Difference Between Verified Mark Certificate (VMC) Vs Common Mark Certificate (CMC)

What is a Verified Mark Certificate (VMC)?

A Verified Mark Certificate (VMC) is a digital credential that enables companies to showcase their registered logo within the emails they send so that it is visible in customers’ inboxes. This is part of the ‘Brand Indicators for Message Identification’ (BIMI) effort to strengthen email security and promote brands. With a VMC, organizations make their communications appear to be more authentic, thus facilitating recipients in distinguishing genuine communication from their brand and spam messages.

For a company to be granted a VMC, it must fulfill two major conditions:

Legally Registered Trademark – The company’s brand logo must be a registered mark or trademark in at least one jurisdiction.

Strict DMARC Policy – The company must have a strict DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance) policy for the organization to protect from phishing and email spoofing attacks.

Apart from this, Gmail adds a bonus to VMC certified users by giving them a blue checkmark which serves as a trust signal. Enhanced brand trust is automatically issued if the email addressee has checked the box confirming the authenticity of the email.

Benefits of Using a Verified Mark Certificate (VMC)

Using a Verified Mark Certificate (VMC) increases brand recognition because customers tend to trust brands more. It enables greater engagement with the brand’s emails and improves the brand’s overall reputation. With a VMC, companies enable recipients to see a verified brand logo which can lead to:

Increased Open Rates: Recipients of emails are more likely to open emails from brands that they recognize and this leads to improved open rates.

Reduced Phishing Risks: A common mark certificate is prevention for cyber criminals impersonating a brand. This saves the organization and its customers from phishing threats.

Enhanced Brand Visibility: Email recipients are more likely to recognize the brand owing to the presence of the logo, thus improving brand recall.

Example of VMC

What is a Common Mark Certificate (CMC)?

A Common Mark Certificate (CMC) is a digital certificate allowing entities to show their brand logo next to the sender field in customers’ inboxes without registering a trademark.

Like the Verified Mark Certificate (VMC), CMC is supported by the BIMI (Brand Indicators for Message Identification) framework and offers better accessibility due to removing the trademark requirement.

To qualify for a CMC, the company must have a fully enforced DMARC policy and show evidence that its logo has been used for at least one year.

This condition makes CMCs suitable for companies willing to increase their email security and visibility of their brand while avoiding the formal trademark registration process.

Organizations deploying a CMC can enhance brand exposure and create reputation and trust among customers by displaying their logos in email.

While CMCs do not convey the blue verification check-mark feature that VMCs have, they nevertheless deliver very good protection against phishing attacks and work to outsmart spoofing attempts.

The visual brand presence in inboxes promotes improved engagement with marketing emails. It enhances brand reliability, further making CMCs a good solution for brands looking to support email security and marketing impact.

Benefits Gained from the Use of a Common Mark Certificate (CMC)

Companies that adopt a CMC can further improve the security of their emails and the visibility of their brands’ logos. CMCs do not allow for the blue checkmark verification on Gmail accounts, but benefits are still aplenty:

Brand Recognition: Including logos as part of email signatures and having them displayed in inboxes greatly increases brand retention.

Increased Interaction: People tend to engage more with emails received from recognized sources, which increases the chances of them opening the mail.

Reasonable Branding Alternative: A Common Mark Certificate is much easier to obtain compared to a registered trademark, which makes it affordable to new and small companies looking to establish a brand identity without having to register for a trademark.

Example of CMC

Difference between VMC and CMC in Table form

Conclusion

Give a boost to your email security and your brand name’s visibility by using Verified Mark Certificates (VMC) and Common Mark Certificates (CMC). Create trust, better resist phishing, and make your emails recognizable with a verified brand logo.