Topic starter
21/10/2026 2:46 pm
TL;DR: Black Friday campaigns can still land in spam if SPF, DKIM, and DMARC are not properly enforced, according to Valimail, because mailbox providers evaluate sender identity before content and holiday filtering gets stricter under peak-volume conditions. DMARC enforcement, not just a published record, is the control that separates marketing reach from impersonation risk.
Editorial analysis by NHI Mgmt Group, based on content published by Valimail: “How to get your Black Friday email marketing program ready”.
Key questions
Q: What breaks when DMARC is not enforced for brand email?
A: Without DMARC enforcement, mailbox providers can still deliver or partially trust spoofed mail that appears to come from your domain.
Q: Why do unauthenticated email domains increase phishing and fraud risk?
A: Without SPF, DKIM, and DMARC, attackers can forge sender addresses and deliver convincing messages that appear to come from trusted people or brands.
Q: What do marketing teams get wrong about email authentication?
A: They often treat SPF, DKIM, and DMARC as a technical checkbox owned by IT, then add new sending tools without updating the authorised sender inventory.
Practitioner guidance
- Inventory every holiday sender List every platform, agency, app, and temporary tool that will send email on your domain before campaigns go live.
- Ask for DMARC enforcement status Confirm whether the domain policy is monitoring only, quarantine, or reject, and do not accept a record that reports but blocks nothing.
- Map delegated sending authority Require approval for any service that sends as the brand and keep that approval tied to an owner, a business purpose, and a retirement date.
Bottom line: Email authentication is the first trust gate mailbox providers apply, so weak SPF, DKIM, or DMARC alignment can send legitimate Black Friday mail into spam or enable brand impersonation.
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