Emojis in brand messaging 😉

They started out as keyboard character combinations to help bring meaning and emotion to the online chat rooms of the late nineties. They’ve now evolved into a full crowd of pictograms able to convey specific non-verbal meanings and some of the most complex human emotions. Like it or not, emojis are taking over text-based communication. And the Oxford Dictionary’s selection of “Face with Tears of Joy” as Word of the Year 2015 is the ultimate confirmation these small-scale images are here to stay.

Emojis have already proven to be powerful marketing tools in brand communication. Not only do they build engagement in social media and other digital conversations, they also shape new brand experiences. Take Domino’s Pizza for example, they’ve pushed the emoji sensation so far to let customers place their order with a simple text containing the pizza pictogram. No doubt this will give the brand both relevance and differentiation in a traditionally low-involvement category.

Emojis are not confined to online use only.

Don’t think emojis are confined to online use only – there’s an emoji musical and a full-length movie premiering this summer. Soda drinkers may also want to check out Pepsi’s emoji packaging designs and merchandising items, deployed globally as part of a campaign to celebrate the little yellow guys across the brand’s portfolio – a fun way to show that a human, a personal touch is what consumers are now increasingly looking for.

Be careful, though, as emoji marketing is not for every brand. If you’re debating whether to feature pictograms in your messaging strategy, make sure this approach reflects your brand identity and aligns with your target audience.

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Text credits: ARD / agi

Images credits: Shirish Sen / crankidea.com

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