In an effort to rally fans into the playoffs, the NBA's Dallas Mavericks revealed a new emoji keyboard on April 14. The keyboard, created by Swyft Media, includes a wide range of Mavericks-themed emojis, including an image of the team's arena and Owner Mark Cuban.
"We want to attract and engage the next generation of Mavs fans - and in order to do that, we need to speak their language," said Cuban. "Mobile is a critical piece of our fan engagement strategy and an important way to carry the excitement from American Airlines Center to fans' mobile devices. Our new lineup of Mavs branded emoji and digital stickers delivers fun and entertaining content that our greatest MFFLs can share with their friends."
The free app can be downloaded onto both Apple and Android devices. Additionally, the Mavericks website promotes the emojis as a way to show team pride "year-round," including beyond the playoffs.
"Mobile messaging apps are where millennials and GenZs are spending most of their time these days, and the Dallas Mavericks are creating a fun, engaging way to make their brand and team a focal point of the conversation - building brand loyalty and fan engagement." said Evan Wray, co-founder and vice president of Swyft Media. "This keyboard takes the fun beyond physical arenas and into mobile, with content that inspires playful banter and fun rivalry exchanges across messaging apps and social media."
Swyft Media has worked with more than 300 popular global brands, including Ford, 1-800-Flowers and MillerCoors. The company's mobile engagement platform allows users to create everything from emojis to photo filters.
The Mavericks are not the first to embrace the emoji as a marketing tactic. Everyone from Kim Kardashians to Pope Francis now has an emoji keyboard.
In Summer 2015, Sony announced that it would be creating a movie based on emojis - the smiley-faced characters that can be found on every smartphone. At CinemaCon in Las Vegas, Sony President Kristine Belson revealed that the upcoming movie would also be an "app movie." For example, Spotify will be the music streaming service featured in the film.
The fact that a movie based on emojis may not be so far-fetched when this statistic is considered - 5 percent of smartphone users say they use emojis "several" times per week. A whopping 92 percent of the online population uses emojis.
