Christmas is a time for giving. For some that may come in the form of a gesture of good will, for others it might be a thoughtful present. But here at Red C we thought we’d share a bit of inspiration with you instead...…Get ready for the NEW Christmas Email Mini Wow Book! A fabulous selection of festive emails we’ve collected that cut through the inbox clutter thanks to their head-turning subject lines, standout designs and enticing calls to action. Hopefully, like us, these emails will make you say WOW, give you some insight into what the competition is doing and even bring you a few extra ideas on how to take your own email marketing strategy forward. Enjoy

1. Email
Book
Mini
WOW
2012

2. ChristmasThe Email mini Wow Book
Christ mas 2012
Christmas is a time for giving. For some that may come in
the form of a gesture of good will, for others it might be
a thoughtful present. But here at Red C we thought we’d
share a bit of inspiration with you instead...…
Get ready for the NEW Christmas Email Mini Wow Book! A
fabulous selection of festive emails we’ve collected that
cut through the inbox clutter thanks to their head-turning
subject lines, standout designs and enticing calls to action.
Hopefully, like us, these emails will make you say WOW,
give you some insight into what the competition is doing and even
bring you a few extra ideas on how to take your own email
marketing strategy forward.
Enjoy!
Steve White
Strategy Director
Contents
Coca-Cola
Howies
Joe Browns
Boden
On t he Beach
Office
Moonpig
Bonprix
Lakeland
Boden
RubyEd
Jack Wills
Amazon
Man City
Urban Outfitters
Suttons Seed s
Smit hs
Shuh
Howies

3. There is a casual almost flippant manner to
how Howies present themselves that
endears me to the brand. Just take a look at
this email for example and its hand drawn
look and feel. Not only is the design
eye-catching, it has a casualness about it
that makes me feel like they’re not being
overly pushy with the sale.
That same relaxed Howies attitude is
reinforced in the copy too.The headline
offering in this email is ’50 prezzies better
than socks’; Howies make a joke when
presenting their offer rather than using a
blunt sales message. For me, that relaxed
tone makes me want to spend a little bit
more time with the brand and keeps me
curious and open minded about what
they’re selling.
Date: 29 November 2012
Subject line: 50 Prezzies for under £50
Howies
Natalie Kinsey
Senior Account Executive
Nick Cliffe
Senior Art Director
Date: 21 November 2012
Subject line: Last chance for Christmas
delivery.Avoid the weekend queues!
JoeBrowns
I wouldn’t say this email was
particularly pretty, but what makes it
standout for me is its canny use of
space.Without the need to scroll down
the email, your eye first catches a
strong offering that’s tied to Christmas
thanks to its supporting visual. Below
that there’s not one but six product
samples that you can click through and
order.And, perhaps most impressive of
all, the email finishes with a large and
personalised share button that grabs
your attention despite the busy nature
of the email.
There’s a heck of a lot going on in a
very small space, yet you never feel
lost or unsure when navigating through
its offers and that’s no easy feat.
Impressive indeed.

4. Date: 16 November 2012
Subject line: 25% off* plus Free Delivery
on stocking fillers for all the family
Boden
You don’t have to say very much when
you’re able to present your products as
beautifully as this.All in all this email
showcases 21 stocking fillers that all burst
from the screen and draw your eye. Plus,
the subtle use of Christmas lights and
decorations pays homage to the festive
season so much more stylishly than any
other piece of design I’ve seen this year.
Not that I’m surprised by that, it’s Boden
after all!
Amy Estcourt
Senior Account Manager

5. Stuart Clark
Senior Copywriter
At first glance this looks like a standard sales
email, but look a little closer and you’ll see
something that you’ve probably never seen
before – I certainly hadn’t anyway! A Facebook
link appears on the top nav that takes you
through to On The Beach’s Facebook page. Such a
strong push to the social media site reflects how
important an advertising tool Facebook has
become for many businesses.The email even
finishes with a call to action to ‘like’ On The
Beach’s Facebook page and drops in a tempting
prize draw to give you a little push.
Yes it’s bold and I for one admire this brand’s
approach.And I’m willing to bet they’ll be a few
other companies in 2013 that will follow suit, but
I for one won’t forget who I saw do it first. Kudos
On The Beach, hopefully you’ll reap the rewards
of your daring approach to email marketing.
Date: 1 January 2013
Subject line: New Year Sale - Up to 30% off
selected hotels before Janaury 31st 2013
Office
Date: 01 January 2013
Subject line: SALE, now up to 60% off!
Surakshitha
Jagadeesh
Account Manager
Onthebeach
Strong sales message? Check. Links to
products? Check.Top brands? Check.
Eight cute buttons that showcase social
media and other interactive tools? Check!
This email by Office may look understated,
but it actually manages to get in a fab offer
and plenty of links that help you obtain it
with minimal fuss.The copy is trimmed
right down and clever icons are used
wherever possible to communicate what’s
available without the need for extra copy,
and it works a treat.
Yes, this email may be minimal in its design.
Yes, it may only take a few seconds to read.
But there are still loads of links and sales
messages here – and that’s what makes it
such a clever bit of email marketing.

