","modified_gmt":"2020-03-15T23:14:11","slug":"what-is-bimi-top-benefits-for-brands-and-email-marketers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/proofjump.com\/blog\/what-is-bimi-top-benefits-for-brands-and-email-marketers\/","title":{"rendered":"What is BIMI? Top Benefits for Brands and Email Marketers"},"content":{"rendered":"

Have you heard about BIMI? It stands for Branded Indicators for Message Identification<\/a>, and marketers have been hearing about it a lot in recent months. In this article, I\u2019m breaking down what BIMI is and why it matters to both brands and email marketers.<\/p>\n

The Origins of BIMI<\/h2>\n

Deliverability is a big problem in email marketing. Every day, brands look for ways to improve the deliverability of their messages and ensure those messages land in consumers\u2019 inboxes. Once brands\u2019 messages get to the inbox, the hope is that recipients will actually notice them, open them, and follow the calls to action in them. In other words, there are a lot of ways the path from brand to recipient can go wrong.<\/p>\n

For years, cybersecurity companies have been trying to create ways to improve email deliverability for brands. Authentication using SPF, DKIM, and DMARC were introduced to provide ways for domain owners to verify their identities thereby increasing the likelihood that their messages would be delivered properly. At the same time, these standards aimed to keep phishing and spam messages out of people\u2019s inboxes.<\/p>\n

Each of these authentication standards does what it was designed to do well. However, they can be challenging, time-consuming, and expensive to set up and maintain. As a result, many companies failed to implement them. Security teams recommend that their companies implement DMARC, but leadership often views it as a low priority cost. For example, it\u2019s estimated that 67% of Fortune 500 companies do not have DMARC policies<\/a>. The number is even lower for smaller companies.<\/p>\n

In an effort to improve email marketing results for brands and boost deliverability, the Authindicators Working Group developed BIMI. The team includes members from cybersecurity company Agari, Comcast, LinkedIn, Microsoft, PayPal, Returnpath, Valimail, and Oath (which is a Verizon subsidiary that operates both AOL and Yahoo). Interestingly, many of the members were involved in the development of the DMARC email authentication standard in 2010-2013.<\/p>\n

A BIMI pilot program launched in March of this year with Yahoo and several brands, including Groupon and Aetna, and while it\u2019s still being tested, early results look positive.<\/p>\n

What is BIMI?<\/h2>\n

BIMI provides a way for brands to publish their logos online and make them available for use in email marketing messages, social media applications, mobile apps, and more. Brand safeguards are built into BIMI, so application providers and consumers are protected from impersonation attempts.<\/p>\n

\"bimi\"
Source: https:\/\/www.brandindicators.org\/bimi-pilot-business-case\/<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Here\u2019s how BIMI works for email marketing from the consumer perspective. When a brand that has verified its logo through BIMI sends an email message, its logo will appear alongside the authenticated message in the inbox as well as within the email message. Keep in mind, the brand\u2019s logo will only be displayed in recipients\u2019 inboxes if the sender\u2019s domain has already been authenticated via DMARC.<\/p>\n

Therefore, to set up BIMI<\/a>, companies must first authenticate their domains via DMARC. Next, companies have to create a supportable logo and host it online so it\u2019s accessible to third party apps, such as email service providers. While only one logo can be used during the pilot program, multiple versions of the logo can be uploaded in the future and used for different email marketing purposes. Next, the BIMI record must be created within the company\u2019s DNS records.<\/p>\n

With BIMI, the logo is automatically displayed by the email service provider giving the company additional brand impressions inside the inbox, and recipients instantly know the message is from the actual company.<\/p>\n

Benefits of Implementing BIMI for Brands and Email Marketers<\/h2>\n

The team behind BIMI is hoping companies will take the initiative to implement BIMI because it will pay for itself in the long-term through additional brand impressions and increased brand recognition and trust. Some of the top benefits brands get from BIMI include:<\/p>\n