Shortly after discovering a print journal by Ellis-Chadwick & Doherty (2012) who reveal the clever email marketing tactics used by marketers to generate interest, I was inspired to critically analyse one of the 50+ emails I receive a week from obscure and sometimes very interesting organisations. Easyjet emails shimmer profoundly compared to the other junk I receive, partially due to my enthusiasm for travelling but somewhat because of their certitude for email marketing. The permission based nature of this email heavily contributed to my participation, as users are more likely to store their mail as spam, if they did not agree on the nature of the marketing (Mohammadi et al., 2013).

First we must note that the content of subject lines is crucial for acquiring attention, and easyjet fearlessly make the most of theirs, wasting no time in offering me a Skiing holiday flight for a budget fee of £29.99. However, I have no interest in skiing holidays, therefore they have miserably failed with their data analysis here which could potentially avert users from opening emails.

The email is certainly personalised with my name like so many others (35%) but Ellis-Chadwick & Doherty (2012) still describe this as being directly proportional to response rates. However the irrelevance of the discounted offers being promoted to me removes from the personal nature of the email. The opt out feature quietly lurks below the contact GIF in small font, accompanied by a hyperlink that allows you to quickly remove yourself from their email list in an effort to evoke a sense of ethicacy (Mohammadi et al., 2013).

The timing of the email was particularly prominent too, with research determining that 60% of emails are sent during the working day (8am–4pm). Maybe I am more likely to purchase a budget weekend holiday on a Friday when I’m waiting for my final lecture to finish, knowing that I have the weekend to squander? Further research is said to be needed in this area before any analysis can be made.

The email does offer an easy to use mini interface of the main website, with the same orange theme, heading tabs and the easyjet logo prominently placed in the top left hand corner. Ellis-Chadwick & Doherty (2012) show this position to require very little scrolling so minimal user interaction is needed meaning that users are more likely to see it, like the eye level optimal shelf space tactic adopted by supermarkets. In part this design is perfectly suited to mobile and tablet devices as the boldness in design, yet simplicity of the user interface allows you to manoeuvre around the site quickly and efficiently on a smaller screen.

Then you come to the deals section which wastes no time in promoting illustrations depicting enjoyment and beautiful sceneries, accompanied by a brief description of the destinations, with travel times included to evoke the idea that this holiday will bring you inevitable happiness. Complimented with call to action buttons that clearly stand out from the general theme, enticing you to ‘BOOK NOW’ conveying urgency in your decision-making process, through fear of missing out. The discounted prices are colour coded juxtapose the regular font to provocatively reiterate how cheap the deals are, which further emphasises the marketing strategy of easyjet as a low budget positioned airline. The easy to use interface, bold call to action buttons and use of urgent language and low prices cleverly navigates the consumer through the reach, act and convert stage of Chaffey, Ellis-Chadwick and Mayer’s (2009) RACE funnel.

Cunningly the inspire me section is situated near the bottom of the email as a last resort in trying to capture your interest with some complimentary products, should they fail to sell you flight deals. This promotes easy jets other packages, such as hotels, car rental, travel insurance and airport parking. The CTA buttons boldly labelled “Find Out More” are less provocative than the “BOOK NOW” CTA buttons and adopt a soft sale approach, which is necessary in complementing the bullish marketing approach of the deals section. Easyjet proudly promote their international partnerships with Allianz, Europcar, Booking.com and Holiday extras to add a sense of security to your purchase, increasing consumer confidence and sequentially the likelihood that you’ll purchase as these are internationally recognised brands. Again, they heavily position themselves by focusing on the discounted prices they offer and the convenient availability of their services, screeching out to consumers looking to save money.

The final section is relatively dim in comparison to the previous, with very little bold print and ambiguous font colour schemes. The focus here is to drive you towards their social medial sites and their mobile application CTA buttons to find out more information, as the small print is relatively boring and vague to read. Who wouldn’t want to click a CTA button and be quickly redirected to a social media page full of information, photos and cool interactive features, when confronted with what looks like a terms and conditions page. Notably there is a hyperlink at the bottom to ‘stop receiving emails’ in small font, cleverly bordering the lines of ethicacy.

Chaffey, D., Ellis-Chadwick, F. and Mayer, R. (2009). Internet marketing. Harlow: Prentice Hall/Financial Times.

Ellis-Chadwick, F., & Doherty, N. F. (2012). Web advertising: The role of e-mail marketing. Journal of Business Research, 65(6), 843-848.

Mohammadi, M., Malekian, K., Nosrati, M., & Karimi, R. (2013). Email Marketing as a Popular Type of Small Business Advertisement: A Short Review. Australian Journal of Basic and Applied Sciences, 7(4), 786-790.