Arun and Jeni
Let’s imagine the future lives of Arun, a consumer, and Jeni, a marketing manager at A1 Books, in a DEF world. Here’s a short story, written in collaboration with ChatGPT.
Arun stretched his arms, waking up to the soft glow of his smart alarm clock. The date, time, and weather info slowly blurred into focus, alongside a few email notifications. He reached out and tapped the most recent one – a promotional email from the insurance company. The Mu in the Subject line told his this was one with a Dynamic Engaging Footer (DEF). He scanned the content (a reminder of a renewal payment due soon) and then scrolled further to the footer.
Instead of the regular static content, this email was alive. There was an ad from A1 Books which showcased a carousel of bestselling books. The footer was personalised based on Arun’s reading habits, featuring a mix of mysteries and self-help books. “Ah, this anthology of locked room stories looks interesting,” Arun muttered, noticing the title in the DEF. With a single tap, he purchased the book from within the email. No redirects, no waiting.
On the other side of the city, Jeni, the marketing manager at A1 Books, reviewed her dashboard. The DEF Actionable Ads initiative had been her brainchild, and she was eager to see the results. The metrics were impressive; revenues were up by 20% ever since they introduced DEF. Not only was she able to run targeted ads in non-competing emails, but she was now also getting more opens by gamifying content with the footers of A1 Books’ own emails. Customers were engaging more, buying directly from the emails, and even leaving reviews without ever leaving their inboxes.
A notification popped up on her screen. “Arun Malhotra has just made a purchase using DEF.” Jeni smiled, recognising the name. Arun was one of their long-time loyal customers. The DEF system allowed her to send personalised book recommendations based on his preferences, and he seemed to love it.
Throughout the day, Arun received a few more DEF-enabled emails. He received a personalised financial tip from his bank – he had not read some of their recent emails which seemed too “salesy” for him. His favourite restaurant had a new menu, and the DEF let him book a table for the weekend, complete with a special discount applied. He had played a few games in some of the other emails. Emails were cool again! And he had clocked 35 Mu during the day.
Jeni, on the other hand, had a busy day. She had meetings with various departments to discuss integrating DEF into other customer touchpoints. The team was even exploring creating a DEF for event invitations for their bookstore readings, which would let attendees RSVP, pick a seat, and order a snack, all within the footer email. She wanted to also use the A1 Books footers to collect more profiling information on what people liked – without intruding into the mail body.
By evening, Arun settled into his favourite armchair, an e-book reader in hand. He began reading the book he’d purchased that morning, lost in the world of fiction. The DEF had made his day smoother, saving him time and effort.
Jeni, wrapping up her day, looked at the final metrics. Thousands of transactions, all through DEF – some through ads served by A1 Books and others in emails sent by A1 Books. She jotted down some notes for tomorrow’s meeting. They were only scratching the surface of what DEF could do, and she was excited about the possibilities.
In this world powered by DEF, both consumers and marketers found value. The long-ignored email footer had come to life powering engagement and commerce. It was a world where technology made lives simpler, bridging the gap between intent and action, one email at a time.
