Advertisers attempt to relate and reach out to a bigger audience by using emojis in promotional videos and advertisement banners. Businessmen catch on the digital trend of the present generation to capture the attention of the masses.
Business institutions like fast food chains and airlines have started using tiny food, animal and plane icons to market their products and services. Even non-governmental organizations adopt the new strategy.
Among the companies who embraced the new marketing scheme is the huge fast food chain McDonald's, which launched their digital stickers permitting users to add Big Macs, sundaes and chicken nuggets icons to their Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp and text messages. By doing so, the food company became closer to its consumers without being intruding.
Power provider Duracell partnered with the Paris-based start-up Feeligo to create their brand stickers which is the iconic pink bunny that was shared 20 million times last winter. The entertainment company Disney also worked with the same company to achieve the same purpose. Domino's Pizza and World Wildlife Fund charity also used the new strategy on their marketing campaigns.
Besides the lower cost, emoji advertising carries a sense of humor that consumers appreciate. According to Davide Bonapersona, a Feeligo co-founder, emoji works different than plain logos.
"Stickers have to represent emotions. A logo doesn't work by itself," said Bonapersona.
Digital media content specialist of Kantar Media Marie Dolle stated the advantage of the new emoji advertising technique which is less aggressive and not intrusive.
"We give them playful tools they can choose whether or not to use. This contributes to making people love the brand and share it in their conversations," Dolle stated.
Emoji characters are pervasive and present in almost all devices especially in smartphones. With this scenario, consumers are no longer difficult to reach. Today's tech savvy environment offers a bunch of opportunities for advertisers to influence different kinds of audience.
