Opens vs. Reads
Engage+ captures and reports on various recipient actions that occur as a result of Campaigns deployed from the platform. These actions are attributed back to the Campaign that drove the response, and allow marketers to measure the effectiveness of their Campaign strategy.
This topic describes "Opens" and "Reads." These two actions are similar in concept, and even have some overlap, which can lead to some confusion in how to interpret Campaign results.
Opens
Messaging automatically inserts a special one-pixel image into the top of every outbound HTML email message. This image is often referred to as a "tracking pixel" or "open pixel." This image is invisible to the recipient, and has no impact on the message's creative content. When the recipient opens the message, her email client software loads this tracking pixel. Messaging captures this action as an "Open."
An "Open" action can be captured only if the recipient receives the HTML version of the email message, and if the recipient has images enabled within her email client software.
If you're building a Filter and want to select recipients who performed an Open, use the Open HTML activity type.
Reads
In order to accommodate scenarios not supported by Opens, Messaging uses the concept of a "Read." Generally speaking, a Read is an "implied Open." A Read is captured and tracked by the platform when the following situations occur:
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The recipient clicks a tracked link in the Plain Text version of an email. Plain Text messages don't support images, so there is no tracking pixel. Therefore, the platform has no proof that the recipient opened the message. However, because the recipient clicked a link within the Plain Text version, the platform can infer that he had to have first opened the message, in order to then click a link within the message.
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The recipient clicks a tracked link in the HTML version, but the recipient has images disabled in her email client software. If images are disabled, then the tracking pixel will never load, and the platform can't capture an Open action. However, because the recipient clicked a link within the HTML version, the platform can infer that she had to have first opened the message, in order to then click a link within the message.
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All Opens, as defined above. Opens are a sub-set of Reads.
If you're building a Filter and want to select recipients who performed a Read, use the Campaign Read activity type. Because Opens are a sub-set of Reads, using the "Campaign Reads" activity type in a Filter will select a larger set of a recipients who were engaged with your Campaign, than if you use the "Open HTML" activity type.