No restrictions for your marketing with ProCampaign® through iOS 15

Bremen, January 2022: In the run-up to the iOS 15 update, some voices postulated the end of digital marketing. The Wall Street Journal, for example, agreed with this thesis by presenting Mail Privacy Protection. But what has actually changed since the update? Is newsletter marketing really about to come to an end?

Which two features in the update affect your marketing and what do they change?

The already mentioned Mail Privacy Protection hides the IP address and loads content of emails in the background. What makes this special is that the content loads before the email has even been opened. This is intended to make it more difficult for all senders to track email activity.

The second new feature called Hide my Mail concerns the already known throwaway addresses. Instead of using third-party vendors, iOS 15 itself brings this feature. This change does not mean a big change for the newsletter everyday life.

What does the change affect?

While the option to set up throwaway addresses has been around for a long time, the extended privacy settings are a novelty. iOS 15 users are strongly recommended to use the additional privacy after the update. Some devices automatically activate this option after the update, while other models aggressively advise their users to turn on the corresponding function. Marketers can accordingly assume that a majority of iOS 15 users will use higher data protection.

Pessimists predicted the untrackable open rate. In this context, features like Best Send Time would also no longer have an effect. An anonymous IP address does not play a role in this context, because DSGVO-compliant marketing does not use IP addresses. Only a closer look at the data shows what the update changes in ProCampaign® reporting.

Our data analysis

The good news beforehand: Changes are only marginally noticeable overall and major conversions are therefore not necessary.

ProCampaign® still reliably measures opening rates of a newsletter, but only the first opening. The key performance indicator of unique-opens remains a reliable means of identifying the performance of campaigns. However, the number of total opens loses its significance. The opening behavior of users continues to lead to target group formation and is regarded as an indicator of their activity. Only the repeated opening of an email remains hidden.

iOS 15 does not send any meaningful information about the user agent when a newsletter is opened. Opening statistics therefore do not reliably recognize iOS 15 as the operating system used and place it under the Other item. Nevertheless, the user agent sends click information. Thus, iOS 15 users explicitly appear in the click statistics.

How to react?

Marketers should avoid IP addresses and increasingly use call-to-actions. In order to interpret statistics correctly, it is important to keep the changes in mind and to rethink the importance of KPIs.

- Data from customers is only transmitted after a click. Therefore, CTAs should be present in every email and newsletter. Eye-catching colors and designs help increase the likelihood of clicks.

- Those responsible for openings should also pay attention to unique opens. Through these statistics, they can continue to leverage best send time: Subscribers receive the newsletter at their favorite time. The probability of an opening increases.

Presumably, iOS 15 will not remain the only operating system with changes of this nature; other vendors will follow suit. ProCampaign® will continue to check changes regularly in the future.