What’s the difference between role-based and named contacts?

The distinction between role-based and named email addresses affects both legal compliance and practical effectiveness.

Role-based addresses:

Examples: info@company.com, sales@company.com, support@company.com

Represent functions or departments, not individuals

Often monitored by multiple people or routed to queues

Under UK PECR, these are corporate subscriber addresses (can receive unsolicited B2B email)

Lower personalization potential

Named addresses:

Examples: jane.smith@company.com, j.smith@company.com

Identify specific individuals

Under PECR, these may be individual subscribers (require consent)

Better for personalized outreach

Data privacy regulations apply to the individual

Practical implications:

Role-based addresses may have slightly more legal flexibility in some jurisdictions

Named addresses enable personalization that drives response

Role addresses often have catch-all configurations affecting verification

Named addresses require more careful data handling under GDPR

Most cold outreach targets named contacts for effectiveness, accepting the additional compliance requirements.