Is 2016 The Year Of The Emoji Campaign?

Emojis, emoticons, pictographs - call them what you will - are the fastest growing language in the world. From the 'Face with Tears of Joy', which claimed Oxford Dictionaries' Word of the Year, to the cheekily suggestive aubergine, it seems we can't get enough of these modern-day hieroglyphics.

No surprise, then, that brands have been quick to incorporate emoticons into their marketing strategies, spurred on by the success of Domino's Grand Prix-winning pizza-ordering emoji at Cannes last year. And the trend shows no sign of slowing down in 2016: last week, competitors Always and Bodyform both launched campaigns questioning the current emoji lexicon.

Always' Emoji Girls, out of Leo Burnett Chicago, uses #LikeAGirl's documentary-style approach to highlight how the limited range of female emoji options - there's a princess, a pair of bunny girls, a flamenco dancer and not much else - is perpetuating gender stereotypes. Meanwhile AMV BBDO's #Femoji for Bodyform calls for the introduction of period-themed emojis to the official Unicode keyboard, to make it easier for teens to talk about menstruation.

So, are emoji campaigns here to stay? Below, five industry insiders offer their predictions for the year ahead - and suggest what other symbols should be added.

Genevieve Hoey, creative director, Wieden+Kennedy Amsterdam

Will 2016 be the year of the emoji campaign?

It's too early to say. It's only March. Is there an emoji for pre-emptive creative opinions?

What emoji would you like to see added?

An emoji for emergency mid-afternoon chocolate delivery. This needs no explanation.

Tom Ollerton, innovation director, We Are Social London

Will 2016 be the year of the emoji campaign?

I think we'll see last year's emoji momentum continue in 2016. We're in the emoji heyday; if you stick on emoji on a piece of work, it immediately becomes contemporary. On their own, emojis are an inefficient form of expression, but as an addendum to language they can be invaluable. Personally, I'm more excited about the potential of GIFs than emojis - they're incredibly useful for relating a lot of information in a short space of time and I don't feel like they're being used to their full creative potential yet.

What's undeniable is that the future of written communication is to become a lot more visual, whether that's GIFs in Facebook Messenger, emojis on LinkedIn (and even in newspapers, above) - supporting copy with visual assets is becoming more and more commonplace.

What emoji would you like to see added?

I'd like to see a ginger bearded bloke; we're not represented right now. Failing that, a virtual reality headset will do.

Angie Bac, designer, Brand New School

Will 2016 be the year of the emoji campaign?

I think that brands really latched onto the idea of using emojis in their advertising last year and it will only spread more in 2016. I mean, you can order a pizza from Domino’s with an emoji now. When custom emojis for special events like the new Star Wars movie or the World Cup are popping up on Twitter, you start to realize that emojis have evolved into this universal language.

What emoji would you like to see added?

In the future, I’d like to see some sort of animated emoji-GIF hybrid. I also wouldn’t mind seeing some letters of the alphabet, or an orange fox.

Samuel Moore, copywriter and Juri Zaech, art director, BETC

Will 2016 be the year of the emoji campaign?

We think 2015 was the year of the emoji campaign. That was the year emojis blew up in advertising. They were all over. Last year, we are not sure what there were more of: campaigns with emojis or articles about campaigns with emojis.

What emoji would you like to see added?

We don't think they should add too many new emoji. It is good have a limited set. You have to use them in creative ways to convey your message. Now thanks to emoji, we can never look at an eggplant in the same way.

Claire Spencer Cook, development producer, Nexus

Will 2016 be the year of the emoji campaign?

We have recently signed the character designer and director Mr Kat, who references emojis throughout his work, including animation, product design, toys and even jewellery, so we expect to see more character-driven and moving image / animated emoji campaigns in the near future. What is great about emojis is that they are instant, graphic and fun to use; their use is becoming an internationally understood language. 2016 still seems to be more the year of the GIF in terms of what is already out there, but perhaps 2017 will be the year the emoji really takes hold. Personalisation and indie creation of eg stickerpacks are sure to become key growth areas as the medium becomes more sophisticated and mainstream.

What emoji would you like to see added?

Personally, I would like to have a cat which means ‘more sleep = less work’, a step up and away from the horribly cliched ‘Keep Calm and…’ continuum! Although maybe that would be using two emojis...