By Guy Hanson, VP, Customer Engagement (International), Validity

2021 was an unpredictable time for brands and consumers alike. Undoubtedly, the ongoing pandemic has introduced a variety of challenges and opportunities for companies and their marketing teams, who have had to respond to a number of significant regulatory changes in 2021. As the last two years have been such a turbulent time, there are a number of marketing tactics we can expect brands to use, which will help them better engage with their target market and, in turn, enhance sales for the business.

The growth of email

In 2021, many marketers celebrated 50 years of email, which was a milestone within the industry. As a communication channel, email has come a long way since the first message was sent, with the number of global email users set to grow to 4.6 billion by 2025¹. Repeated predictions that email will phase out and become irrelevant in the modern world have consistently proven wide of the mark. These forecasts have typically revolved around the growth of other communication channels like SMS and social media. However, email continues to reinforce its position as the favoured marketing communications channel for both marketers and consumers, and will continue growing in the years to come as the central pillar of any successful marketing strategy. 2022 will see email develop both in terms of revenue and engagement, as well as volume.

Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) for email is a technology that has already been around for several years, but 2022 is the year it’s forecast to go mainstream. AMP lets senders combine dynamic, real-time, up-to-date content, and interactivity into hyper-personalised individual experiences (examples include functionality like carousels, hamburger menus, and in-email surveys). To date adoption of this has been slow, partly because implementation is resource-intensive, and it’s not yet fully supported by all mailbox providers (Apple for example). However, bringing more functionality to the inbox means subscribers are more primed to convert when they click through (±20 percent more) making AMP for email one to keep an eye out for.

2021 saw the introduction of Apple’s Mail Privacy Protection (MPP), which pre-fetches all email images at time of delivery, meaning tracking pixels will fire irrespective of whether users have opened these emails. In addition to open rate reporting, established email tactics (like list hygiene, recency management, and customer journey automation) are impacted, with the knock-on effect of a potentially diminished subscriber experience for Apple users. Although a commendable step forward towards greater consumer privacy, MPP is creating new challenges for marketers, as they struggle to measure and understand their subscriber engagement drivers.

Because of MPP, it is expected that marketers will take a more holistic approach to measurement in 2022. This will see email senders focusing more on key metrics like clicks and conversions, as well as related behaviours like website visits, account logins, and purchase activity. In addition, they will also focus on acquisition tactics that deliver new subscribers who are more engaged from the outset. Sourcing more zero-party data, which is explicitly provided by customers rather than inferred from online behaviour, will form a key part of this strategy.

The demand for data

In 2022 and beyond, big GDPR fines will continue as regulators toughen up on enforcement. A DLA Piper report² shows data protection supervisory authorities across Europe issued a total of nearly one billion euros in GDPR fines since 28^th January 2021. Regulators are moving towards tougher enforcement, and 2022 has the potential to be a bumper year for fines, particularly as less clear-cut breaches are tested in court.

Consumers are also becoming more aware (and cautious) of how their personal data is used, managed, and protected. Many are hearing about high profile data breaches or GDPR fines on the news, as well as email and text scams. At the same time, bad actors are becoming savvier and more sophisticated about their methods of attack, with data at the forefront of their efforts. Brands still have much more to do explaining to their customers how their personal data is used, and kept safe. More effective data management, and greater transparency with customers, will become essential best practices in almost every industry.

2021 taught businesses a great deal about email marketing and data management. How brands continue to adapt to new regulations and processes as they engage with their customers will be a key narrative in 2022. While there is never a definitive answer to what the new year has in store, one thing is for certain – 2022 has all the makings of being another year of exponential growth for marketers.