mmc a study on preview pane visibility

8/8/2019 MMC a Study on Preview Pane Visibility

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Benjamin S. Curtis

Digital Strategist

A Study on Preview Pane Visibility

2008 - 2009 MicroMass Communications, Inc.


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1.0 Overview 3

2.0 Testing Criteria 3

3.0 Preview Pane Sizes 4

3.1 Yahoo Webmail 4

3.2 Yahoo Classic Webmail 4

3.3 Windows Live Webmail 5

3.3.1 Windows Live Bottom/Horizontal Preview Pane 5

3.3.2 Windows Live Right/Vertical Preview Pane 6

3.4 Hotmail Classic Webmail 6

3.5 AOL Desktop Client 7

3.6 AOL Webmail 7

3.6.1 AOL Webmail In Window 8

3.7 Outlook 2003 8

3.7.1 Outlook 2003 Bottom/Horizontal Preview Pane 9

3.8 Outlook 2007 9

3.8.1 Outlook 2007 Bottom/Horizontal Preview Pane 10

3.9 Combined Results 10

4.0 Recommendations 11

5.0 Additional Questions 11

5.1 I thought vertical preview panes were on the rise? 11

5.2 What about Gmail? 12 5.3 What does the uture hold? 12

5.4 How can I make sure consumers receive my e-mails? 12

About the Author 13

TABLE OF CONTENTS


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1.0 OverviewThere is a lot o talk in the eMarketing world about

how consumers view their e-mails, especially in

preview panes. Should your company design or

vertical preview panes or horizontal? Should you

worry about how an e-mail will look without im-

ages? Where is the market going?

The problem with most common answers or

these questions is that there is little actual data

to support the variability o e-mail readers. The

standard responses lack oundation or statistical

data necessary to glean the answer. The most

basic question that should come beore any other

is, How much o my e-mail can consumers see

without scrolling?

Answering this basic question should uel decisions

or any o the prior questions. Beore determining a

layout or an e-mail, it is important to understand

what the exact visible space in each preview pane

is. Or rather, what the consumer will see rst.

The purpose o this document is to create a

solid, act-based oundation rom which your

organization can work. Putting aside the common

debates about the physical limitations o many

e-mail readers, we have put the most popular

readers on the market to the test.

We will show you the deault and optional

preview pane views or each o the most popular

mail readers, along with the specifc sizing and

resolutions with which your marketing and design

teams have to work. In addition, we will summarize

a set o recommendations on how to best build an

e-mail that will work with all o them.

2.0 Testing Criteria

We chose the ollowing e-mail readers based on a

MicroMass Communications-sponsored study o

over 179,000 consumers o large Pharmaceutical

Marketing campaigns, and the most common e-mail

domains rom them.1 Despite its more common

use in the B-to-B market, we then added Microsot

Outlook 2003 and Outlook 2007 or good measure.

This gives the study another mail reader contain-

ing vertical preview panes. The e-mail readers

consisted o:

Yahoo Webmail: 31%

Hotmail Webmail: 12%

AOL: 12%2

Outlook 2003: Unknown3

Outlook 2007: Unknown3

* Percentages dene the percentage o the 179,000 plus

consumers who belonged to that category.

We conducted these tests in Internet Explorer

6, which contains a 22.3% marketshare.4 Wechose IE6 due to the average size o its viewable

window, minus the deault toolbars. We then

used a resolution o 1024x768, which consists

o 48% o users.5 These selections were made

to ensure that we came as close to the average

consumers computer setup as possible, without

overcomplicating the test.

All tests, other than those done with Outlook

2003, were completed without adjusting the

deault size o any preview panes. Outlook2003 was an exception due to its seemingly

random placement o preview pane sizes ater

installation. However, these variations were

slight and would not have aected the results o

the study.

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3.0 Preview Pane SizesThe ollowing sections will take you through the

dierent e-mail readers involved in this test.

3.1 Yahoo WebmailYahoo Webmails deault mail view is to display

your list o e-mails on top, with a preview pane

below your messages. This is Yahoos deault

methodology, and they oer no alternatives.

