Is it possible to trigger an action to automatically create a Deal when an email sent to a contact is opened?

Is it possible to trigger an action to automatically create a Deal when an email sent to a contact is opened?

Long story short we use Deals module to handle leads as well so that's why I'm not asking to use leads module.  

I've been asked to find a way to automatically have a deal created when an email that's part of an email campaign is opened.  So, when the email status is changed to "Opened", it would trigger an action, the action being a Deal is created that relates to the Contact record to whom the email was sent.

I understand there's no way to do this in Workflow Rules as far as I know (can't use email opens/clicks as triggers), so I'd need a custom function.  

My question is, how would I go about beginning such a function/integration?  Is there a third party application I need?  Do I need to have a link referencing the Deal (potID) embedded in the email in order to accomplish this?  Any guidance would be greatly appreciated