Every year writers, media and tech aficionados alike predict the death of email, using the phrase “Email is Dead.” This phrase has become a bit of a mantra among a certain segment of the tech world. So this year, to prove that Email is NOT Dead, we created an ironic exhibition entitled Email Is Dead.

The experience was designed to spark debate and earned residency at the Design Museum in London. And for 30 days visitors got to experience the power and cultural impact email has had on our past with looks into the future.

Every year writers, media and tech aficionados alike predict the death of email, using the phrase “Email is Dead.” This phrase has become a bit of a mantra among a certain segment of the tech world. So this year, to prove that Email is NOT Dead, we created an ironic exhibition entitled Email Is Dead.

Situation:

Culture at large was telling everyone that email is dead. “Gen Z is going to kill it” they’d say. From Business Insider to the Wall Street Journal, even thought-leaders like Scott Galloway were telling marketers that email marketing was dead. Our own research showed that email marketing is one of nearly two dozen tactics used by marketers to drive traffic to their websites and acquire or retain customers – making it an easy thing to drop in favor of more modern channels.

With pressure to divest in email mounting, Mailchimp needed to take a stance.

Brief:

Create a public statement and take back the “email is dead” narrative.

Objectives:

Shift perception of email and Mailchimp with b2b marketers and the public

Increase Mailchimp's brand awareness in the UK market

Generate Earned PR and help end the email is dead debate once and for all

The art direction for Email is Dead was focused on bridging the nostalgia and history of email with Mailchimp’s personality and modern flair. Bold use of Mailchimp’s cavendish yellow is seen throughout as well as a pixelated grid pattern meant to mimic the digital space. Animated 3D rendered illustrations were created to evoke a similar notion to those used within a typical email browser; paperclip, arrow, @ symbol, paperplane etc. The art direction played a lot into the culture of email itself, from the way we displayed emails, to the interactive elements of the exhibit leaning on email language to our gift shop’s display case being a giant ‘@’ symbol. Email was not only the subject matter for the exhibit but a large source of inspiration and art direction. We wanted the whole experience to feel both familiar and anew.