The Long and the Short of Email and SMS

The reason email is such a highly effective brand-building tool ultimately comes down to the idea of mental availability. Every email you send represents a chance to strengthen your brand's mental availability – to make your brand a bit more memorable and likely to come to mind when a customer needs what you sell. 

Think of it like creating lasting memories that help customers recall your brand naturally in buying situations. To build these memories effectively, brand-building emails should reach your entire email list rather than just targeted segments. The idea is to create consistent touchpoints with both active and dormant customers.

Emotion and storytelling are particularly powerful tools for creating these lasting brand memories. Emails that tell stories about your brand, share customer experiences, or tap into genuine emotions create the kind of memorable moments that stick in customers' minds. This could be as simple as sharing the story behind a product’s creation, celebrating customer successes, or connecting your brand to emotionally resonant moments in your customers’ lives.

The key is consistency and patience. In our How to Grow Your Brand report, we explain what’s known as the ‘95-5 Rule’ – meaning that at any given time, 95% of your potential customers aren’t actively buying. Each brand-building email may only create a small memory trace, but over time these accumulate to build the mental availability that makes your brand the natural choice when customers enter the market.

From theory to practice

So how can you craft an effective brand-building email? In Mailchimp’s The Revenue Blueprint report, we’ve identified what email tactics so-called ‘performance-obsessed marketers’ at top brands are leveraging to maximize engagement and build lasting bonds. They include:

• Interactive content like embedded videos, animations, and gamified quizzes 
• Hyper-personalization based on preferences, behaviors, and predictive analytics
• Automated lifecycle journeys adapting to individual customer actions
• Unique brand voice and design, creating a consistent and memorable identity
• ‘Cause marketing’ campaigns, rallying customers around shared missions
• Exclusive insider content and perks for email subscribers

Beauty brand Glossier exemplifies many of these tactics. Their emails are infused with a distinct, casual voice, positioning the brand as a knowledgeable friend. Frequent messages give access to product development insights, employee faves, and user-generated content – all personalised based on recipients' profiles and online behaviors. In The Science of Loyalty, we show how these story-driven emails have helped fuel Glossier's growth, transforming customers into a fiercely loyal community.

Or take the approach of the soda brand Something & Nothing, which sells via ecommerce and in physical shops.Their emails, powered by Mailchimp, are masterclasses in brand storytelling. Here’s their pitch to potential subscribers: “Sign-up to our newsletter for inspiration from artists, makers & thinkers.” Remember, this is a soda brand!

Something & Nothing employs a dedicated editor to craft these emails, which feature content such as:

• Cocktail recipes and food pairings
• Neighborhood guides in areas where the soda is sold
• Books and product recommendations

Through its email newsletters, Something & Nothing invites customers into its world, fostering an authentic connection to the brand. The emails feel less like marketing and more like updates from an in-the-know, cultural friend. Storytelling, emotion and engagement like this builds memories far more effectively than promotional or product-related emails. Read our interview with the company’s founder for more in-depth marketing insights.

The mere exposure effect

Here’s another cool thing to keep in mind: memories are like compound interest, in that they build over time. In The Science of Loyalty, our research looks into what’s called the ‘mere exposure effect’. Ever notice how you start to like a song more after you’ve heard it a few times, even if you weren’t interested in it at first? That’s the ‘mere exposure effect’ at work, and it turns out this sneaky phenomenon applies to brands, too.

Basically, the more you’re exposed to something, the more positively you tend to feel about it. It’s like your brain starts to think, “Oh yeah, I know this one,” and that familiarity breeds a little bit of fondness. This means that simply seeing a brand regularly, even if you don't consciously register it, can make you more likely to choose it over something you’re not familiar with. It’s why big brands spend so much on advertising – they want to become a familiar friend to you.

This effect is closely tied to how our memory works. When we see a brand, our brain digs into its memory banks. If we’ve interacted with the brand before, we have a memory of that experience. If we haven’t, and it’s a well-known brand, our brain fills in the gaps using general knowledge about it. 

