BIMI
Brand Indicators for Message Identification
BIMI is a new email authentication standard that allows a brand’s logo to be displayed next to its messages in recipients’ inboxes.
BIMI stands for Brand Indicators for Message Identification.
In essence, BIMI adds an extra layer of security and brand recognition to your email marketing campaigns: when you send an email, if your domain is properly authenticated, your company’s logo appears as the sender’s avatar, boosting visibility and trust.
This protocol works together with existing authentication systems (mainly SPF, DKIM and DMARC).
First, you make sure your emails are authenticated with those technologies; then BIMI uses that verification to confirm that the message really comes from your organization.
Once verified, the major compatible email providers and clients (such as Gmail, Yahoo Mail or Apple Mail) will display your brand logo next to the message.
This way, users can recognize at a glance who is sending the email, which is very useful for telling your legitimate communications apart from phishing attempts or unwanted emails.
In other words, BIMI gives your company control over the image that appears in the user’s inbox.
In the past, many emails only showed generic initials or default icons; with BIMI, you can make sure it’s your own logo that your subscribers recognize when checking their email.
This not only reinforces your brand’s presence in the email channel but also improves the overall security of the email ecosystem by making it easier to identify trusted senders.
Benefits of implementing BIMI in email marketing
Adopting BIMI brings many advantages from both a marketing and a security standpoint.
Here are the main benefits of implementing BIMI in your email campaigns:
Increased trust and credibility:
When they see your company’s logo, recipients immediately recognize the sender.
This visual recognition builds trust, as it confirms the email truly comes from a legitimate source (your brand) and not an impersonator.
At a time when phishing and fraudulent emails are common, this visual seal of authenticity gives your subscribers peace of mind.
Strengthened brand identity:
BIMI turns every email into a branding opportunity.
Having your logo in the inbox reinforces your brand identity in the consumer’s mind.
Even if the user doesn’t open the email right away, they will see your corporate emblem, which helps keep your company top of mind and recognizable.
This sets you apart from other messages in the same inbox that don’t display any visual brand element.
Potential improvement in open rates:
Although the success of an email campaign depends on many factors (relevant content, an appealing subject line, proper segmentation, etc.), having your logo visible can have a positive impact on open rates.
Subscribers might feel more inclined to open an email if they clearly identify that it comes from a brand they know and trust.
In early studies, companies that adopted BIMI have observed increases in user interaction with their emails, including more opens and clicks.
Higher deliverability and sender reputation:
Implementing BIMI implies that you have taken the necessary steps to properly authenticate your domains (SPF, DKIM, and DMARC).
These protocols and the BIMI policy send a strong signal to email providers that you are a reliable sender.
As a result, your sender reputation improves, which can translate into better deliverability (that is, more emails reaching the inbox instead of spam).
In short, BIMI helps show services like Gmail or Outlook that your messages are legitimate, making it easier for them to get through their security filters.
Differentiation from the competition:
Relatively few companies have incorporated BIMI into their email strategies so far.
If you decide to use it, your brand will visually stand out among many other emails in your customers’ inboxes.
This differentiation can give you a competitive edge, as your campaigns will look more professional and polished by displaying your organization’s verified logo.
In markets saturated with information, anything that draws positive attention helps get your message noticed.
Together, these benefits make BIMI an attractive addition to any modern email marketing strategy.
It combines branding improvements with increased security and potentially higher campaign performance, all with a relatively straightforward implementation if you already meet the authentication requirements.
How do you implement BIMI?
Implementing BIMI requires meeting certain technical requirements and following a series of steps to configure it correctly.
Although it might sound complex, once set up, maintenance is minimal.
Below are the basic steps to start using BIMI on your domain:
Authenticate your domain with SPF, DKIM, and DMARC:
The first thing is to ensure that your sending domain is properly authenticated.
You must have valid SPF and DKIM records in your DNS, and configure an active DMARC policy.
Important: the DMARC policy must be set to “quarantine” or “reject” (not “none”), since BIMI only works if you are actually enforcing DMARC protection on your messages.
Prepare the logo in the appropriate SVG format:
BIMI uses a vector image file of your logo.
You’ll need to convert your logo to SVG Tiny PS format (a specific version of SVG recommended for BIMI).
The logo must meet certain criteria:
- Be square (1:1 aspect ratio)
- Transparent background
- No small text (as it wouldn’t be legible when displayed at a reduced size)
- And preferably under ~32 KB in size to ensure fast loading
Basically, it should be a simplified and clear version of your logo that looks good at icon size.
Get a mark certificate (optional but recommended):
Some email providers, especially Gmail, require a Verified Mark Certificate (VMC) or a Common Mark Certificate (CMC) to display the BIMI logo.
These digital certificates, issued by certificate authorities, confirm that you legally own the logo and the brand.
While getting a traditional VMC can be expensive and requires your logo to be a registered trademark, CMCs (a more affordable alternative that doesn’t require a registered trademark) were recently introduced to make it easier for smaller companies to adopt BIMI.
Having one of these certificates will increase the likelihood of your logo being displayed in all compatible email clients.
Publish the BIMI record in your DNS:
With all the above ready, you must add a BIMI TXT record to your domain’s DNS configuration.
By convention, this record is created using a default selector named default._bimi.
In the content (value) of the TXT record, you will include at least the version and the URL of your SVG logo.
For example, a basic BIMI record might look like this:
default._bimi.yourdomain.com TXT “v=BIMI1; l=https://yourdomain.com/path/logo.svg; a=https://path/vmc.pem”
Where v=BIMI1 indicates the version, l= points to the public location of your SVG file, and a= (optional) points to the VMC/CMC certificate in PEM format if you have one.
After publishing this record, it may take a few hours to propagate.
Verify the configuration:
Once the record is added, it is advisable to check that everything is in order.
You can use online tools (like the BIMI Group’s BIMI Inspector, or DNS checkers) to validate that your BIMI record is properly formatted and accessible.
These tools will tell you whether your SPF/DKIM/DMARC protocols are set up correctly and whether the logo meets the requirements.
If everything is fine, all that’s left is to wait for the major providers to detect your BIMI.
Keep in mind that each provider updates their records on different schedules, so the logo won’t be immediately displayed in all cases (it can take 24-48 hours after correct configuration).
Once these steps are completed, your email campaigns will start displaying the logo to users on platforms that support BIMI.
Currently, services such as Gmail, Yahoo Mail and the Apple Mail app support this feature, covering a large share of email users worldwide.
On the other hand, Outlook.com and other Microsoft services don’t currently offer this feature, so your emails will continue to be displayed without a custom logo on those platforms.
Even so, by implementing BIMI you are improving the authentication and security of your domain for all email providers, which is beneficial overall.
Conclusion
BIMI represents an interesting convergence of marketing and cybersecurity in the email space.
On the one hand, it adds value to email marketing strategies by making your communications more eye-catching and aligned with your brand identity.
On the other hand, it elevates the level of security, since using it requires following email authentication best practices, making it harder for malicious third parties to spoof your identity.
Although its implementation requires some technical coordination (especially in DNS and certificate configuration), the results can be well worth it.
Imagine the professional impression you make on recipients when they see your official logo in their inbox: it conveys reliability, trust and a commitment to transparency.
Additionally, since it is still relatively new, taking advantage of BIMI can differentiate you in a crowded inbox, increasing the chances that your messages will be opened and remembered.
Ultimately, BIMI is a modern and growing tool that any company focused on email marketing should consider.
If you already properly manage your email authentication, making the leap to BIMI is the logical next step to boost both deliverability and your brand image in every email you send.