Each year just before the start of race season, the Indiana University Health Foundation hosts Rev — the biggest party in May — at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Funds raised from Rev ticket sales support statewide trauma and critical care programs at IU Health, including care for drivers and patrons at the emergency medical center at the speedway itself. TrendyMinds has helped promote Rev since its inception in 2014, and each new year has provided opportunities to evolve our messaging on behalf of IU Health. As part of this year’s campaign, we were excited to send emails with unique and interactive elements to our list of potential attendees.  Interactive Lists The first email we sent highlighted the entertainment offerings at Rev, from the lineup of celebrity chefs — including Joe Sasto — to the bands that were playing the event. A prominent call-to-action invited viewers to purchase tickets for Rev. Creating this first email presented an interesting challenge. There was a large selection of entertainment offerings at Rev this year, and we had to figure out a way to list them all without making it seem overwhelming. We ultimately settled on showcasing the entertainment roster in six interactive ‘accordion-style’ lists. The accordion-style list is a design technique that allows a user to click a subject header, which then expands a list of items beneath it. Animated GIFs At every Rev event, IndyCar drivers are paired with chefs. At the top of the email announcing this year’s driver-chef pairings, we placed an animated GIF rotating through many of the IndyCar drivers featured at Rev 2019. While not technically an interactive feature, we have found – and others agree – that GIFs can increase email engagement by grabbing readers' attention.  This email also included a link to the story of how the Rev 2019 Maker’s Mark Private Select bourbon blend was made. Embedded Video After Rev, there was one last email to send — a thank-you! This email included a video embedded right into the email itself. Not a screengrab. Not a link. A real, watchable video. The technology that allows coders to build working videos into emails is fairly new, and opens the door to using the medium to tell all kinds of new stories. Check out the full video. In Conclusion Email has always been one of our favorite ways to communicate about and promote Rev to potential event-goers. It's worth noting that not every inbox supports all the features above, and that it's important to understand your audience and plan for their specific needs.  In our view, rumors of the demise of email have been greatly exaggerated. It’s a classic and enduring platform for sharing content and information with your audience — and it’s ripe for innovation. We have really enjoyed working on campaigns for Rev over the years, and we’re excited to see what innovative email opportunities next year brings!