Digging into interactive email design with ActionRocket
For this email breakdown, I had not one but two guests join me. Ben Clay and Conor Wilson from ActionRocket, the go-to creative agency for all things CRM, were kind enough to walk me through a standout campaign they created for BBC Studios.
This wasn’t your average promo email. This was a full-on experience, complete with animations, interactive elements, and even a hidden dinosaur or two.
Meet the team
Conor is a Senior CRM Developer at ActionRocket - aka the person who makes all the clever code magic happen. Ben, a Lead Designer who’s been with the agency for over seven years, is the creative brain behind the visual and conceptual direction. Together, they bring email ideas to life in ways that go well beyond the inbox norm.
The brief: bring the dinosaurs to life
The ActionRocket team has worked with BBC Studios for nearly a decade, and the relationship is collaborative, open, and full of back-and-forth discussion. For this particular campaign, that partnership was key to nailing the details and getting the creative direction just right. The main goal was to reflect the immersive, story-driven nature of the show.
The email: collaboration meets craft
When I say this was an immersive email, I mean it. The experience begins with a “click to enter” screen which, when clicked, triggers a subtle rumble animation that immediately sets the tone.
From there, the email unfolds into a rich, layered journey. Dinosaurs move, clouds drift, and every section has something unexpected. Think tap-to-reveal interactions using HTML input checkboxes and CSS animations. It’s technical, yes - but also incredibly playful.
Ben and Connor both emphasised how important it was to make the experience clear. As fun as it was to build, they never wanted it to feel confusing or overly clever. This is where their “nan test” came in! If your nan can use it, it passes. And that thinking shows up in the microcopy too. Simple, direct prompts like “Click bones to dig” help guide the user without over-explaining or complicating the flow.
Let’s play a game…
One of my favourite elements? The quiz. As you click through each bone (six are clickable, but ten appear to keep things interesting), you “dig up” one of the featured dinosaurs. Each one comes with a short interactive quiz and a call to action to keep digging.
The quiz isn't just a gimmick - it actually mirrors the show’s narrative structure, where viewers learn about individual dinosaurs and the archaeological discoveries behind them. There’s even a little excavation flag that appears once you've completed a dig. Honestly, it’s all very satisfying.
The process behind the magic
This level of interactivity doesn't just happen overnight. The team worked on this over a few weeks, with about two solid weeks of development once assets were in place. From the start, they pulled in the wider team - designers, developers, account managers - to brainstorm ideas. And you can feel that collaboration in all the tiny details.
Don’t forget the fundamentals
Even with all the bells and whistles, they didn’t neglect the email basics. There’s a clear logo, a functional footer, and smart fallback options. For users whose email clients don’t support interactivity, the experience seamlessly redirects to a browser-based version - meaning no one misses out.
Accessibility was top of mind too. Interactive emails are always a bit tricky in this department, but they made sure to do everything they could - and the BBC’s segmented, well-maintained lists helped ensure top-notch deliverability too.
Final thoughts…
What I loved most about this campaign (aside from being able to impress my nine-year-old with my new-found dino knowledge!) is how intentional every detail feels. From the quiz structure to the jagged soil-inspired borders to the shovel you use to “dig,” everything ties back to the story the email is trying to tell.
It's a reminder that email doesn’t have to be boring. With the right team, a collaborative client, and a willingness to push what’s possible, it can become something that people genuinely want to click through.
Want your own (private!) email review? I can SHOW you what works, what doesn’t, and how you can make sure YOUR emails convert. I teardown your emails, so that you can build them up bigger and better - CLICK HERE!