6. Date: 1 January 2013
Subject line:Appy New Year Steve
Moonpig
Katie Atkinson
Account Manager
Date: 19 December 2012
Subject line: Festive drinks offer for drivers!
Plus, win a VAIO laptop and desktop duo,
and more prize draws you’ll love
Christmas is a time to relax and catch
up with old friends, that’s why pubs
throughout the country are always
packed at this time of year. However,
somewhere in every one of these
crowded bars are a handful of
designated drivers who sadly aren’t
able to enjoy a festive tipple.
So Coke have cleverly singled out
these drivers and brought them a
reason to smile this Christmas… a buy
one get one free offer on coca-cola
products in selected pubs! It’s a
thoughtful offer that drivers all over
the country would have raised their
glasses to over the festive season.
If you would like to find out more information
about eyetracking, email Steve White
at swhite@redcmarketing.com or
call on 0161 872 1361 to arrange your
eyetracking study
Coca-Cola
One offering and lots of reasons to buy
it… it’s the ideal formula when creating a
strong sales message and Moonpig nail it
with this smartphone app promotion.The
headline uses the theme of New Year to
cleverly turn this email into a timely offer.
Disguised as New Year resolutions, four
reasons to buy the app are then given
along with supporting copy to persuade
the reader into a purchase.
It’s not rocket science, additional benefits
are more likely to push the reader into a
sale.And that’s especially true when it’s
neatly packaged around a particular time
and occasion as this email does so well.
Sonya Greenwood
Art Director

7. Date: 30 December 2012
Subject line: Four New Year’s style resolu-
tions your wardrobe will love!
bonprix
Date: 30 December 2012
Subject line:The Lakeland sale continues -
Hurry, limited stocks
Tom Mitton
Senior Account Executive
Just how you’d imagine a Lakeland
inspired kitchen – this email design is
uncluttered, welcoming and attractive.
This is largely down to its distinct use
of illustration, which not only draws
your eye but also communicates the
range of products that are available.
Navigating through the email feels
effortless, as even its secondary
messages are clearly grouped in boxes
so that you can process every
message in seconds.
Sophie Bennett
Account Manager
As soon as we start the New Year, I
think one thing: new wardrobe! And
Bon Prix didn’t waste any time in
assisting me when they sent this
pretty email on the first day of
January – talk about being on the ball!
Dressed as New Year resolutions, they
gave me some handy style advice;
from wearing more colourful lingerie
to giving shoes I don’t wear to charity.
All great ideas I was inspired to use
and already have done after only
being a few weeks into the New Year.
Lakeland

8. UrbanOutfitters
Date: 30 December 2012
Subject line: NYE tunes and style, y’all!
Plus, mad SALE steals...
Now I don’t claim to be all ‘street’, but I do love the
casual style of Urban Outfitters.Their subject lines are
always a breath of fresh air when they arrive in my
inbox. Look at this gem for example,‘NYE tunes and
style, y’all! Plus, mad SALE steals...’ – now that’s a line
that will grab your attention!
Like their clothes, Urban Outfitters tone of voice makes
their brand stand apart from most other fashion labels,
and that makes them interesting enough for me to
always want to read what they have to say.
And what did Urban Outfitters have to say in this
particular email? Their main offering had nothing to do
with selling me new clothes; instead they gave me
some great playlist suggestions to make sure my
Christmas party would be a blast. Now how cool is
that?
Lara Morton
Art Director
Boden
Date: 24 December 2012
Subject line:A Christmas message from us to
you
Andy Campbell
Copywriter
On Christmas Eve, it’s unlikely you’re
going to be enthusiastic about
receiving a sales email.You’re ready to
unwind after weeks of Christmas
shopping and enjoy the big day ahead.
So, as much as I love Boden, when I
received this email I wasn’t all that
enthusiastic about opening it at first.
But then I read the subject line,‘A
Christmas message from us’ and I was
intrigued enough to find out what
they had to say.
I opened the email and found there
was no sales messages or clothes to
shop; instead I was treated to a lovely
Christmas poem from all at Boden
House. Just when I thought I couldn’t
admire Boden any more, they send this
– what a lovely gesture at the perfect
time of year!

9. JackWills
Date: 19 December 2012
Subject line: 20% Off the perfect gift
with your Jack Wills Gift Guide
Jessica Williams
Account Executive
Whoever said that fashion emails have to be
bursting with colour and product? This email
from Jack Wills proves that a clean white
background with a nice selection of
typographical styles is sometimes more than
enough to pull you into the content.
There’s only one image supporting the main
communication and that’s of the product
itself (gift guide), which keeps this piece of
communication single-minded and effective.
However, the secondary message was just as
interesting as the main offering and could
have easily had its very own email... it
advertised Jack Will’s interactive Christmas
calendar, which, when you cast your phone
over, each new day reveals a new offer.What
a fun way to countdown to Christmas!
RubyEd
Date: 09 December 2012
Subject line: Great savings on cool tools
this Christmas
Secret Santa… nearly everyone in every
office takes part in one during the
Christmas period.And they’re always
challenging, aren’t they? Getting a
present for someone you don’t know all
that well on a limited budget.
However, this year finding my Secret
Santa gift was a breeze thanks to this
email from Ruby Ed. It told me about an
upcoming ‘Secret Santa flash sale’ where
I could get a great looking pair of slippers
at a discounted price. Perfect.And if the
timeliness of the email wasn’t enough to
prompt my purchase, they also made it a
limited offer that was only available to
the first 50 people that purchased.
What a clever and thoughtful approach
to a sales offer!
Dawn Greaves
Studio Manager