3.2 Yahoo Classic Webmail

Users have the option o downgrading to Yahoo

Classic. Yahoo Classics deault mail view is to display

your list o e-mails with no preview pane. When

clicking on a message, the message is displayed inthe current window. This is Yahoo Classics deault

methodology, and they oer no alternatives. Whats

interesting about Yahoo Classic is that it is the only

mail reader in this analysis that does not strip images

by deault.

Deault behavior o not displaying images

Ater the user tells the reader to display images


RESULTS

Deault Viewable Area: 622x192 (without

images), 622x255 (with images)

Deault Preview Pane Placement: Bottom

Other Preview Options : None

RESULTS

Deault Viewable Area: 797x84 (with images)

Other Viewable Areas: None

Deault Preview Pane Placement: No Preview



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RESULTS




Other Preview Options : Bottom, Right

RESULTS








3.3.1 Windows Live Bottom/Horizontal

Preview Pane

This preview pane is an alternative option the

user may choose.

3.3 Windows Live Webmail

Windows Lives deault mail view is to display your

list o e-mails with no preview pane. When clicking

on a message, the message is displayed in the current

window. This is Windows Lives deault methodology;however, they do oer other preview pane options.


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3.3.2 Windows Live Right/Vertical

Preview Pane

This preview pane is an alternative option the user

may choose.

3.4 Hotmail Classic Webmail

Users o Windows Live have the option o down-

grading to Hotmail Classic. Hotmail Classics

deault mail view is to display your list o e-mails

with no preview pane. When clicking on a message,the message is displayed in the current window.

This is Hotmail Classics deault methodology, and

they oer no alternatives.





RESULTS



RESULTS






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3.5 AOL Desktop Client

AOL Desktop Clients deault mail view is to display

your list o e-mails with no preview pane. When

clicking on a message, the message is displayed in

a pop-up window. This is the AOL Desktop Clientsdeault methodology, and they do not oer other

alternatives. We measured based on a maximized

window, as this is a common practice or users o

1024x768 displays.

3.6 AOL Webmail

AOL Webmails deault mail view is to display your

list o e-mails with no preview pane. When clicking

on a message, the message is displayed in a pop-

up window that is smaller than the actual screen

resolution (which was 1024x768 or this analysis).

This is AOL Webmails deault methodology;

however, they do oer other alternatives. We

measured based on a maximized window, as this is

a common practice or users o 1024x768 displays.





RESULTS



Deault Preview Pane Placement: In Window


RESULTS



7 2008 - 2009 MicroMass Communications, Inc.


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Deault Preview Pane Placement: Pop-up

Other Preview Options : In Window

3.6.1 AOL Webmail - In Window

This view is another display option provided by AOL

Webmail. It is not a preview pane; it allows the user

to open the e-mail within the current window, rather

than popping up a new window.

3.7 Outlook 2003

Outlook 2003 is a very common e-mail reader on the

market. While much more common in the B-to-B

realm, we elt we should include it despite the

overwhelming trend toward Webmail readers in

the Pharmaceutical consumer-based marketplace.

Unortunately, Outlook 2003s preview pane size

seems to vary rom installation to installation, so

we were orced to use what was currently displayed

on the test system.





RESULTS


images), 672x348 (with images

RESULTS


images), 411x461 (with images

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Deault Preview Pane Placement: Right

Other Preview Options : Bottom, No Preview

3.7.1 Outlook 2003 Bottom/HorizontalPreview Pane


may choose. Despite not being the deault or Out-

look 2003, this seems to be a more commonly used

view.

3.8 Outlook 2007

Outlook 2007 is the newest release o Outlook rom

Microsot. While similar to Outlook 2003, it handles

e-mail in a dierent way. Yahoo, Hotmail and AOL

have all dedicated themselves to making eMarketing

dicult, but Microsot has raised the bar with its

latest release. Outlook 2007 now uses Microsot

Word to parse its e-mails, meaning that while it will

show images by deault, it will not display even

the most basic HTML, such as CSS positioning or

background images. Luckily, like 2003, Outlook 2007

is a much more common platorm in B-to-B, and

does not aect our consumer population as much

as the major webmail readers on the market.



Deault behavior o displaying images,

and improper parsing o HTML.

