BIMI (Brand Indicators for Message Identification), is an email verification parameter that allows the recipient to see the brand logo in the inbox, which is opposite the mailing list.
Newsletters
March 22, 2022
What is the BIMI Parameter for Emails?
BIMI (Brand Indicators for Message Identification), is an email verification parameter that allows the recipient to see the brand logo in the inbox, which is opposite the mailing list. BIMI, also helps the mail service to correctly identify and pass on the letter/email to the recipients’ inbox.
Technically speaking, BIMI is a text entry in the DNS (Domain Name System), which is similar to DMARC. In this article, we will explain how BIMI affects the personalization and deliverability of emails. At the end we will give step-by-step instructions for setting it up.
Why set up BIMI?
Set the company logo at the top corner, opposite to the email. This personalization helps the customer to find their way through mails faster, and also increases the reliability of your emails.
The H&M and Rendez-vous logos were installed using BIMI and look much better in comparison to Apteka
You can specify different logos for different sub-domains. This is convenient if each product of your company is held on a separate sub-domain.
Currently, BIMI is only supported by AOL, Verizon, and Gmail platforms.
Help the recipients’ email service make sure you are who you say you are, and ensure you are not a scammer. If a customer sees your email brand letter without the usual logo, they’re more likely to suspect that something’s wrong.
The email service has one more essential parameter to look over , which reduces the possibility of phishing. Additional support and protection only makes an appearance on platforms that support BIMI. Maybe in the future BIMI will become a standard feature.
If the Avatar is Set up a Different Way, do I Still Need BIMI?
The most likely answer to this question is no. BIMI is needed if you need different logos for different subdomains. From a safety point of view, the benefit is still small as a result of the low number of interlinked platforms.
How to Get Started with BIMI:
- Prepare your logo. Use the square, SVG format. Discard any small details, as the logo will be small and small words and items will be difficult to see. This also means you do not need to aim for a high quality image, as it will be too small to fully appreciate.
- Configure DMARC, DKIM, SPF, if you haven’t already done this . To further customize BIMI, use the p = quarantine or p = reject, policy for DMARC. Do not use the p = none policy, as this will not work.
- Add a BIMI entry. BIMI is a TXT record. It looks like this:
v=BIMI1; l=https://site.logo.svgv — protocol version, l — path to your logo in svg format.
- Update your DNS entry. For testing, send an email to gmail.com. If you see the logo, everything has been set up correctly.
Conclusion
BIMI is a text entry in DNS, in order to display the company logo next to the email in the inbox and reduce the chance of being spammed. Not all services support BIMI — only AOL, Verizon, Yahoo and Gmail.
The following case study is from Mindbox, the original brand behind Maestra’s technology