If you’re an email marketer or somebody who exchanges a lot of emails daily, chances are that you’ve already heard of BIMI and what it does. Following a substantial increase in usage throughout the second half of 2020, BIMI may soon become a must-have email marketing tool. Before we crunch the numbers further, let’s quickly look at the workings and definition of BIMI.

BIMI
BIMI or Brand Indicators for Message Identification is a new standard that allows businesses and organizations to display their brand logo alongside their email message in the inbox of a customer or client. This not only increases brand recognition but also enhances email deliverability by preventing fraudulent emails from reaching a recipient's inbox.
BIMI is a crucial protocol that fosters trust and enhances the subscriber experience, which is something that many organizations aspire for at every level of their email program. In an email inbox, BIMI assists recipients in quickly recognizing a brand. This boosts client confidence in the firm and its email communications.
The DMARC protocol serves as the foundation for BIMI. If BIMI is to be utilized, the domains must first be verified by DMARC to guarantee that the email is authentic before the brand's logo is displayed next to it. BIMI adds value to the brand by using the company's DMARC investment for visibility and cybersecurity.

BIMI BLOWS UP

By December 31, 2020, approximately 9,100 businesses had implemented BIMI. Gmail's continuing BIMI program has undoubtedly aided in this rise. The pandemic, too, has changed the character of customers' relationships with companies and shopping experiences. With millions of people trapped at home due to lockdowns, email has never been more important for customer service and marketing. However, that reliance has also exposed customers and workers to an increase in phishing and business email compromise (BEC) schemes.

BIMI is a component of the answer to such problems. It provides a method for marketers to make their communications stand out in overloaded inboxes. It also functions similarly to the email equivalent of the blue checkmarks used to authenticate social network accounts, making it more difficult for fraudsters to masquerade as reputable companies.

BIMI: A Strong Defense

Business email compromise (BEC) attacks, in which a cybercriminal impersonates a business CEO or other trusted senders by spoofing an organization's email address, are becoming a significant concern. If BIMI is widely used, scammers will have a difficult time impersonating brands via email. While a well-crafted fake domain may be tough for the average user to detect, the absence of a brand logo in an email will become an instantly obvious red flag over time.

BIMI enhances customers' capacity to recognize communications provided by a brand, safeguarding them by making it easier to detect messages that are not legitimate. The architecture of BIMI makes it especially suitable for high-risk enterprises like banks, social media platforms, and big retailers.

It can be safely said that adopting BIMI has multiple benefits and they far outweigh the setup cost. This will result in maximized adoption across the globe enhancing security and safety in an organization.

Original source: https://www.reddit.com/user/emailauth-io/comments/qrfrj7/bimi_is_of.../