Dots 2016 - Prof. Vyv Evans, Linguistics professor and emoji expert at Bangor University

Addingvaluetobrands… withemoji

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ProfessorVyvEvanswww.vyvevans.net

Tennisace,AndyMurray,tiestheknot• AndyMurraymarriedhisgirlfriend,KimSears,onApril11th2015

• And,asiscommon,withtoday’scelebs,hesenthisfollowersaweddingdaymessage

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Butwhatgottongueswagging(andmadeheadlinesintheprocess)….

• Hismessagetooktheformofatweetmadeupentirelyofemojis:

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Todayemojisareeverywhere

• TheNYSubwayhasintroducedasystem,usingemoji,toadvisepassengersofthestatusofparticularsubwaylines:

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ABritishmagazineresponded…

• ByproducinganemojifiedLondonTubemap

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Facebookhasnowalsogotinontheact…

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Decisions,decisions,withthenewreactionemojis!

EvenaninstitutionasaugustastheBBChasbecomeinvolved

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• EveryFriday,BBCRadio1’sNewsbeatwebpagetellsthenewsinemojis:

2.Oneinfourpeopledon’tknowtheDodoisextinct,apollfinds.

1.FourclimbersfindwhattheythinkisaDodochickegg.Butit’snot.Thebirdhasbeenextinctfor450years

3.FourchildrenwinasciencecompetitiontogeneticallyrecreatetheDodo.

Andevenliteraryclassicsaren’timmune

• AliceInWonderland,abookof27,500words,hasbeen“translated”intoemoji

Around25,000emojishavebeenusedtocreatetheWonderlandlattice

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Fromthebeginningofthe‘Wonderland’lattice…

Thevisualdesignerresponsibleusesanemojiwritingtechniquehedubs‘crypto-pictography’

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HOWWIDESPREADISEMOJIASASYSTEMOFCOMMUNICATION?

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Emoji• ‘Picturecharacter’—fromtheJapanese• Glyphsembeddedasdiscretecharactersindigitalkeyboards

• Availablegloballyonsmartphonesandmobilecomputingdevicessince2011

• Today,c.1300emojis

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Apointofcomparison:English TheGlobalLanguage

• 335millionnativespeakers• 505millionspeakerswhouseitasasecondlanguage• Primary/officiallanguagein101countries,fromCanadatoCameroon,andfromMaltatoMalawi

• Today,EnglishistheglobalLinguaFrancainalmostallareasofinternationalcommunication:fromcommerce,todiplomacy,fromaviationtoacademicpublishing

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ButemojidwarfseventhereachofEnglish

• 2billionsmartphoneusers,nearly¼ofworld’spopulation

• 41.5billionSMSmessagesaresenteveryday• 6billionemojissentdailybySMSandsocialmediaapps

– E.g.,114billionemojispostedviaTwittersinceApril2014

• IntheUK:– 42.4millionsmartphoneusers– 80%ofUKadultsregularlysendemoji;higherforunder25s

• Beingavisualformofrepresentation,emojisareuniversallyand,often,instantlyrecognisable

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EMOJIANDBRANDS

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What’stheappealofEmoji?

• Offersagreatwayforbrands—onaglobalscale—tobecomepartoftheeverydayconversationsofpeople

• Theyespeciallyspeaktoyoungerusers—theunder25demographicisthemostavidusergroup,andmostlikelytorecogniseemojis

• Allowsbrandsreadyanddirectaccesstoanewadvertisingvenue—thedigitalmedium

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Nowforsometerminology:emojisvs.stickers• EmojisaretheUnicodeConsortiumapprovedglyphs,that

appearasstandardindigitalkeyboardsonmobilecomputingdevices(smartphones/tablets)

• Stickersarebespokeemojisthatusers/companiescreate• Brandslookingtocreatebrand-specificemojis,akastickers,

havetomaketheirownappsorpartnerwithmessagingapps(e.g.,WhatsApp,FBMessenger,etc.)tohavetheirbrandedemojisavailable

• Finland—brandedstickersthatcanbedownloadedfromiTunesorPlayStore

• TacoBelllobbiedUnicodetoaddatacoemojitoitsinventory.ThebrandcirculatedaChange.orgpetitionthatsecured30,000signatures.Thetacoemojiwasapprovedin2015

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Somestrategiesforbuildingbrandawarenessusingemojis

• Linkspecificemojistoabrand,e.g.,TacoBell• Useemojisaspartoforderingsysteme.g.,Domino’spizza

• Setupbespokeemojis,e.g.,Ikea,CocaCola,O2• Interveneinpublicdiscussiononemojiuse,e.g.,TalkTalk

• Deviseemoji‘translations’ofEnglishtomakecommunicationeasier,e.g.,BarclaysBank

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O2BUSINESS

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PRangle

• Newstudyshows:sixintenBritishworkershavenoticedthewaytheycommunicateintheworkplacehasbecomelessformal

