Exploring the Opportunities of the Emojis in Brand Communication: The Case of the Beer Industry

Abstract

This study shows that emojis are a significant element in brand communications, which still requires attention from researchers. Specifically, it describes the use of emojis by the four companies with the largest audiences on Twitter in the Spanish beer industry. Through a correspondence analysis, we found that those emojis were not a mere occasional resource within a message but rather a differentiating element for brand positioning. Likewise, we analyzed the existing relationship between the way in which they were used and the engagement generated. In this regard, we concluded that communications using emojis aimed at customer service and care, as well as those used in positive contexts and for emphasis, were the ones related to higher user engagement. We discuss herein the practical implications of these findings for businesses.

Emoticons are not for everyone: The role of congruence between hotel brand positioning strategies and communication style in enhancing customers’ brand attitude and booking intention

“…They show that using pictures with a snapshot aesthetic results in higher levels of brand attitude on social media than using formal pictures with a traditional studio aesthetic. Furthermore, smiling emojis in digital customer service messages elicit positive affect in consumers and enhance the strength of marketing relationships (Casado-Molina et al, 2019;Smith and Rose, 2020). Li et al's (2019) research shows that customers perceive service employees who use emoticons as higher in warmth but lower in competence.…”

“…Furthermore, smiling emojis in digital customer service messages elicit positive affect in consumers and enhance the strength of marketing relationships (Casado-Molina et al., 2019; Smith and Rose, 2020). Li et al.’s (2019) research shows that customers perceive service employees who use emoticons as higher in warmth but lower in competence.…”

“…The positioning can also increasingly be found in textual elements such as communication style (Delin, 2005). Casado-Molina et al. (2019) emphasize that emojis are not a mere occasional means within a message but rather a differentiating tool for brand positioning.…”

Los emojis del 8M: su uso en Twitter durante las movilizaciones feministas de 2019

“…El uso creciente de los emojis por parte de los usuarios de los dispositivos digitales ha despertado en los últimos años el interés académico hacia el uso de estos pictogramas. Los emojis han sido estudiados desde varios ámbitos disciplinarios, como la psicología (Riordan, 2017), el marketing (Ge y Gretzel, 2018;Casado-Molina et al, 2019), los estudios de mercado (Jaeger, Cardello y Schutz, 2013;Jaeger, Roigard y Ares, 2018), el procesamiento del lenguaje natural (Barbieri, Espinosa-Anke y Saggion, 2016;Barbieri, Ballesteros y Saggion, 2017), la semiótica (Danesi, 2016) y la lingüística (Herring y Dainas, 2017;Al Rashdi, 2018;König, 2019;Sampietro, 2019). emoticonos, se utilizan para expresar emociones en el ámbito digital (Riordan, 2017; (Herring y Dainas, 2017).…”

“…Otro famoso del que se ha estudiado el uso de estos pictogramas es Cher. La cantante americana incluye habitualmente el emoji que representa un inodoro en los tuits referidos al presidente Donald Trump, lo que se ha considerado una manera de se ha analizado el uso de los emojis como estrategia de marketing por parte de las marcas (Ge y Gretzel, 2018;Casado-Molina et al, 2019), llegando a la conclusión que El uso de los emojis por parte de los ciudadanos de a pie coincidiendo con eventos señalados ha tenido un escaso interés a nivel académico. Hasta el momento los análisis de Hamdan Azhar sobre los emojis más utilizados en Twitter en determinadas fechas, publicados en varios blogs, son las únicas aproximaciones sistemáticas a este fenómeno.…”