Following the release of App Tracking Transparency earlier this year, Apple continues to advocate consumer privacy with a new set of features collectively known as Mail Privacy Protection (MPP).
What is MPP?
According to Apple, MPP “helps users prevent senders from knowing when they open an email. It also “masks their IP address so it can’t be linked to other online activity or used to determine their location.”
Another feature, known as Hide My Email, “lets users share unique, random email addresses…anytime they wish to keep their personal email address private…[giving] users control of who is able to contact them.”
As a leader in consumer privacy, Apple’s latest updates will likely inspire similar changes within the advertising and technology industries. Because of this, digital marketers must be fully prepared to respond to a rapidly changing landscape.
Keep reading for more information on how this release may impact your email marketing strategy and reporting as well as steps you can take to mitigate impact. Check out the Litmus Blog for even more information on what this release means for you and recommendations on next steps.
How will this impact my email marketing strategy?
- List size may be artificially inflated due to ‘fake’ email addresses being generated to make purchases, etc.
- Audience segmentation should no longer be based on open-behaviors (e.g. reminder email sent to openers/non-openers of onsale email).
- All testing, including subject line, from name and time of send testing, should now only be carried out based on clicks.
- Purchase targeting may be less accurate if fans generate and delete emails each time they make a purchase.
- AI tools using opens to select optimized subject lines/copy will be impacted.
- Send time optimization tools will become less reliable.
- Personalized content based on location powered by IP address will not be reliable (e.g. local weather, nearest location, etc.).
What is the impact on email metrics and reporting?
- CRM reporting across the industry uses image downloads at the time of email open to track metrics including opens, open rate and time of open. With the release of MPP, images will be auto-downloaded at time of delivery, which will lead to significant over-reporting in email opens.
- Location tracking software (Email on Acid, Litmus, etc.) will see inaccurate location-based data due to the wider ranges in IP address reports.
- Several email features within Email Service Providers could be negatively impacted:
- Open-based queries
- Automations
- Reports
- Send time optimization
- Desktop vs. mobile view
How should I shift my email marketing strategy?
- Adjust metrics to clicks, conversions and/or inbox placement data to evaluate and measure email campaign performance.
- Emails should always be designed for both mobile and desktop.
- Other channels such as Push Notifications, SMS or Browser Pop-Ups have not been affected. Consider adopting a multi-channel strategy to supplement your email marketing.
Do you have questions? For more information, please contact your Ticketmaster representative.