• FourintenBritsnowuseemojisinwork-relatedcommunication• Despitethistrend,fewwork-relatedemojisexisttohelpprofessionalscommunicate

• O2 has created 25 bespoke emojis, available from iTunes andPlayStore

• AccompaniedbyTopTentipsforeffectivebusinesstalk–usingemojis

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O2’sbespokebusinessemojis

4G

Fired

Invoice

RunningLatePhrase:It’sonmy

radar

Bonus

Digital

Connectivity

Promotion

Phrase:LowHangingFruit

Phrase:DeepDive

Phrase:Work/LifeBalance

Phrase:Closeof

Play

Phrase:QuickWin

WorkfromHome Phrase:Disruptive

Phrase:Letstouchbase

Phrase:Thinkoutsidethebox

HotDesk

Phrase:Brainstorm/thoughtshower

Conferencecall/SpiderPhone

Deadline OutofOffice FacetoFaceMeeting

Hired

BenDowd

Toptentips:DOs

1.Douseemojistonuancethemeaningofyourmessage—awinkshowsthatyouarenotbeingserious,oraconfusedfacecanbuildempathy;emojisaddtoneofvoice,makingyourcommunicativeintentionclearer.2.Douseemojistoavoidsoundinglikeanangryjerk—electroniccommunicationintheworkplacecansometimesmakethebestofussoundlikewe’replainhoppingmad—ajudicioussmileyfacecandressdownanunwittinglyface-threateningmessage.3.Douseemojistoensureyouremailshavepersonality.Nothingsays“brainstorm”or“thoughtshower”quitelikethenewO2‘brainandlightbulbs’emoji.4.Docheckyouknowwhatanemojimeansbeforesending—thiscansparepotentialembarrassmentlateron.5.Douseemojistocelebratespecialoccasionsintheworkplace.Nothingwinsfriendsandinfluencelikeateamplayer:usecelebratoryemojistohighlightcompanysuccesses,andthepromotionsofcolleagues.

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TopTenTips:DON’Ts

6.Don’trushintoan“emojirelationship”—avoidemojisinafirsttimecommunicationorwithacolleagueyoudon’tknowverywell.Emojisaremosteffectiveinmaintainingratherthanestablishingelectronicrapport.7.Don’toveruseemojis—lessismore;usingemojissparinglyinbusinesscommunicationpreventsyoucomingacrossasmanic.8.Don’tuseemojistoreplacewords—you’lllookunprofessional.Usethemattheendofasentence,ormessage,tonuanceandcomplementyourmeaning.9.Don’tpersistwithemojisifyouraddresseefailstorespondinkind—besensitivetothewaysinwhichotherschoosetocommunicatewithyouinprofessionalcontexts.10.Don’tuseemojisinmulti-partyelectronicexchanges,norinmoreformalelectroniccontexts—emojisarebestdeployedjudiciously,inone-to-oneemailandinstantmessagingbusinesscontexts,tomaintainrapport.

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TALKTALKMOBILE

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PRAngle

• Newresearchshows:emojiisthefastestgrowingnew‘language’

• 72%of18–25yearoldsfinditeasiertouseemojithanwordstoexpressfeelingsinelectroniccommunication

• Over40slackconfidencewhenusingthisnewvisual‘language’• Mostpopular-andconfusing-emojirevealed• Emojiguidelaunchedtohelptheconfused

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UK’sTopTenEmoji

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EmojisAboutTown

BARCLAYSBANK

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PRAngle

• Newresearchshows:40percentofBritonsfindtalkingaboutmoneymoreawkwardthandiscussingrelationshipsorbumpingintoanex-partner

• Morethan30percentwouldratherbeoutofpocketthanaskformoneyowedtothem:– ⅕ofBritshavelostinexcessof£100inthepastyearduetothis

• Nearlyhalf(49%)ofyoungpeoplesaidthatemojiscanmakeaconversationlessawkward

• BarclaysteamedupwithlinguisticsexperttocreateabespokesetofemojichainstohelpbashfulBritstalkaboutmoney

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AsetofemojichainstohelpbashfulBritstalkaboutmoney,with

Ican’taffordit,sorry

That’stooexpensive!

I’mbroke

Youowememoney

You’veaddedthatupwrong/you’vemiscalculatedthat

Idon’twanttosplitthebillevenly,Ididn’teatordrink

CanIborrowsomemoney

please?

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TAKEHOMEMESSAGE

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Becreative!

• Abranddoesn’tneedtobeembeddedinthedigitalsector,orhaveaspecificemoji,totakeadvantageofemojisasamarketingtool

• Asanyproductandbrandisconsumedbypeople—andaslanguageisthetissuethatconnectsusall—thereareamultitudeofwaystocreateaPRangle,thatviewsemojiasprovidinganewandbrand-specificwayofcommunicating

• Think:howcanIleveragedigitalcommunication,tocreateaspaceforaconversationaboutmybrand

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Furtherreadingondigitalcommunicationat:www.vyvevans.net

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