As the vast majority of e-mail being sent to consumers falls into the category of spam that is automatically discarded, it is challenging enough to even make it through the clutter and actually be opened. When an e-mail salvo is fortunate enough to be read, it had better reach and engage the consumer in the first few precious seconds or it is immediately sent to the trash. Even trusted brands don't garner significant levels of loyalty to click through if the offer is not compelling.
Thus, the more engaging the message title, the initial headline, and the graphics, and better. But interactivity trumps rich media much of the time. If the offer is intriguing, the message 'wrapper' does not need to be competing with it. Case in point - a recent message Kodak sent me. In the first second, it leverages my curiosity to find out what I have won:
I've got children; it was timed to the first day of school, and it takes a half a second to click through for the pay-off:
I imagine the pay-off would be the same no matter which backpack I chose. And, in this instance, Kodak is lucky as I have heard about their service and wanted to compare it to Snapfish and Flickr anyway.
A good rule of thumb for your e-mail marketing. Make it as interactive as possible, and match the pay-off experience to the e-mail message.
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