GIF Animations

GIF animations have been around for years, but we have seen more and more companies implementing this cool new feature into their emails more recently. For those who are not familiar with the term, GIF animation is a set of images that changes after a few seconds, allowing advertisers to target recipients with multiple images in one mailing location.

In the past, animations came through Flash, which is not compatible with many ISPs, causing issues with rendering across different platforms. Now GIF is supported by all major ISPs which the exception of Outlook 2007 and Apple Mail 3.0, where only the first frame shows. To achieve a better visual across all ISPs, be sure to have the first frame as an image that is not blank, otherwise users may not see anything depending what desktop application they are using.

I have read across blogs on how using GIF animations have generated better results in engagement, and this may just be your ticket to helping you stand out from competitors.  If you have Photoshop and would like to try GIF animation out you can view a tutorial here and test the theory for yourself.

Author: Adeline Zeledon
Editor: Caitlin Durand