Trust Is the New Marketing: Why BIMI Matters More Than Open Rates

Benjamin Tack
7 days ago
4 min read

There was a time when marketing lived and died by persuasion.

Today, the currency is trust.

Audiences are flooded with messages, offers, and fake alerts. One small visual signal can decide whether they ignore or engage. In email, that signal is your verified brand logo—made possible by BIMI (Brand Indicators for Message Identification) and a trust certificate (VMC or CMC).

BIMI turns brand integrity into a visible, measurable asset. It’s where cybersecurity and marketing shake hands—and where credibility becomes conversion.

Why trust beats a “good subject line”

Subject lines still matter. But in crowded inboxes, recognition precedes persuasion. Showing a verified logo next to your sender name does three things at once:

Signals authenticity (this really is you).
Reduces hesitation (safer to open, safer to click).
Builds memory (instant brand recall from sheer exposure).

Independent research bears this out. User testing from Red Sift/Entrust found BIMI can drive up to +39% open rates and improve purchase likelihood by +32–34% and brand recall by +120%, depending on scenario and audience.

Gmail has amplified the effect: senders who meet BIMI’s requirements can display a blue verified checkmark alongside the logo—an at-a-glance cue that Gmail has verified the brand behind the email.

The trust stack behind the logo (and why marketers should care)

BIMI isn’t a sticker you paste on your emails; it’s the visible tip of a robust authentication stack:

SPF (which servers may send for your domain)
DKIM (cryptographic signature)
DMARC (policy + alignment + reporting)

Mailbox providers only render your logo when these are implemented correctly (DMARC at quarantine or reject). Marketers benefit twice: higher user confidence and a stronger sender reputation/deliverability baseline.

Certificates complete the trust loop.

A VMC (Verified Mark Certificate)—or the newer CMC (Common Mark Certificate)—links your logo to your legal identity. VMCs generally require a registered trademark and unlock the strongest trust signals (e.g., Gmail’s blue tick); CMCs broaden access for brands with proven prior use of a logo.

What changes in performance (beyond “open rate”)

Think of BIMI as brand UX for the inbox:

Higher engagement quality. Beyond opens, brands have reported material lifts in CTR and downstream actions once BIMI is live, thanks to reduced user friction and clearer legitimacy. Some documented case notes cite +80% CTR on transactional streams post-BIMI; broader studies indicate consistent +10–20% engagement uplifts.
Better deliverability signals. DMARC enforcement—the prerequisite for BIMI—correlates with fewer spam placements and a healthier sender reputation. In short: good security hygiene is good marketing.
Stronger brand recall. Even without an open, the logo acts like a favicon for email, building familiarity over time. Tests show triple-digit recall improvements when the logo is present.

Social proof: what leaders are doing (and why it matters)

Well-known brands (e.g., banks, fintechs, big tech) have adopted BIMI to raise the bar against impersonation—Bank of America is a frequently cited example in DigiCert guidance. The presence of the blue tick and verified logo makes it easier for customers to recognise legitimate messages and ignore fakes.

And the ecosystem is leaning in. Gmail expanded BIMI with the checkmark in 2023; Yahoo supports similar verification; tooling providers across the industry now offer guided BIMI set-ups and CMC support to lower barriers for marketers.

The adoption gap = your opportunity

Despite clear benefits, adoption is still early—meaning visibility is a competitive advantage:

In a 2025 sample of 13,000 “From” domains, 90.85% had no BIMI record; only 4.57% had a valid one. Translation: early adopters stand out.
Across the top-million domains, BIMI records grew ~28% from mid-2024 to early-2025, yet error rates also rose, underscoring the need for expert implementation.
Separate industry updates note BIMI-driven engagement lifts (e.g., up to 10% in Yahoo studies) and sustained growth in BIMI publications year-on-year.

Bottom line: most brands haven’t switched on trust-at-a-glance. Those who do, win mindshare—and mail placement.

How to frame BIMI to the C-suite (and the board)

When budgets are tight, frame BIMI as a multi-team ROI:

Marketing: higher engagement, stronger brand presence, better campaign efficiency.
Security/IT: enforced DMARC, reduced spoofing, cleaner ecosystem.
Legal/IP: certificates formalise rights to the logo; fewer grey areas in identity misuse.

It’s not just a “nice logo”. It’s risk reduction, reputation defence, and revenue protection—wrapped into a single, visible standard.

Practical next steps (marketing-first, IT-friendly)

Audit authentication. Confirm SPF, DKIM, and DMARC are aligned; move DMARC to quarantine/reject once stable.
Decide VMC vs CMC. If your mark is registered, VMC maximises trust signals (incl. Gmail’s checkmark). If not, CMC can accelerate time-to-logo.
Prepare the logo. Clean SVG Tiny that matches your brand mark exactly.
Publish BIMI DNS. Host the SVG securely; point your BIMI TXT record at the logo and certificate as required.
Monitor & iterate. Watch inbox rendering, deliverability, and campaign KPIs; correct DNS or policy errors quickly. Growth in BIMI adoption has come with more configuration mistakes—don’t be one of them.

The strategic arc: from open rate to

open trust

Open rates are a symptom. Trust is the cause.

BIMI makes trust visible—every single time your audience sees your name in the inbox.

As Google and other platforms double down on verified signals (from blue ticks in Gmail to broader verification experiments across properties), brands that prove identity will enjoy algorithmic goodwill and human confidence in tandem.

You can’t buy trust. But you can prove it.

Ready to turn trust into a performance asset?

If you want your brand to show up proudly and credibly in every inbox, let Bimimi.io handle the complexity—authentication, certificates, DNS, and validation—so your teams can focus on growth.

Discover how trust drives performance: bimimi.io