Emoji Your Story: The Advertising Effectiveness of Emoji-Based Narratives

Abstract

Emojis are often used as single symbols to express emotions. Moreover, they serve as paralanguage in mass media and digital communication. Emojis are also used to tell narratives in advertising. Thus far, the latter usage of emojis has not been investigated. In two studies, we investigated the effectiveness of emoji-based narratives compared with textual narratives. Based on the data obtained from a thought-listing task, we found that consumers focus on solving the emoji puzzle when emojis are presented, whereas textual narratives are seldom replicated in such detail and induce additional thoughts about product features. We found the following five mediating effects: emoji-based narratives influence brand attitudes and the propensity to follow recommendations (provided in social-marketing campaigns) through 1. higher levels of narrative transportation, 2. higher perceptions of ad originality, 3. lower message comprehensibility, 4. stronger curiosity, and 5. lower perceptions of brand/organization trustworthiness. In total, emoji puzzles proved to be advantageous compared with textual narratives, with one exception: if the ad promoted advice that had no immediate and direct relevance for to the consumers’ lives (e.g., avoiding the use of animal-tested cosmetics and contributing to the preservation of the Amazon rainforest), the participants showed a low propensity to solve the emoji puzzle.