Anthropologie achieves a nice sense of brand continuity with its email marketing program. Like the chain's retail stores, the emails convey a sense of being bohemian yet elegant, and funky yet upscale.
A welcome message arrived the morning after I signed up for the list, introducing me to the site with links to new products and designers, and the MAGaZine (or is it magAzine?) portion of the site, featuring content like "A Lady's Guide to Grilling" and "Get Fluroed," which alerted me that the neon hues of the 1980s are making a comeback.
Another recent message—subject line "Live Life outside"—opens with the headline "What makes an unforgettable evening outdoors?" While my answer would be "no mosquitoes and the kids playing quietly", Anthropologie goes for something a bit more poetic:
It's about bringing the right ingredients to the table. Start by inviting your favorite people in the world, fold in platter after platter of leafy greens and charred goodness, and don't forget some mood-making essentials: a killer cocktail (our pick: Watermelon Margaritas), a guilty-pleasure playlist and absolutely no thoughts whatsoever of the weekend coming to a close.
I love the copy—it sets a scene and reminds one of the old J. Peterman catalogs (and that's high praise indeed). The link to the cocktail recipe on the magazine section of the website is a smart touch, as are all the quick links below to bar tools, drink pitchers, linens and tableware.
The photo of the cocktail is striking—when one is sitting in an office on a weekday afternoon, it's beverage porn, the way the best Harry & David cover photos used to be fruit porn. The glass used is fun and one immediately wants to click through to see if it fits into their summer entertaining budget—only to fine it isn't available in the style shown. Sure, there's similar red and blue designs, but the rainbow dotted settled confetti glass pictured is so fun, it's a shame there wasn't some marketing/merchandising synergy to make sure shoppers enticed by the image could impulse-buy immediately.
Seen any emails that you love recently? Let me know at [email protected] .