Author: Amandine Fernandez, CMO Letsignit
Budgets are tight, pipelines are slower, and if you’ve recently sat in with a CFO, you’ll know exactly how forensic ROI questions have become.
For UK marketers, this has created a familiar squeeze: paid channels get pricier and yields plateau, organic reach is unpredictable, and attribution is murkier than ever. Everyone wants outcomes without adding cost – a contradiction unless you start rethinking the assets you already own.
The shift is not about chasing the next shiny channel, rather, it’s about making your owned surfaces work harder. From intranets to customer portals, from Slack groups to the humble email signature.
The new pressure on owned media
Marketers have spent the last decade optimising paid and earned channels. But with budgets under a CFO microscope, the conversation is shifting back to owned. It’s the only category that can be scaled without extra spend. The challenge is that most organisations under-invest in these ‘everyday’ touchpoints because they seem too small to matter.
Email signatures: hiding in plain sight
Take email signatures, for example. They already ride on the most reliable distribution rail that’s going: employee email. They reach people at a moment of attention – when they’re reading a message written specifically for them. And yet, most companies spend nothing on signatures, thinking of email as only a channel.
Dismissing it as “too small” ignores the maths. In a 200-person company, around 8,000 emails go out daily, which equates to between 150k and 200k monthly impressions. Even with modest CTRs, that’s measurable incremental traffic with no media cost.
From theory to ROI use cases
Once you treat signatures as programmable placements rather than static décor, the possibilities span every part of the organisation:
- Brand consistency: amplify campaigns, CSR messages or employer branding in every outward email.
- Product & service launches: spotlight new offers, seasonal campaigns or key updates without extra media spend.
- Events & activations: boost attendance at trade shows, conferences or community events, and extend the impact by promoting replays or follow-up content.
- Customer engagement: surface loyalty programmes, satisfaction surveys or support forums right where customers are already looking.
- Internal comms: reinforce training, compliance or wellbeing programmes at scale.
The best practice is the same as paid: clear single CTA, mobile-first creative, and rhythm aligned with campaign calendars. The difference is that there’s no extra line in the media budget.
Proof it works
At Michelin Connected Fleet, senior digital strategy & marketing manager Elodie Mescam said, “We really chose the Letsignit solution with IT to be sure of the synchronisation with our tools and our internal directory. We also wanted something easy to implement and fun to use creatively. Another advantage is visibility on the number of clicks – something impossible without a tool. Today, I can create a banner for the UK signatures in 30 minutes and deploy them to all employees easily.”
What this says about marketing in 2025
When every pound is scrutinised, efficiency gains are often hiding in plain sight. Everyday channels, once dismissed as ‘admin’, are becoming quiet ROI engines. Email signatures just happen to be one of the clearest examples.
With platforms like Letsignit, marketers can finally unlock that potential without adding complexity.
It’s not about adding more noise. It’s about making the messages you’re already sending work harder.
If you’d like to continue the conversation on how email signatures can drive alignment and impact, meet the Letsignit team at booth #38 during DMWF North America. And join Amandine Fernandez, CMO of Letsignit, on the Content, Video & Digital Brand Strategy track panel, “Shaping a Future-Proof Brand with Authenticity and Impact”, on October 14th at 10:45am.
Author: Amandine Fernandez, CMO Letsignit
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