Hey Brands, Cool It With the Emojis!

Being perceived as young and dynamic probably still is one of the most sought after brand images. One of the ways in which brands and businesses seek to appear up to date is by using so-called emojis in advertising and communications.

However, according to research by YouGov, almost 60 percent of respondents between 18 and 34 years of age, also referred to as millennials, would advise businesses to tone down the use of emojis. (Especially the young have precision radars that start going off, whenever somebody is trying to fake it by sucking up to their informal ways of communicating.)

Then again, in the age bracket from 50 to 65 years even slightly more people feel the same way. (Here it could be, that they just think it’s silly using those funny faces and icons.) The take-away lesson probably amounts to this: communicate in a way that corresponds with your overall brand image and don’t try to appear fresh by using smiley faces.