Iconic marketer Seth Godin talks about a phenomenon called the "purple cow." Essentially, he notes that if you are driving down the road and you see a cow you wouldn't think much of it. You see cows all the time. But if you suddenly saw a purple cow, you would stop and stare and take pictures. It would be wholly different and unique and you would want to tell people about it.

This philosophy is part of the rationale behind emergent software like Bonjoro that do personal video emails. The concept is that through video personalization, companies can stand out in a noisy inbox. Personal video emails have the benefits of facial expression, tone and body language to help connect with a user. Imagine if your favorite band, or your coach or your favorite content creator sent you a personal video, tailored just for you after you made a purchase or hit a milestone. It's a pretty unique and exciting experience.

By giving that personal attention, you create customer delight and get a substantial lift in open and engagement rates. According to Harvard Business Review in a study on engagement for an insurance company, they noted, "In the control group, which didn't receive any digital contact, 1.3% of people activated their account. In the email condition, that number increased to 4.3%. However, the personalized videos doubled the activation rate, with 8.2% signing into their retirement accounts."

So the results behind personal video are powerful, but what about at scale? What about the rest of your business logistics? What about storing and organizing customer information so that you have the context to respond in a personal way?