TYPES, TIPS, AND TACTICS OF VISUAL MARKETING 33 genuinely want to see. And if you are successful, you will see amazing results. Fishburne says that some of his customers who use cartoons as regular content additions to their newsletters see an open rate of up to 45% on those e-mails versus the traditional open rate of 5 to 8%. GIFs While GIFs have been around since 1987, they’re experiencing a new surge in popularity due to an uncanny ability to put an exclamation point on a moment. GIFs, or pictures in the Graphics Interchange Format, allow users to store multiple images or still frames from a video in an image file, bringing the image to life with animation. Though a relatively simple format at first glance, what makes GIFs special is their ability to tell a bite- sized story in a few seconds. GIFs also stand out for the unique niche they’ve created for themselves in pop culture. Think about the witty jokes common in memes or the actions present in slapstick humor like a cream pie to the face or a dog chasing its tail. GIFs capture comical and funny moments in several sec- onds in a way that bridges the best of both photo and video. The end result is so addictive that consumers will share and watch GIFs over and over again. Though GIFs have become pop culture darlings, there’s plenty of cre- ative potential for companies to tap in to. Over the Christmas holiday, Coca-Cola turned the “12 Days of Christmas,” into the “12 Days of GIFs” to craft a seasonal story on its Tumblr blog. Inspired by the popular reac- tion blog What Should We Call Me, HBO’s Girls created GIFs related to moments and themes from the show. Although there’s incredible potential for creativity, GIFs are supported on only certain platforms like Tumblr, Google+, blogs, and websites. GIFs have yet to break through on other platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest. Sites like BuzzFeed and Mashable regularly run roundup arti- cles with GIFs as the creatives. As a result, it seems like it’s not a question of if but when GIFs will truly hit the mainstream social media.