This shopping holiday season is more important than ever to email marketers. It’s make-it-or-break-it time for those Black Friday email marketing efforts.
According to recent reports, in 2025, customers are expected to spend nearly $80 billion on Black Friday and Cyber Monday, an increase from $20 billion last year. A big contribution to this spending is email marketing, as consumers are searching for the best discounts and deals.
61% of consumers said that they prefer hearing about Black Friday deals from an email, while SendGrid reported that there was a 13% rise in Black Friday email volume year-over-year.
You’re already doing everything you can to prepare for Black Friday email marketing success. Your infrastructure is locked into place, your warming and segmentation plans are defined, and your Black Friday email campaigns are designed and ready to be loaded into your automation platform.
But how can you top your metrics and success from last year? We have a little secret that could boost your open rates by 20% this Black Friday.
The answer? Brand Identifiers for Message Identification (BIMI).
| 2025 BIMI trends to watch: – 40% growth in BIMI adoption in retail and e-commerce in 2024 – Major inbox providers tightening security policies, especially Google, Microsoft, and Yahoo’s 2024 sender requirements – Growing brand preference for authentication-driven trust signals over traditional security indicators |
What is BIMI?
Brand Identifiers for Message Identification (BIMI) puts your logo in the inbox directly next to your Black Friday email, outshining missing or grayed-out initials. BIMI works with many email clients and webmail providers, such as Gmail, iCloud, Yahoo, and others.
To enable BIMI on your domain, you need to either have a Common Mark Certificate (CMC) or a Verified Mark Certificate (VMC). In the past few months, Google announced that it would support CMCs, which don’t require trademarked logos. This announcement opens the avenue for more brands to get their logo next to a branded email.
BIMI offers many benefits, including increased brand visibility, higher user engagement, and a consistent brand experience. Some BIMI users can also receive the blue verified checkmark next to their name in the Gmail inbox.
Why BIMI matters more than ever in 2025
Retailers and e-commerce brands are leaning harder than ever into email marketing, which means inbox competition is fierce. In fact, in the retail and e-commerce space in 2024, BIMI adoption grew 40%. If you’re not adopting BIMI, your brand is becoming less competitive in the space.
Not all brands have implemented a BIMI logo because it’s still a relatively new and emerging technology. More than 20,000 of the top domains have implemented a BIMI logo, which might sound like a lot, but millions of brands haven’t explored their BIMI opportunity.
By trailblazing your way to implementing a BIMI logo, you’ll get your logo (and attention) to display in places that competitors are missing out on.
The BIMI logo shows that your email domain is fully secure, which drives more subscriber trust. More importantly, BIMI drives additional engagement, giving you the chance to drive even more Black Friday email marketing revenue this holiday season.
Every logo that gets seen in your email is also a brand impression. Digital marketers are most likely already using display ad networks like Google and Facebook to drive brand impressions as part of a digital marketing strategy. The great news about email is that you can get amazingly low CPIs in comparison. Depending on which display ad network you are using, you could be paying $2-6 per impression.
Depending on the email volume you send to Google and Yahoo subscribers, with BIMI, you can see CPIs for as little as 10 cents or less. During the holiday season, just think about how all of those brand impressions could add up – more site visits, more search volume, and potentially more revenue.
“We were looking for a solution that could increase our brand protection and brand visibility by having our logo show up in our inbox without having to trademark our logo. The Common Mark Certificate (CMC) [and BIMI] helped us achieve this.”
Global Financial Management Company
Implementing BIMI on your email domain is more than just an upgrade; it’s a game-changer for your Black Friday email marketing strategy. With the ability to display your brand logo next to your emails, you’re not only enhancing your brand’s credibility. Thank it as the next evolution of email marketing, where trust and visibility drive open rates, engagement, and ultimately more revenue.
How to implement BIMI in time for Black Friday
Here’s your checklist:
- Reach DMARC enforcement.
Deploy Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance (DMARC) and get to enforcement (p=reject or p=quarantine) to qualify for BIMI. - Get a certificate.
Choose either a Verified Mark Certificate (VMC) or Common Mark Certificate (CMC) through DigiCert.
If you’re unsure which one to choose, this table can help you choose the best option for your Black Friday email marketing strategy:
| VMC | CMC | |
| Pros | – Logo and Google’s Blue Checkmark show on desktop and mobile – Highest security bar | – No trademark required – Easier to obtain |
| Cons | – Slower to obtain (if you don’t already have a trademark) | – No Google Blue Checkmark – The logo has to have been in use for over a year |
- Upload your logo.
Prepare a tiny SVG logo file and host it securely. This file must meet specific formatting standards. - Publish your BIMI DNS record.
Point your DNS record to your logo file and certificate. Valimail helps ensure this step is validated and error-free.
Sounds easy, but is your domain able to implement BIMI? Check your BIMI status for free with Valimail’s domain checker:
Check your
domain now
Enter your domain to see if it’s vulnerable to spoofing or if others are sending emails on your behalf. Instantly check your DMARC, SPF, and BIMI status with a detailed security report.
You’re not fully protected, learn more here.
Check your
domain now
Enter your domain to see if it’s vulnerable to spoofing or if others are sending emails on your behalf. Instantly check your DMARC, SPF, and BIMI status with a detailed security report.
You’re not fully protected, learn more here.
Check your
domain now
Enter your domain to see if it’s vulnerable to spoofing or if others are sending emails on your behalf. Instantly check your DMARC, SPF, and BIMI status with a detailed security report.
You’re not fully protected, learn more here.
Your Domain
Not protected AGAINST IMPERSONATION ATTACKS
DMARC NOT AT ENFORCEMENT
exampledomain1.com
Authentication Status for January 10, 2025
DMARC at Enforcement
SPF Record Configured
BIMI Ready
exampledomain1.com
Authentication Status for January 10, 2025
DMARC at Enforcement
SPF Record Configured
BIMI Ready
DigiCert + Valimail: The fastest path to BIMI
Enabling BIMI starts with DMARC enforcement, which is the essential foundation for sender identity and domain protection. Valimail’s platform makes this easy and fast, with automation that removes the complexity from DMARC management.
From there, DigiCert provides the required BIMI certificates (VMC or CMC), offering a secure and recognized path to displaying your logo.
Now that DigiCert has acquired Valimail, together, you get:
- Automated DMARC enforcement with Valimail Amplify
- Verified brand identity with DigiCert VMC/CMC
- A smooth BIMI implementation experience, just in time for your holiday campaigns
FAQs about BIMI for Black Friday
Q: Do I need a trademark to implement BIMI?
No, thanks to CMCs (Common Mark Certificates) from DigiCert, you can enable BIMI without a trademarked logo. However, if you have a trademark, you can obtain a Verified Mark Certificate (VMC).
Q: Will BIMI impact deliverability?
Indirectly, yes. BIMI requires DMARC at enforcement, which helps improve inbox placement. Plus, the visual brand presence can boost open rates and reduce unsubscribes.
Q: What happens if my brand doesn’t implement BIMI this season?
You’ll still be able to send emails, but you’ll miss out on key visibility and trust benefits. Without BIMI, your emails may appear with default initials or blank icons, especially in Gmail or Yahoo inboxes. That can make your messages easier to overlook or mistake for spam. BIMI helps you stand out and signals to recipients that your messages are legitimate and secure.
