Brand Indicators for Message Identification (BIMI) is a standardized way for companies to use their logo as a visible indicator to help email recipients recognize and avoid fraudulent messages. BIMI builds on the DMARC email authentication protocol to develop trust with current and potential customers. For a closer look at the new BIMI standard, please click here.

Creating a BIMI Record

The following steps outline how to create a BIMI record for your domain:

1. Create Image in SVG Format

First, you’ll need to obtain a copy of your logo and convert it to SVG format. For those steps, please click here.

2. Visit DNS Hosting Provider and Select Create Record

Now that you’re ready to create a BIMI record for your domain, visit your DNS hosting provider. After logging in, locate the prompt to create a new record.

3. Add Host Value

In this field, you’ll likely input the value _bimi and the hosting provider will append the domain/subdomain following that provided value. (ex: default._bimi.example.com)

4. Select TXT DNS Record Type

Based on provider, you’ll likely see a dropdown list of DNS record types. Because a BIMI record is a kind of TXT DNS record, be sure to select the “TXT” option.

5. Add “Value” Information

There are two required tag-value pairs that MUST be present on every BIMI record: v and l.

• The only tag-value pair for v (version) is v=BIMI1
• Confirm l (location) tag is present and followed by a full URL of your logo using HTTPS (l is lowercase L)

6. Publish BIMI Record

Click “Save Record Set” button to generate your new BIMI record.

7. Test BIMI Record for Errors

The last step you will want to perform is to Run a BIMI Record Check to verify the record you just created has the correct values and syntax. This tool will also render how your logo will appear in email clients.

Note: Creating your BIMI record and publishing it to the DNS per the above steps doesn’t automatically display your logo in all customer inboxes. Currently, several Oath brands (Yahoo!, AOL, etc.) are testing the BIMI standard in beta with their mailbox users, and the inbox providers that participated in developing the protocol and are likely to add BIMI support soon. Gmail will also be rolling out their own beta test of the BIMI standard in 2020. By having your BIMI record and associated logo published in the DNS, your brand will easily be recognized and trusted by current and future customers. For details on all BIMI technical specifications, please click here.

Summation

Creating a BIMI record for your company’s logo to be visible in customers’ inboxes is a simple way to enhance your brand. Not only are current and prospective clients confident that your emails are legitimate, they also gain a level of trust by seeing your approved logo in their inbox. Each time a customer receives a message from your domain using the BIMI standard, at least three potential unique brand impressions are made—message list, email address in message, and within message itself. The quicker your business decides to adopt BIMI (when available via your outbound email provider), the more recognized your brand will be.

MxToolbox is here to Help!

MxToolbox Delivery Center is the most effective email deliverability solution for your business. With MxToolbox you get our decades of experience helping businesses just like yours manage your online reputation and improve your email delivery.

MxToolbox Delivery Center Features:

• Insight into your SPF, DKIM and DMARC (and BIMI!) configuration to ensure your sending email properly
• DMARC Compliance checks for all of your reported email
• Adaptive Blacklist Monitoring of all your email senders
• Recommendations for improving DMARC compliance and DMARC policies
• Event-based reminders for emergent issues and on-going maintenance

DMARC is a necessity for your business!  Improve your Email Delivery!

If you haven’t heard the exciting news, as announced in late July, Google is joining the AuthIndicators Working Group, agreeing to pilot the Brand Indicators Message Identification (BIMI) standard. Google will beta the concept in Gmail soon, so now is the time to start getting prepared by adopting DMARC and soon BIMI.

What Does this mean to me?

Google’s decision to join the BIMI working group is a strong indicator that the BIMI standard will successfully make it out of draft stage and will likely be adopted as DMARC 2.0. For those new to BIMI, BIMI is a new authentication standard that will allow domain owners to display their company logos inside of email platforms like Gmail, Yahoo! Mail, and potentially Outlook.com/Office 365 inboxes.

The intention of BIMI is to add an additional trust layer to the validity of email senders to help thwart email phishing attacks, as domains who are DMARC and BIMI authenticated will have their logos displayed front and center in those inboxes. Beyond the boost to the fight against email phishing, domain owners should be excited by BIMI, as this will allow them to get their logos directly in email inboxes; a long sought after real estate for marketers.

What Is BIMI?

BIMI is an industry-wide standards effort to use brand logos as indicators to help email recipients recognize and avoid fraudulent messages. Essentially, it allows email inboxes like Google’s Gmail to securely display approved logos beside DMARC authenticated messages, signaling to users that the received emails are legitimate and safe to open.

The BIMI standard also allows domain owners control over which logos email recipients see. For example, an insurance company could use BIMI to display its logo next to authenticated messages sent from its domain or an alternative logo at its choosing. This gives the insurance company complete control over which images are displayed, providing brand exposure, as well as protection against spoofing.

Using BIMI requires DMARC authentication is to be implemented on the respective domain. In fact, the BIMI standard is considered an extension of the DMARC protocol, i.e. DMARC 2.0 to some. At the current time, BIMI is still in draft stage and is being beta tested in Verizon Media (Yahoo! Mail, AOL, etc.) and will be in beta in Gmail in the near future.  However, MxToolbox is here to help you get ahead with our own BIMI Lookup tool.  

For further reading about BIMI please click here

What Is the BIMI Working Group?

The AuthIndicators Working Group is responsible for developing the BIMI standards. Currently, the Working Group’s public members include Agari, Comcast, LinkedIn, Return Path, Valimail, Verizon Media, and now Google. With a shared goal of reducing email fraud, the Working Group committee of companies is aiming to help create a safer inbox experience for all email users. 

The Future of Email Delivery

With the DMARC protocol slowly becoming such a vital aspect of email delivery over the years, BIMI in combination with DMARC will only improve on the DMARC standard. Improving protection in the fight against email phishing and opening up a new and exciting avenue for brand advertising/awareness for domain owners, brands, and marketers may finally be boost needed to spark rapid DMARC adoption. With BIMI still in beta, this is a great opportunity to adopt DMARC if you haven’t yet or have been too afraid to. 

Learn more about BIMI here

Get started with DMARC here

MxToolbox BIMI Lookup