Emojis leave the screen and create a millionaire business

By Hugo Salvatierra

The emoticons of the changuito that covers the eyes, of the pink dress girl who raises her hand or the face with heart -shaped eyes "came out" of WhatsApp to become companions of various brands and help them raise their sales.

Stamps like Jumex, Cinemex, Cheetos, Saba, Ricolino and Nestlé go to these popular characters from the new digital village.

“You want to buy because you see so much [the drawings] in digital, that when you are on the offline you like products;They are very present in the mind, ”explains Merary Delgadillo Torres, a digital strategy consultant.

Companies use emoticons as part of their promotions, he says, or to increase their sales, due to their roots in everyday life.

Mexico is third in the hiring of licenses to use the icons of emoji the iconic brand, only behind the United States and Europe, with 29 licensees in 2016 and what goes from 2017, of which half use them for promotions of products andThe other half to do merchandising.The expectation is to duplicate the licensee number in Mexico this year.

A place where Emoji The Imonic Brand produces happy faces is SCA, the company of Swedish origin that sells in Mexico the women's towels.When using emojis in the packaging of their products, Saba doubled the 150,000 large packages of the good night lines that sell a month in self -service stores.

Of course, they were not just the icons.Saba's merchandise, which has 43.7% of the Mexican women's protection market also gave a glass, without increasing the price of the product (the good night package with 28 bags is worth around 80 pesos in pharmacies).They also presented vessels with lid and fork, wall watches and portatoallas, which have a value that exceeds 100 pesos per unit.

It is not anything that in SCA attributed to Emoji: it led to the consumers to make purchases of saba towels, and this increased the average ticket, projected the idea that it is a brand that is fashionable, generated loyalty and allowed me tonew consumers were willing to test the product.

"For us, it is a way to make the category of female protection somewhat fun [...] Saba cares about bringing something functional to a more emotional land," says Holbein Mata, Customer Marketing from SCA Mexico.

Emojis are not the initiators of this marketing phenomenon, nor the most sought -after.They are heirs of powerful and long characters such as Snoopy, Betty Boop and Hello Kitty (which still helps Saba to raise sales more than emojis).Also the jumex drink producer harvesters more sales by using in their containe.

The origin

The emojis are, however, the international stars of the moment.Emoji The Ionic Brand, a German company that designed and patented them, reached a licensing agreement with Sony Pictures Animation (SPA) to produce emoji-the film, which will be released in Mexico on August 11.

In this sense, the company, founded by Marco Huesges, capitalizes the popularity of its more than 5,000 icons under the licensing model.Today it has 245 active holders in 60 countries, such as the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, France, China and Mexico, and hopes to reach at least 500 headlines at the end of this year.According to signature information, licensed products exceed 100 million dollars (MDD) in retail sales from 2015 to date.

"When you take a license like Emoji, which is a LONGEVA, UNIVERSAL brand, that everyone knows, obviously desires remembered, increase in your sales," says Paulina Pérez Pérez, brand manager of exim representations, agency with which Emoji The Iconic operatesBrand in Mexico.

Who wants to use emoji in their products, must pay royalties based on sales, depending on the type of product, the duration of the agreement and the territory.For the license you have to give in, on average, 12% of sales, but can rise up to 16%.In the case of food and drinks, royalties are between 4 and 7%.

As part of the agreement, the customer has to give a minimum warranty of sales to the German company and send quarterly statements once the products reached the shelves.

In merchandising, the brands that acquire the rights can use them in different products.In this area, the emoji will be very active this year.Tajín is going to launch the Chat Pop palette, while Ricolino will do the same with his emotion.It will also go on sale..All fashion store chains will use them in their beauty accessories.

When it comes to a promotion, the images are used during a given period to increase the impact of a brand, either in its traditional products or in gifts."The promotions are a key element of the business in the Mexican market," says Huesges, owner of 85% of the company (the rest is in the hands of a private investor).“First we close promotions and then, we began to launch products with our licensees.In other markets it occurs in reverse ".

EMOJIS AND SOCIAL NETWORKS

Jumex also went to emoticons for a brand positioning campaign last year.Included them in two of his glass and can-boot packaging presentations, and what he obtained was a 15% increase in sales.

"What we are looking for with this promotion was for people to use emojis as a means of communication, which is what, today, people use on WhatsApp, in their email and throughout the digital part," says Jorge Quirós Godínez, Jumex Marketing Director.

In addition, on social networks, the beverage company carried out a campaign with the hashtag #Diloconjumex, in which some people told stories, movies, sayings or songs with the so -called “tapiolas”, so that others would guess them.He even launched a video in which the tapiolas narrated the song La Mordidita, with the voice of Ricky Martin in the backand kleenex or petal.

In the case of Freskas, from Nestlé, in 2016, the firm designed a promotion that consisted of selling different packaging with emojis;Inside, it included woven and collectible bracelets in which the classics "drawings" highlighted, along with messages of friendship and love, among which were the hashtags #lol (laugh a lot), #Yolo (you only live once) and #omg (Oh my God).Teenagers were the target audience of that campaign.

That same year, the emojis made dumbbells with Chester Cheetah, one of the most representative characters in the world of snacks.The Cheetos brand created collectible stickers with different emoticons, and even drew his pet covering his eyes, mouth and ears with his hands, such as the classic Changuito, which made the campaign more fun.

On the other hand, in 2016, Domino’s launched a promotion that consisted of giving collectible vessels with the image of emoji in the purchase of pizza and an extra cost.In the last quarter, Cinemex made a combo for children that included a box of popcorn and glasses with yellow or alien faces.

More of the Emoji label

In parallel to promotions and merchandising, the company takes its characters to celebrations, where they do recreational activities with the public.

This happened at the Parque Vía Vallejo shopping center, in Mexico City, Valentine's Day.Visitors were able to take photos with botargas and witness a concert with songs of the 70s, 80s and 90s, in which some singers carried emoticons masks.

In its plans in Mexico, the company aims.

But there are also more ambitious objectives."Let's say it in this way: a theme park and a television show are definitely on our list," confesses bones.