Gmail Introduces Sponsored Email with Enhanced Content

eBay and PayPal teamed up with Gmail this summer to introduce "Supertrustworthy Email" -- a new class of email that has been thoroughly authenticated using DKIM and is indicated to end users as "supertrustworthy" via a small key icon displayed alongside the sender's logo in the message header. At the time of the announcement, Gmail said that eBay and PayPal were the first and only senders who's messages Gmail has deemed worthy of the icon and logo-display, but that they'd be rolling it out to other senders in the future who are susceptible to phishing attacks.

Parallel to its "Supertrustworthy Email" initiative, Gmail more quietly introduced "sponsored email with enhanced content".  People are starting to take notice now, with TechCrunch breaking the news this morning that one of its reporters had received an enhanced, sponsored Gmail email from Netflx.

So, what do senders get with sponsored email?

• Email is enhanced with an interactive gadget that has up-to-date content from the sender's web site
• The sender's icon is displayed in the header and also next to the subject line in the list view, indicating that the message is authenticated and hasn't been spoofed
• Consumers can essentially interact with web sites from inside Gmail

Do you want in? Notoriously secretive Gmail says on its site that "We're currently testing this with a small number of senders and will decide whether to make it widely available based on user and partner feedback."  What does that mean?  Unless you're a major brand sender, by comparison getting yourself a Google Wave invite will probably be a walk in the park... at least for the time being...

Until next time...

-Jordan