With every new encounter, this effect grows stronger, leading to a sense of comfort and confidence in choosing that brand. In fact, one study referenced in The Science of Loyalty showed that the more people saw a certain brand of water in photographs, even if they didn’t realise they’d seen it, the more likely they were to choose it. This suggests that, whether you realise it or not, your brain is always taking notes and forming opinions.

So what does this mean for email marketing? Make sure your brand is seen in all the right places, and use consistent colours, fonts and messaging to build up familiarity. It’s not just about being the flashiest, it's about being a familiar face. And the more familiar you are, the more likely people are to trust you and become loyal, lifelong brand advocates.

Brand-building with SMS

Right – let’s not forget SMS! While often viewed as a performance-driven channel used mostly for transactional updates and flash sales, SMS is actually a fantastic long-term brand-building tool as well… when leveraged strategically, that is. 

Think about it: brand-building relies on repeated, meaningful interactions that reinforce a brand’s identity and values. SMS, with its high open rate and near-instantaneous engagement, is a powerful way to build those customer relationships over time.

One big advantage of SMS for brand marketing is its ability to deliver personalized and context-aware messaging. In The Science of Loyalty report, we show how brand loyalty is influenced by emotion, memory and social interaction – all of which can be nurtured through SMS, via campaigns that share exclusive brand storytelling, behind-the-scenes content, and tailored recommendations. It’s a way to reinforce brand affinity beyond simple promotions. 

SMS can also play a crucial role in reinforcing a brand’s identity through consistent, engaging touchpoints. The Loyalty Playbook shows that customers value familiarity and routine when forming brand preferences. Regular SMS campaigns that offer value-driven content, such as expert tips, VIP access, or timely reminders, can position SMS as more than a transactional tool. Rather than prompting immediate actions alone, SMS can serve as a micro-branding moment, keeping the brand top-of-mind through positive, ongoing interactions.

The Revenue Blueprint shows how SMS creates opportunities for two-way conversations, allowing customers to interact with brands on their terms. Such ‘conversational commerce’, a growing trend in brand engagement, fosters deeper relationships, as customers feel heard and valued rather than simply being recipients of mass promotions.

By integrating SMS into a broader brand-building strategy, marketers can unlock its potential beyond short-term performance marketing. Whether through personalized storytelling or real-time engagement, SMS can be a fantastic channel for cultivating brand affinity, reinforcing trust and fostering long-term customer loyalty – so try using it along with email in your overall holistic marketing approach.

2. Driving action: today’s sales

Both email and SMS can be used to drive immediate action from your customers. But let’s start with SMS first… 

Performance marketing using SMS

Research from Mailchimp and Harvard Business Review show that the immediacy and intimacy of text messaging makes it an incredibly effective channel for driving action and delivering tangible and immediate results.

In Engage, Convert, Repeat: The Winning Formula of SMS and Email Marketing, which dives deep into SMS best practices and use cases, we find that SMS boasts huge read rates and response speeds, which empowers marketers to cut through the noise and spur instant engagement.

The average person spends as much as three hours and 50 minutes per day on their mobile devices, so it’s no surprise that one of the best ways to reach customers is by sending an SMS message to those devices. “It’s a quick, simple, time-sensitive, and personal strategy for communicating with customers,” says Wade Burrell, a Senior Product Marketing Manager  at Intuit Mailchimp.

Consider the experience of Texas-based jewelry retailer Joyeria Daisy. During a two-weekend promotion for customized jewelry, combined email and SMS messaging drove over $7,000 in sales. The campaign’s second weekend, which used SMS alone, demonstrated SMS's particular strength in driving conversions. Through their integrated approach, the company's repeat customer rate increased from 1.75% in 2022 to 2.9% in 2023.

