Email Marketing Case Study

Designing emails people return to—with care, clarity, and measurable impact.

The Problem

When I arrived at Filson, the team had a clear goal: improve email performance—especially on mobile. Open rates were steady, but we knew there was room for growth, both in engagement and in sales across devices.

There was a deeper question underneath all of it: How can we create emails that people actually want to read?

Discovery: Start With People

As the primary driver of this initiative, I began by listening—looking at what customers responded to, what they ignored, and what they shared.

Filson’s longtime customers were deeply loyal. They loved the quality, the heritage, the sense of adventure. I wanted to protect that connection while also making space for new customers who didn’t yet know the brand.

So I studied.

• I hand-inspected every product we promoted.

• I asked Sales Associates to walk me through product highlights and benefits.

• I read through customer reviews.

• I worked a seasonal stint on the sales floor during the Christmas holidays to understand customer behavior firsthand.

• I brushed up on mobile UX best practices.

• I sketched layouts while picturing someone scrolling their inbox in line at the grocery store.

I kept asking: How do we meet people where they are—without losing what makes Filson feel like Filson?

Design: Every Detail Matters

The brand had strong creative direction, but email was often an afterthought. I wanted to change that.

I worked closely with the design and copy teams to make each email feel like a small window into the Filson world. That meant:

• Using the brand’s typography and textures with care

• Choosing images that reflected the campaign stories—bold but real, adventurous but grounded

• Creating layouts that were simple and clear, even on a 4-inch screen

I focused on structure, rhythm, and flow. Could someone skim this email in five seconds and still feel something? Could we help them take the next step—whether it was reading a story, exploring a product, or simply pausing to appreciate good design?

Iteration: Let the Work Teach You

Over time, patterns began to emerge. Some layouts just worked better. Certain placements of text and imagery led to more clicks.

We used eye-tracking studies and sales metrics to guide our decisions, but I also relied on instinct—on watching what people returned to again and again.

Eventually, I built a flexible system of five core templates that allowed us to move quickly without starting from scratch.

Results

• Built a system of 5 reusable, high-performing templates

• Increased production from 4 to 7 emails per week

• Helped drive a 4x increase in email-driven sales over four years

• Email became the company’s top-performing sales channel

This work wasn’t just about sending better emails. It was about building a relationship—one message at a time.

By designing emails that respected people’s time and reflected the quality of the Filson brand, we made space for trust to grow. Customers came back not just for the gear, but because the experience felt consistent, clear, and worth returning to.

As a result, we saw a steady increase in repeat purchases, stronger engagement, and a lasting lift in sales.

When email feels thoughtful, people notice. And they come back.

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Heybrook Lookout Tower
VR Experience

Story boarded the VR Experience of hiking to the Heybrook Lookout Tower with a guide articulating the history of the tower. View Final Experience (Warning: Video does not show the VR functionality).