Emojis only prompt 1 in 20 GB consumers to engage with a brand

This article is brought to you by Retail Technology Review: Emojis only prompt 1 in 20 GB consumers to engage with a brand.

Following the arrival of 70 new emojis on devices across the country this month, new research from marketing automation suite Pure360 has highlighted that while the majority of GB consumers are keen to use these graphics in their messages to friends and family, far fewer are amenable to brands using them in their marketing messages.

While findings reveal that three quarters of GB consumers use emojis in messages to family and 77% to their friends, far less (5%) would be likely to buy from a brand that uses emojis in its digital marketing. The research from Pure360, which commissioned YouGov to poll a representative sample of GB consumers, found nearly two-fifths (39%) believe that when a brand uses an emoji it makes them appear less serious, with over a quarter (29%) believing a business devalues a brand by doing so.

Interestingly, the GB's youngest adults are the most opposed age band to brands using emojis in their digital marketing, with the 55 and overs believing it has the least impact on brand value. The results revealed that 36% of GB consumers aged 18-24 believe emojis devalue a brand, whereas just over a quarter of GB consumers aged over 55 believe this to be the case. The most ambivalent age group to engaging with brands using emojis in digital marketing are 25 to 34-year-olds, with just under half (48%) of GB consumers in this age bracket are neither more or less likely to do so.

Just 7% of GB consumers think brands look more human by using emojis in their digital marketing and only 1% of GB consumers believe emojis should replace written words completely.

Komal Helyer, Marketing Director at Pure360 said: "The arrival of the latest batch of emojis and their prevalent use by Brits in messages to friends and family will have heightened marketers' curiosity as to whether they can help a brand better engage today's UK consumer. However, our research shows that the jury is still out on brands use emojis in their marketing efforts. As with any marketing mechanic, the use of emojis by a brand comes down to knowing the audience and understanding what they will react well to and react badly to, as a demographic."