So what are ways that SMS can be used to drive action in the short-term? Innovative brands are using texts to provide real-time support, solicit feedback and reviews, and even send motivational messages aligned with customers' goals. Some of the most impactful applications also include…

• Flash sales and limited-time offers which create urgency  
• Personalized product recommendations and cross-sell/upsell nudges
• Abandoned cart reminders with tempting incentives 
• Shipping and delivery updates for seamless ecommerce experiences
• Appointment reminders and rescheduling options reducing no-shows  
• Loyalty program updates and exclusive perks for VIPs
• Customer service messages resolving issues quickly
• Reactivation campaigns with special "come back" offers

As consumers increasingly crave instant gratification and two-way interactions, "conversational commerce" is emerging as the next SMS frontier. Texts will become the primary interface for on-demand customer service, personalised recommendations, and seamless transactions – all powered by natural language processing and AI. Expect to see more brands blurring the lines between marketing, commerce, and service over text.

Performance marketing using email

While email marketing is often associated with long-term brand-building, it’s equally powerful as a direct-response tool for driving immediate sales and customer actions, via promotional campaigns and other targeted offers. Unlike social media and paid advertising, which rely on external algorithms, email provides a direct, owned channel where marketers can reach engaged audiences with personalized, action-driven messaging. 

As The Revenue Blueprint report demonstrates, email remains the foundation of digital marketing strategies, outperforming other channels in conversion-driven campaigns.

One of email’s many strengths in performance marketing is its ability to segment and personalize offers based on customer behavior. Automated email sequences, triggered by user actions – such as abandoned carts, product views, or previous purchases – can deliver highly relevant promotions at precisely the right moment. 

Our Loyalty Playbook shows that consumers expect timely, well-targeted offers, and email enables brands to capitalize on intent-driven moments by sending discount codes, time-sensitive offers, or product recommendations tailored to each recipient.

Email’s measurable impact also makes it a performance marketer’s best friend. Unlike lots of digital channels, where tracking and attribution can be complex, email marketing provides clear insights into open rates, click-through rates, and conversion rates, enabling marketers to optimize campaigns in real-time. 

Plus, The Revenue Blueprint notes that marketers who prioritize email automation and data-driven personalization see higher engagement and ROI. A/B testing subject lines, refining call-to-action placements, and analyzing audience behavior allow brands to fine-tune their messaging for maximum impact.

Email is also particularly effective for creating urgency and scarcity. Limited-time offers, flash sales, and low-stock alerts can drive immediate consumer action, a tactic successfully used by e-commerce brands and subscription services. By combining compelling copy, persuasive visuals, and clear CTAs, brands can convert subscribers into customers quickly, turning email into a high-performing revenue channel.

Remember, it’s not an either–or

While powerful as standalone channels, the true magic happens when email and SMS are integrated into a united force.

“When you streamline your email and SMS campaigns in one place, you’re making a big stride in accelerating growth and automating your marketing,” says Intuit Mailchimp’s Wade Burrell. “In fact, marketers for midsize companies find they can gain a competitive edge when they combine the long-term success of email marketing with the unmatched 98% open rate of SMS messages. Together, they create a dynamic duo in your customer journey, fostering engagement and driving conversions.”

Mailchimp's Revenue Blueprint report confirms this, with research that shows leading marketers are strategically combining email and SMS to guide customers from awareness to conversion to loyalty. By leveraging each channel's unique strengths and linking them with precision, brands can create journeys that adapt to individual behaviors and maximize revenue at every step.

Looking ahead, technologies like machine learning, predictive analytics, and dynamic content optimisation will make email and SMS journeys even more seamless and effective. Automated triggers will adapt send times, offers and messaging based on individual engagement patterns. Hyper-relevant product pairings will be algorithmically generated to maximize revenue per customer. Real-time content will be personalised down to the nearest-store level. The creative and strategic possibilities are endless.

But even with the shiniest tools, the core principles Binet and Field championed will still apply: it's not an either-or between brand and activation – it’s more of a delicate dance. Balance long-term brand investment with short-term activation. Engage emotions, not just wallets. And above all, treat customers like humans, not targets. 

The future belongs to marketers who can thread these eternal truths through every email and SMS they send.