RESULTS



RESULTS

Deault Viewable Area: 564x496 (with

some images)

Deault Preview Pane Placement: Right

Other Preview Options : Bottom, No Preview

2008 - 2009 MicroMass Communications, Inc. 9


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3.8.1 Outlook 2007 Bottom/Horizontal

Preview Pane


may choose. Despite not being the deault or

Outlook 2007, this seems to be a more commonlyused view.

RESULTS

Deault Viewable Area: 781x199 (with

some images)

Deault behavior o displaying images,

and improper parsing o HTML.

{ Combined Results }

Figure 3.9a

Reader

Yahoo Classic

Windows Live

Hotmail Classic

AOL Desktop

AOL Webmail

Outlook 2003

Outlook 2007

Yahoo

Deault

Viewable AreaWith Images

797x84

785x210

795x230

907x316

687x474

411x412

564x496

622x192

Deault

Viewable AreaWithout Images

None

785x238

795x260

907x316

687x495

411x461

None

622x255

Other Preview

Options

None

Bottom, Right

None

None

None

Bottom, No Preview

Bottom, No Preview

None

Other Viewable Areas

None

797x23 (no images), 797x23 (with images)


None

None



781x199 (with some images)

None

Deault PreviewPane Placement

No Preview

No Preview

No Preview

No Preview

Pop-up

Right

Right

Bottom

3.9 Combined Results

Below is a combined chart o the results rom

each e-mail reader. The bolded resolutions are

the resolutions that should be ocused on or a

pharmaceutical consumer-marketing campaign.

Outlook 2003 and 2007 are included or comparison

purposes, but are not bolded due to their

probable low use in this market versus in B-to-B

communication. Again, other than with Outlook2003, these tests were all conducted without

resizing the deault preview panes. See Figure 3.9a.


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We recommend that you not confineyourself completely within these

numbers, but instead be sure that asignificant enough portion of your CTA

fits within this area. Use the visiblearea to give your consumer a reason

to scroll down.

For making your HTML e-mailsmore reader-friendly, youll have

to keep in mind what they will look likewhen stripped of all their visual flair.

Designer education and comprehensivetesting is the key to accomplishing this.


4.0 Recommendations

From the above preview pane size results, you

could surmise that designers and strategists should

structure their e-mails to contain the most relevant

calls to action within the top 638x86 pixels. This

would allow your calls to action to be seen in every

viewable area o the most popular Web mail readers

deault views.

Those with vertical preview panes may lose out on

some o the right-hand inormation, but those users

seem to be less numerous in this marketplace. I you

were really concerned with what would be visible

in every occurrence, you could ocus on the top

401x86 pixels, or organize your e-mail so that the

most valuable inormation is on the top let, and thesecond most valuable on the top right.

platorms above, to ensure high consumer quality

no matter what reader consumers choose.

For instance, i you have a $40 o oer in yourConversion program displayed as a callout, be sure

that enough o that callout is visible in the top let

638x86 pixels to be identiable. You dont need the

whole callout, just enough or the consumer to

be able to comprehend its meaning. For a newsletter,

ensure that the most valuable parts o your Table

o Contents are plain text and t within this area.

These methods will entice the user to display

the images associated with your e-mail, and

continue reading.

Constantly keeping track o how mail readers

change, and eeding that inormation to designers

so these problems are covered during the initial

phases o an e-mail campaign, is important or

any marketing department or agency. We also

recommend testing every e-mail produced in the

5.0 Additional Questions

There is a lot o talk in the e-Marketing world about

how consumers view their e-mails, especially in

preview panes. Should your company design orvertical preview panes or horizontal? Should you

worry about how an e-mail will look without images?

Where is the market going?

5.1 I thought vertical preview panes were

on the rise?

As you can see, our recommendations skew

toward the use o horizontal preview panes. As

or the debate over designing or vertical preview

panes or not, consideration o all preview panesis important. However, there is not a driving need

or the pharmaceuticalor any other consumer-

driven marketplace to ocus heavily on them.

There are currently only three clients that support

this technology:

Outlook 2003/2007 , which is used primarily in

the business environment or by proessionals,

not as requently by consumers

Thunderbird

, a Mozilla-based competition orOutlook Express geared toward more tech-savvy

consumers.

Windows Live

And out o these three, only Outlook 2003/07

deaults to this behavior.


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5.2 What about Gmail?

