I thought I'd address a question that came across my desk from one of our prospective clients.  He was inquiring about how opens can be tracked if his readers are using mobile devices.  Thankfully, there's a semi-simple answer (only complicated by BlackBerry devices).

Most of the mobile devices in production today accept and render HTML emails (we'll get to BlackBerrys later).  Since they are capable of rendering HTML they are also capable of rendering the pixel image that is used by email service providers (ESP) to track an open.  Thus, as long as images are rendering we can track the open.  Additionally, if readers click through on any links from their mobile devices but aren't showing up as opens in the emailed message report (e.g. due to disabled images) we can assume from the clicks that they've also opened.  We'll save the discussion about the importance of opens as a metric for another time.

Now, onto BlackBerrys. As anyone with a BlackBerry knows, they're terrible for viewing HTML emails. They do not render them properly and also render the pixel image used for tracking useless.  However, based on the point I made above about a user clicking, if you're lucky enough to get a user to click through in that mess on their BlackBerry screen then yes, we can track that as well.  There is hope for Blackberry users - RIM has recently announced an update to their servers and device software that will enable proper HTML rendering. According to RIM we should see an adoption over the first half of 2008.

Fun Fact: According to MarketingSherpa approximately 64% of "key decision makers" are reading messages with a BlackBerry or other mobile device.

For details on how to design your emails for mobile devices read: Mobile Email Marketing Tips.

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