Summary
The practice of using a personal Gmail profile picture to display a brand logo alongside mass emails has become increasingly unreliable. While some senders might still observe this working, particularly for older setups or known contacts, it is not a consistent method for broad audience reach. Gmail, along with other major mailbox providers, has shifted towards more secure and verifiable methods for brand logo display in the inbox. These modern solutions primarily revolve around Brand Indicators for Message Identification (BIMI) and, in many cases, a Verified Mark Certificate (VMC).
Key findings
- Unreliable Method: Using a personal Gmail profile picture for brand logo display in mass emails is no longer a dependable strategy, especially for new implementations. Its effectiveness has significantly diminished.
- Authentication Focus: Google is prioritizing authenticated methods like BIMI for displaying brand logos, pushing senders away from informal profile picture associations. This aligns with broader efforts to improve email security and trust.
- BIMI Adoption: Brand Indicators for Message Identification (BIMI) is now the recommended standard for businesses to display their logos. Implementing BIMI requires strong email authentication, including DMARC enforcement.
- VMC Requirement: For guaranteed logo display and the associated blue checkmark in Gmail, a Verified Mark Certificate (VMC) is typically required alongside BIMI. This validates the logo as a registered trademark.
Key considerations
- Implement BIMI: For consistent and official logo display, focus on implementing BIMI. This involves setting up proper DMARC records and ensuring your logo is a registered trademark. Learn more about BIMI requirements for Gmail logo display.
- Consider VMC: If a blue checkmark and maximized visibility are priorities, investigate obtaining a VMC. While it incurs a cost, it signifies a higher level of trust and brand authenticity. You can explore if a VMC is mandatory for Gmail logo display.
- Leverage Apple Business Connect: For Apple Mail users, Apple Business Connect offers a free way to display your logo, even without a VMC. It is a distinct but related initiative for brand identity. You can find more details on Apple Business Connect on SpamResource.
- Monitor Deliverability: Regardless of your chosen logo display method, continuously monitor your email deliverability to ensure your messages reach the inbox effectively.
What email marketers say
Email marketers have varying experiences with Gmail profile pictures displaying for mass emails. Some report that the 'hack' continues to work for their existing campaigns, suggesting a potential grandfathering effect for older setups. Others, however, find that new attempts to implement this method are unsuccessful. A common sentiment is the desire for brand visibility without the financial commitment often associated with official solutions like Verified Mark Certificates.
Key opinions
- Inconsistent Results: Many marketers find the behavior of Gmail profile pictures unpredictable when sending mass emails. What works for one sender may not work for another, or even for the same sender across different campaigns.
- Legacy Functionality: Some believe that accounts with long-standing profile picture configurations might still display them, but setting up a new profile picture for mass email branding is often ineffective.
- Animated Logo Decline: The use of animated profile pictures or 'fake BIMI' appears to be losing support, with marketers observing them no longer displaying as they once did.
- VMC Cost Concerns: The expense of obtaining a Verified Mark Certificate (VMC) is a significant deterrent for many marketers, prompting them to seek free or less costly alternatives for logo display.
Key considerations
- Test and Observe: Regularly test your email campaigns and observe how your sender identity, including any profile pictures or logos, appears across different email clients, especially Gmail. This will give you an accurate picture of current functionality.
- Explore BIMI without VMC: Some marketers try to implement BIMI without a VMC to achieve logo display, although this might not guarantee universal or blue checkmark visibility. This approach can be a starting point before investing in a VMC, as discussed in articles on displaying BIMI logos without a VMC.
- Prioritize Brand Consistency: Aim for a consistent brand presence across all touchpoints, including email. Even if a profile picture workaround yields inconsistent results, focus on long-term, reliable solutions for your email image strategy.
- Budget for Authenticated Display: As official logo display becomes standard, budgeting for BIMI implementation and a VMC should be considered part of your overall email marketing investment. This secures optimal logo display in Gmail and Microsoft.
Marketer view
Email marketer from Email Geeks asked about the Gmail profile picture 'hack' for mass emails. They specifically mentioned using platforms like Klaviyo and observed that their recently set up profile picture wasn't appearing as expected. This suggests a potential shift in how Gmail handles these unauthenticated sender images for bulk sends, leading to reduced visibility.
Marketer view
Email marketer from Email Geeks initially stated that they did not believe the Gmail profile picture method still worked for mass emails. This direct observation suggests that for some users, the functionality has ceased, possibly due to updates on Gmail's end that prioritize more formalized brand identity methods. This could indicate a move away from informal profile picture display for non-personal communications.
What the experts say
Email deliverability experts largely concur that the era of relying on simple Gmail profile pictures for brand logo display in mass emails is over. They emphasize that Google has actively moved to deprecate this informal method in favor of more robust and secure identity verification. The consensus is that Brand Indicators for Message Identification (BIMI), backed by strong email authentication and often a Verified Mark Certificate (VMC), is the official and future-proof path for brands seeking consistent logo visibility and trust signals in the inbox.
Key opinions
- Deprecation Confirmed: The traditional method of using a Gmail profile picture for business or mass emails has been deprecated. This means it is no longer a reliable strategy for brand logo display.
- BIMI is the Standard: Experts highlight that Google's strategy is to push senders towards BIMI as the definitive way to display brand logos, ensuring authenticated sender identity.
- VMC for Business: For business email addresses, a Verified Mark Certificate (VMC) is often necessary for consistent logo display and the associated blue checkmark, signifying verified authenticity.
- Personal vs. Business Distinction: Profile pictures might still work for personal emails or known contacts, but their functionality does not extend reliably to unauthenticated mass email campaigns.