10. Howies
Date: 19 December 2012
Subject line:The end is Nigh
This email from Howies really made me
chuckle.They could have just told me
straight about their offering of
super-fast delivery in a plain and simple
manner. But what would have been fun
about that? And Howies always try and
have fun with their creative. So instead
they wrapped their offer up in this little
joke,‘Order by midnight and we’ll
deliver by the end of the world’.A wink
at the Mayans predictions about the
world ending in 2012. Love it!
Wayne Pretl
Interactive Designer
Amazon
Date:Various
Subject line:Various
Leigh Whitnall
Account Director
The run up to Christmas is a time for
extensive online browsing but with so
many people to buy for it’s easy to
forget where you’ve been and what
you’ve seen. It’s at times like these that
emails triggered by browser behaviour
come into their own, a fact that is well
understood and taken advantage of by
Amazon, as they prove with this email
here.
I opened it up and found that Amazon
we’re showcasing a range of products
similar to what I’d been looking at on
their site only days earlier.Amazon had
obviously done their research, and I
benefitted from that by getting a
no-nonsense email that was tailored to
my exact interests. Even better, I was
genuinely interested in most the
products on the page and clicked
through to continue my Christmas
shopping. If only it could always be that
easy!

11. ManchesterCity
Date: 17 December 2012
Subject line: Season’s Greetings
from Manchester City
Christmas is a joyous occasion, so if
you’re creating an e-card it should
capture that feeling.And that’s exactly
what we set out to achieve when tasked
with creating this Christmas e-card for
Manchester City.
The email reads ‘Season’s Greetings from
Manchester City FC’ and it shows a
football formation resembling a
Christmas tree.Then, from the bottom,
one of its blue icons - representing a
player - lights up. More icons then
continue to light up leading your eye up
the Christmas tree until the star starts
shining. Finally, the now famous
commentary from City’s final game of
the season,‘Aguerrrooooo’ wraps itself
like decorations around the formation.
And there you have it, one of City’s
greatest moments - ‘that Aguero goal’
- reenacted in the spirit of Christmas.
What could be more joyous to a Blue
than that?
Peter Griffith
Interactive Designer
Smiths
Date: 21 December 2012
Subject line: Smith’s emergency
present service
Shopping at Christmas is always a
nightmare, especially when you’ve left it
until last minute! That’s why this email
from Smith made me smile, the copy
amusingly sets the scene to what limited
options shoppers have left when they
haven’t done their Christmas shopping
by 21st December.
One of the options is to buy a Smith
hotel e-voucher, which is actually a good
present, especially when you’ve almost
ran out of time. I bet there were loads of
people out there thanking Smith’s this
Christmas!
Rosemary Walton
Client Services Director
After City fans saw the emailthey used to Twitter to talk about it,there was even a few messagessent to Aguero’s Twitter account too!

12. Schuh
Date: 25 December 2012
Subject line: Merry Christmas
Steve White
Startegy Director
If you open a Christmas card and it
makes you smile then surely it has
worked its magic? I certainly believe
that’s the case, which is why, for me, this
e-card from Schuh was the best email I
received over the Christmas period.
It’s simple message, Merry Christmas
from Schuh, was decorated by an
animated gif made from glistening
snowflakes.The effect was eye catching,
charming and, most importantly,
Christmassy! Schuh then took their
quirky approach to Christmas further by
creating an image of Rudolph by cleverly
using just a shot of a brown shoe
(presumably from their range) along
with a Christmas bauble. Just goes to
show that sometimes just being cute is
all you need to do to captivate your
customers.
SuttonsSeeds
Date: 29 November 2012
Subject line: It wouldn’t be
Christmas without Chocolate!
Do people buy plants for each other at
Christmas? I’m sure it happens but I
think it’s safe to say that more people
buy chocolate.
Which is probably why Sutton Seeds
sent me this novel email to tell me
about their new product: luxury
chocolate flowers!
Not only do they look amazing, they’re
made by award-winning French
chocalateurs, Guisabel.
From a single chocolate flower in a plant
pot to a bouquet of chocolate roses,
there’s a wonderful range of Christmas
treats to choose from - each with a nice
amount of descriptive copy to describe
exactly what each chocolate flower is
made from.This is certainly the most
interesting offering I got this Christmas!
But if you were really just after nice
flowers, there’s an incredible 77% saving
on Snowdrop Bulbs too waiting at the
bottom of the email.
Katherine Allen
Account Manager

13. 2012
Design Stuff
To find out how we can give your email marketing
the WOW factor, contact Steve
on swhite@redcmarketing.com or call 0161 872 1361