We get asked this question all the time. Gmail is a

very popular webmail reader rom Google. Gmails

usage is low in the Pharmaceutical consumer

marketplace, as our study showed only 6% oconsumers were using Gmail. This is great news

or advertisers. While the idiosyncrasies between

HTML processing or Yahoo, Windows Live and AOL

are vast, Gmail takes things to a whole new level

and post-processes almost everything it receives.

This makes it very dicult or an agency to create

an HTML-based e-mail that looks the same in Gmail

as it does in other mail readers.

5.3 What does the uture hold?

From our experience with users, we see an increasingamount o people change the deault setting or

Outlook 2003/2007 rom the right preview pane

to the bottom. Is this statistically signicant? O

course not, but it seems to be a common behavior.

In addition, most LCD monitors on the market today

have deault resolutions o 1280x1024, or their

widescreen variants. Computer manuactures are

now shipping their machines to match, meaning

or every new computer purchased, more viewable

area is attained.

Reerences1 Statistical analysis was conducted on 179,384 consumers in October o 2008 on marketing campaigns or large-tier Pharmaceu-

tical companies, spanning multiple indications. Results o this survey show that the ourth place in the list o mail domains was

less than 7%. Subsequently, any webmail reader other than Yahoo, Hotmail or AOL would be used less than 7% o the time in the

surveyed campaigns. All participants were recorded as having valid e-mail addresses with no record o a hard bounce. All Yahoo and

Hotmail percentages assume that all participants use those respective Webmail readers, which is likely the case.

2 Statistics contain all AOL usage, including both the sotware and Web-based mail reader.3 Even i Outlook 2003 or 2007 was used by every other mail domain surveyed, which is not the case, it could not pertain to more than

48%, or the remainder, o the audience.

4 Statistics sourced rom W3Schools (http://www.w3schools.com/browsers/browsers_stats.asp) on October 15, 2008.

5 Statistics sourced rom W3Schools (http://www.w3schools.com/browsers/browsers_display.asp) on October 15, 2008.

5.4 How can I make sure consumers receive

my e-mails?

The best way to ensure that consumers receive your

e-mails is to encourage them to add your e-mail

address to their address book. This can be donewith a simple line o text near the top o your e-mail.

There are many benets o convincing consumers

to do this:

Your e-mails are white-listed and will gostraight to the users inbox

In most readers, images are displayed by de-ault, making the e-mail more visually appealing

When images are displayed by deault, open

rates can be tracked without the user having toclick a display images button

Keep in mind, regardless o whether your e-mail is

displayed properly by deault, the two items that

will convince a user to open an e-mail the most are

the subject line and a riendly rom address. Stay

away rom generic subjects, and use that space to

call out the most marketable part o your e-mail.


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AboutMicroMass Communications, Inc.

MicroMass personalizes brands. Founded in 1994, MicroMass is a relationship marketing agency

with unrivalled capabilities in using behavioral science to gain and apply deep consumer

insights. The companys approach is ounded on the belie that understanding the critical

actors that infuence individual behavior and creating a dialogue that addresses those actors

is the best way o building enduring relationships between customers and brands.

Unlike traditional agencies that are siloed or structured by discipline, MicroMass brings

together under one roo the expertise and services or building sophisticated, multi-channel

programs that span the ull relationship marketing continuum. We are one teamintegrated

strategically, but able to apply specic nuances depending on the channel we believe will be

most benecial or the brand and its customer.

Headquartered in Cary, N.C., with a second oce in Morristown, N.J., MicroMass is one o the

astest growing agencies in its eld.

For additional inormation on MicroMass, visit www.micromass.com.

About the Author

Benjamin S. Curtis,Digital Strategist

Benjamin Curtis has an extensive technical background ranging many markets, and has worked

in the Internet technologies sector or over 12 years. Ben joined MicroMass Communications, a

pharmaceutical marketing agency, in 2000 and is currently employed as a Digital Strategist. Prior

to this role, Ben led the agencys Web Services group, where he was instrumental in planning,

implementing and managing numerous brand-marketing campaigns.

For more inormation on how MicroMass Communications can help you with your

eMarketing needs, please contact Benjamin S. Curtis at [email protected] , or visit

www.micromass.com.

mmc a study on preview pane visibility

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