Key considerations
- Strengthen Authentication: Ensure your domain has robust DMARC, SPF, and DKIM authentication in place. These are foundational for BIMI and overall email deliverability. Utilize a simple guide to DMARC, SPF, and DKIM.
- Embrace BIMI: For consistent logo display across major email clients, including Gmail, implement BIMI as part of your sender identity strategy. This includes validating your logo and certificate with a guide to validating BIMI.
- Explore Apple Business Connect: Consider Apple Business Connect as a free alternative for logo display, particularly for Apple Mail users. While not BIMI, it serves a similar purpose for brand visibility. More information can be found on SpamResource on Apple Business Connect.
- Stay Updated: Email deliverability standards and requirements evolve constantly. Stay informed about updates from major mailbox providers like Google and Yahoo to ensure your branding remains effective.
Expert view
Expert from Email Geeks recalls that the ability to display a Gmail profile picture alongside mass emails was deprecated. They state that for business addresses, only a Verified Mark Certificate (VMC) is effective for showing the logo. Conversely, a profile picture might still work for personal emails and known contacts, highlighting a clear distinction between personal and professional email sending practices.This shift is attributed to Google's strategic efforts to promote BIMI. The company has implemented changes that effectively push senders towards adopting more secure and authenticated methods for brand identity, moving away from informal and less verifiable profile picture solutions.
Expert view
Expert from Email Geeks indicated that the claims regarding displaying BIMI logos in Gmail without a VMC are quite possibly losing validity. While they didn't offer a 100% confirmation, the expert suggested that the trend points towards such workarounds becoming ineffective over time. This implies that Google and other mailbox providers are steadily closing loopholes that allow unauthenticated logo display, reinforcing the need for formal BIMI implementation.This observation aligns with a broader industry move towards stronger email authentication and brand verification, making it harder for senders to display unverified logos. The implication for marketers is that relying on these methods is increasingly risky, and investing in proper BIMI with a VMC will likely become unavoidable for consistent brand presence.
What the documentation says
Official documentation and industry standards increasingly emphasize Brand Indicators for Message Identification (BIMI) as the authoritative method for displaying brand logos in email inboxes. This approach requires strong email authentication, including DMARC at an enforcement policy, and often a Verified Mark Certificate (VMC) to ensure the logo is a registered trademark. These requirements signify a move towards a more secure and trustworthy email ecosystem, where sender identity is verifiable and consistent across mailbox providers.
Key findings
- BIMI as Official Standard: Documentation from major email providers and industry bodies consistently points to BIMI as the established and future-proof mechanism for brand logo display.
- DMARC Enforcement: A fundamental requirement for BIMI is having a DMARC policy set to quarantine (p=quarantine) or reject (p=reject), ensuring strict email authentication.
- VMC for Verified Logos: To achieve a verified logo and blue checkmark, particularly in Gmail, documentation indicates the need for a VMC, which cryptographically binds a trademarked logo to the authenticated domain.
- SVG Format Specifics: BIMI logos must adhere to specific Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) format requirements, as detailed in technical specifications, to ensure proper rendering across clients.
Key considerations
- Trademark Registration: For VMC eligibility and the most reliable BIMI display, your brand logo must be a registered trademark in the relevant jurisdictions.
- DNS Record Management: Proper configuration of DNS records (SPF, DKIM, DMARC, and BIMI TXT records) is critical. Any misconfigurations can prevent logo display.
- Mailbox Provider Support: While BIMI is gaining traction, verify which email clients fully support it and whether a VMC is required for each to display your logo consistently.
- Security Alignment: BIMI's reliance on DMARC aligns brand visibility with enhanced email security, protecting both senders from impersonation and recipients from phishing. This holistic approach is detailed in Google Workspace security overviews.
Technical article
Badsender's documentation indicates that it is possible to display your logo as BIMI in the Gmail inbox even without purchasing a VMC certificate. This method involves completing all other BIMI setup steps, such as DMARC authentication and SVG logo formatting, but foregoes the VMC. While it might result in the logo appearing, it will not include the blue checkmark typically associated with VMC-verified brands.This approach highlights a nuanced aspect of BIMI implementation, offering a potentially more accessible entry point for brands. However, it also implies a trade-off: visibility without the highest level of verified trust. Senders must weigh the benefits of a free logo display against the enhanced credibility and consistent visibility provided by a VMC.
Technical article
Google Workspace documentation often emphasizes secure online productivity tools for teams of all sizes. While not directly about profile pictures, this highlights Google's overarching strategy to provide a secure and reliable platform for business communication. This security-first approach inherently disfavors informal methods of identity display, pushing towards authenticated solutions like BIMI.The focus on secure, online tools suggests that any display of brand identity must be robust and verifiable to align with Google's commitment to user trust and protection against phishing and impersonation. This underpins why simple profile picture 'hacks' are no longer effective for mass emails from businesses.
Related resources
5 resources
Related pages
How to display email sender logos in Yahoo Mail and Gmail?
How can I display my logo in Gmail and Microsoft, and what are the potential security risks?
How do I display my logo in email inboxes, particularly Gmail, and what are the BIMI requirements?
Is VMC mandatory for Gmail logo display, and what are the alternative methods?
Can BIMI logos be animated and how do Google profile images interact with BIMI?
Why isn't my logo image loading in Gmail, even after moving the email from spam?
A guide to validating your BIMI SVG and certificate
Understanding the business value and ROI of implementing BIMI
Is Apple Business Connect the same as BIMI? a comparative guide
Which email clients actually support BIMI?
