Launched in 2023, Apple Business Connect was introduced as a way for businesses to manage how their brand and business information was displayed across different Apple applications and services like Maps, Messages and Wallet.
But while the branded mail setup requirements read a bit similar to BIMI, there are significant differences -- this is definitely a specific, unique-to-Apple process. Let us compare:
Setup: Business Connect has an Apple-specific registration process that includes company registration, company verification, providing government ID, verifying your domain via a TXT record in DNS, and more.
Cost: BIMI effectively requires a paid Verified Mark Certificate for broadest mailbox provider support (or a Common Mark Certificate for Gmail support). Apple's program is free, but logo display is limited to mail on Apple Mail, and (probably) only for iCloud mailboxes.
Email Authentication: Both Apple Business Connect and BIMI require that a sending domain be protected with DMARC, publishing a policy of quarantine or reject. Find Apple's documentation on DMARC requirements here.
Logo: While BIMI requires a vector logo file (SVG Tiny PS format), Apple utilizes a bitmap logo (PNG, JPEG or HEIF format) with a size minimum of 1024x1024 pixels and maximum of 4864x4864 pixels.
Trademark/logo requirements: For BIMI, VMC requires a trademarked logo, and CMC requires proof that a (non-trademarked) logo has been live for at least a year. For Apple, they make no mention of trademark or prior use in their brand identity attributes or photo guidelines.
While it's good to have alternatives, Apple's Business Connect is not something that I would exactly consider as a BIMI replacement or BIMI "competitor." Consider that as this is iOS/MacOS only, it's going to show sending logos in Apple Mail (only). And will this cover only subscribers who receive mail at iCloud mailboxes? Probably; I have yet to see anything that suggests that Apple will show the Business Connect logo when the mailbox shown in Apple Mail is Gmail, Yahoo Mail, or some other non-Apple mailbox provider.
Assuming this is effectively limited to iCloud subscribers (see above), if a sender only implements Apple Business Connect; they'll only drive a logo display in email for a small percentage of email subscribers. But, if a sender implements BIMI with only a CMC (or no certificate at all), Business Connect could be additive; giving a sender a no-cost method to display a logo for Apple subscribers; something not available without VMC previously.
What if a sender has both a Business Connect logo and BIMI logo? Which one is displayed? And will this be complicated and difficult to implement if you're a small business owner? These are just the first questions I have today; I know I'll have more. But we'll learn more, I'm sure, as this rolls out and we observe implementations of it in the wild. Stay tuned.
Launched in 2023, Apple Business Connect was introduced as a way for businesses to manage how their brand and business information was displayed across different Apple applications and services like Maps, Messages and Wallet.
Last week, Apple announced changes, including new enhanced Business Connect functionality, specifically to allow a brand name and brand logo to be displayed in iPhone apps used for email, phone calls, and payments. (Read more on this announcement from the Verge.)
The email component of the new Apple Business Connect functionality sounds a bit like BIMI, Brand Identifiers for Message Identification, the email industry specification to display verified sender logos alongside email messages. BIMI is supported by multiple mailbox providers, including Apple's iCloud Mail.
But while the branded mail setup requirements read a bit similar to BIMI, there are significant differences -- this is definitely a specific, unique-to-Apple process. Let us compare:
- Setup: Business Connect has an Apple-specific registration process that includes company registration, company verification, providing government ID, verifying your domain via a TXT record in DNS, and more.
- Cost: BIMI effectively requires a paid Verified Mark Certificate for broadest mailbox provider support (or a Common Mark Certificate for Gmail support). Apple's program is free, but logo display is limited to mail on Apple Mail, and (probably) only for iCloud mailboxes.
- Email Authentication: Both Apple Business Connect and BIMI require that a sending domain be protected with DMARC, publishing a policy of quarantine or reject. Find Apple's documentation on DMARC requirements here.
- Logo: While BIMI requires a vector logo file (SVG Tiny PS format), Apple utilizes a bitmap logo (PNG, JPEG or HEIF format) with a size minimum of 1024x1024 pixels and maximum of 4864x4864 pixels.
- Trademark/logo requirements: For BIMI, VMC requires a trademarked logo, and CMC requires proof that a (non-trademarked) logo has been live for at least a year. For Apple, they make no mention of trademark or prior use in their brand identity attributes or photo guidelines.
While it's good to have alternatives, Apple's Business Connect is not something that I would exactly consider as a BIMI replacement or BIMI "competitor." Consider that as this is iOS/MacOS only, it's going to show sending logos in Apple Mail (only). And will this cover only subscribers who receive mail at iCloud mailboxes? Probably; I have yet to see anything that suggests that Apple will show the Business Connect logo when the mailbox shown in Apple Mail is Gmail, Yahoo Mail, or some other non-Apple mailbox provider.Assuming this is effectively limited to iCloud subscribers (see above), if a sender only implements Apple Business Connect; they'll only drive a logo display in email for a small percentage of email subscribers. But, if a sender implements BIMI with only a CMC (or no certificate at all), Business Connect could be additive; giving a sender a no-cost method to display a logo for Apple subscribers; something not available without VMC previously.
What if a sender has both a Business Connect logo and BIMI logo? Which one is displayed? And will this be complicated and difficult to implement if you're a small business owner? These are just the first questions I have today; I know I'll have more. But we'll learn more, I'm sure, as this rolls out and we observe implementations of it in the wild. Stay tuned.
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