The idea is simple: When the user opens the email, theyвЂ™ll see a static cover image. For example, you can create a static image that - on hover - magically starts to move, like you can see in this example: The easiest way to do this is with a hover effect. But did you know that itвЂ™s also possible to add an interactive element to your animation so that your subscribers can be the ones to bring your animations to life? In most email designs that use animated GIFs, the animation plays as soon as you open your email. Make your GIFs interactive: Starting animations on hover

Check it out to see more examples of campaigns using animated background images, along with step-by-step instructions on how you can set up your own and even make them work in (most) Outlook clients. WeвЂ™ve teamed up with ActionRocketвЂ™s email developer extraordinaire Jay Oram for this Ultimate Guide to Animated Background Images. But rather than using a static image to fill your table cell, you add in an animated GIF! Anything you then put inside that cell sits on top of the background image. To set an animated GIF as a background image, youвЂ™ll start off just like you would for setting a static background image: YouвЂ™ll need to create a containing table-and then set the background image attributes and inline styling on the first. Or, you could use an animated GIF as a subtle background animation to frame your entire email content, like Uber did so beautifully in this email here: For example, you can place live copy on top of your animated GIFs like you can see in this example from Article. Setting a GIF as a background image unlocks a whole new set of opportunities for your email designs. Animated Backgrounds: Combining the power of background imagery and animationДo you love the creative opportunities that background images provide? In this case, you might be excited to hear that you can animate background images, too! Want to go even further? Read on for three advanced ideas and creative use cases for animated GIFs that you might not have tried yet.

But simply replacing your static image with an animated GIF is just the first step. Many email marketers rely on animated GIFs as an easy-to-implement way to add movement to their campaigns. YouвЂ™re an email expert and have already mastered the fundamentals of animated GIFs in email design? ItвЂ™s time to bring your GIF game to the next level!

Animated gif background images