As more mobile apps are grabbing the attention of fans, sports teams and marketers are trying everything to keep their fans engaged. Snaps, a mobile messaging app, is making its mark in this mobile and social world with customizable emoji keyboards.
Last week Snaps and the New York Cosmos partnered to launch a customized, Cosmos-branded emoji keyboard called Cosmojis. The Cosmos are the first professional soccer team in North America to develop its own customized emoji keyboard.
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The launch of Cosmojis is coming at a time where messaging apps make up 60% of the top 10 global apps by usage according to Meeker’s “Internet Trends 2015” report. The top four messaging platforms have outpaced the top four social networks in terms of monthly active users. Because emojis are becoming a part of everyday conversation, it is time for sports teams to keep up with the discussions.
“Everyday 250 billion messages are sent globally. The market is expected to triple by 2019 to 100 trillion messages sent,” explains CEO of Snaps, Christian Brucculeri. “For some of our teams with passionate fan bases, we’ve seen over 145,000 emojis shared in a single game day, and across our sports network we see engagement increase 10x before and during games. Sports keyboards are the perfect way for audiences to engage with their fellow fans.”
Fans with Cosmojis have access to 18 emojis, 18 stickers, seven gifs and three videos. The images include standard emoticons, as well as soccer-specific images. Some of the images include jerseys of current and legendary Cosmos players like Pelé. Cosmojis can be downloaded to any iOS or Android device and it can be used with mobile messaging apps.
The Cosmos finished their season with a 3-2 win over the Ottawa Fury during the NASL Championship Final on Nov. 15.
“We’re always looking at ways in which we can help improve fan engagement and this is another fun way for fans to interact with both the team and each other,” said Paul White, Director of Licensing and Merchandising for the New York Cosmos. “On the footage side, working with Snaps allows us to upload new video in real time so fans are able to share exciting moments from our game shortly after they happen simply by placing a gif or video in their text.”
Cleveland Cavaliers, Jacksonville Jaguars, and the Baltimore Ravens are other professional teams that have released their own emoji keyboard. The idea of having team-specific emoji keyboards is quickly expanding and it gives teams a different way to keep fans engaged whether they are at a game or at home. Especially with social media and messaging becoming part of our daily routines, the customized keyboards are a perfect way to let fans express their emotions towards their favorite teams.