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Your friends send them, your favorite brands utilize them, and your mom loves them just a tad too much. So, what are Emojis exactly? Well, they’re just the most expressive keyboard your phone has, and it doesn’t even require letters! The Emoji keyboard has a universal nature that makes it hard to ignore. Today, we are doing just the opposite by celebrating World Emoji Day! Join us in celebrating with these interesting facts!

Today’s Emojis Come From All Over ???? 

Ever since the popularity of Emojis skyrocketed in the post-MySpace era other companies understood they needed to incorporate this special keyboard into their apps. Apple, Google, Microsoft, and Twitter all have their own different but similar looking Emojis.

The First Emoji Was Created In Japan ????

When emoticons like the classic smiley 🙂 or the flirty 😉 entered popular culture the next step were Emojis. Created in August 1999 by Shigetaka Kurita in Japan. The tiny characters that help us express ourselves better online, blasted onto the scene, with a lot of Japanese influence. From the bowing businessmen to some of the original food Emojis, like ramen.

Adding A New Emoji Is Harder Than You Might Think ????

Adding a new Emoji to Unicode is a formal process that can take more than 2 years. When the general public desires a new Emoji, it can trend and get national attention, but it still will take a while to reach smartphones. According to Emojipedia, there are ”3,019 Emojis in the Unicode Standard as of March 2019. This includes sequences for gender or skin tone, flags, and the components that are used to create keycap, flag, and other sequences”

The Hot Dog Emoji Was Up For Debate ????

The hotdog Emoji was one of the most requested Emojis, even getting a viral petition for the creation of the dog. The problem was the creators where struggling on what toppings to include on the iconic American delight (Mustard ultimately won out). Now its existence makes many people all over the globe very happy. 

The Reach Of Emojis Is Hard To Fathom ????

With availability on just about every modern smart device, Emojis are accessible to social media users from young to old all across the globe! It is reported that 5 BILLION Emojis are sent on Facebook in a single day! There is no doubt Emojis have revolutionized how we communicate in the digital age. 

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Hollywood Hears It’s Popular–Hollywood Makes It A Movie ????

The Emoji Movie premiered last fall to an uproar of mass confusion. This silly children’s movie earned a whopping 7% score on Rotten Tomatoes! While Emojis themselves are a great way to communicate, their movie didn’t quite talk the talk. 

The Same Images On Your Phone Are Hanging In A Museum ????

On the flip side, the actual art of Emoji’ has been admired for its impact on society. The Museum of Modern Art houses the ORIGINAL Emoji collection. Talk about fine art!

Emojis Are A Measurable Medium ????

Twitter has invented their very own Emoji Tracker! The Emoji Tracker has been described as “an experiment in real time visualization”. The software is keeping track of how many and what Emojis are being used on their platform. The ???? is the most popular!

The History Behind The #Holiday ????

The first World Emoji Day took place in 2014. The holiday is  celebrated with emoji events and product releases. As well as annually trending on twitter and being discussed on talk shows. 

No one: 

Emojis: 

All Demographics Use Emojis

Even though the majority is younger, everyone can get butterflies from receiving a ???? Emoji or go beyond the “LOL” with a ????. Emojis help people connect and show emotions. Some even Calling Emojis the new global language. There is beauty in the fact that no matter what language you speak a ???? is a ????

Emoji’s have definitely infiltrated everyone’s lives. The ability to send a heart or a smiley face really helps connect people. The old saying that a picture is worth a thousand words really has proven true with Emojis success. This digital language is worth celebrating every July 17th! How will you spend your World Emoji Day ???? ? 

Links For Sources 

• https://www.cnn.com/style/article/emoji-shigetaka-kurita-standards-manual/index.html
• https://emojipedia.org/stats/
• https://www.stuff.co.nz/technology/94792305/how-do-new-emojis-get-created-it-takes-at-least-a-year
• https://blog.emojipedia.org/5-billion-emojis-sent-daily-on-messenger/
• https://www.bbvaopenmind.com/en/technology/digital-world/emoji-the-new-global-language/
• https://www.cultofmac.com/639170/check-out-all-the-new-emoji-coming-to-iphones-this-fall/

    From scrolling down your twitter feed to a stroll through the mall, it’s easy to see that this year’s Pride is in full swing. The month-long LGBT+ celebration is a beautiful conglomeration of activism, history, parties, and even marketing? Brands promoting gay pride publicly was unheard 50 years ago (Which is when the historic Stonewall Riots occurred, leading the way for the modern gay pride movement.) However, now in our more socially-minded society, consumers care a lot more how a large brand impacts the world and it’s culture.  With an increase in brands riding the inclusivity wave, it calls into question, does featuring and celebrating LGBT+ Pride positively or negatively impact consumer demand?

Inclusivity marketing involves creating content that genuinely reflects the diverse communities your company serves, drawing from movements like #bodypositivity and the #aeriereal campaign, which feature models of all shapes and sizes in empowering underwear ads. As brands across sectors recognize the value in appealing to every kind of person, they’ve shifted toward campaigns showcasing real, unphotoshopped individuals to build deeper connections and loyalty among marginalized groups. This approach not only fosters authenticity but also drives business growth by putting products in front of more eyes. Even in digital entertainment fields, where user engagement is key, trusted sports betting sites have rolled out initiatives highlighting diverse participants and inclusive narratives to expand their reach into untapped demographics. With the ongoing rise of Pride celebrations, June emerges as an ideal time for large-scale inclusivity efforts, blending corporate social good with strategic opportunism in campaigns that merit close examination.

2019 Pride Content Examples

1. Adidas – Released a Pride collection entitled “Pride pack”.  Though not tied to product sales, Adidas will be supporting The Trevor Project, the world’s largest suicide prevention and crisis intervention organization for the youth of the community.

2. Absolut Vodka  – Using a myriad of LGBT+ influencers, Absolut Vodka  is kicking off a campaign with multiple channels, including commercials, branded events during Pride weekend, and in addition to bringing back its iconic rainbow bottle, Absolut has launched a multi-year partnership supporting GLAAD’s work accelerating acceptance for the LGBT community.

3. Victoria Secret- Their brand Pink, tweeted their support for Pride month where they state that they will donate 100K to a LGBTQ+ Organization, the brand is still facing scrutiny over anti-trans comments made earlier this year.
4. Gap –  Launched its “Love all ways” campaign highlighting what family means today and will donate 15% of proceeds to the U.N. Free and Equal Foundation.

5. American Express – Is celebrating Pride with a performance by Singer Lizzo. All proceeds will go to the Stonewall Community Foundation, an organization that bears part of its historic name to honor the 1969 uprising that started in New York and the spirit of freedom, resilience, and resolve that abides today. American Express is also displaying an array of Pride-themed ads over New York with messages of Pride and acceptance. 

These are just some of the examples of what companies do during the month of June. What Makes them successful or scrutinized all depends on context. 

How These Campaigns Were Received

    Campaigns run by Absolut Vodka, Gap, and American Express have three things in common, that made their Pride campaigns successful. First, their brands support the LGBT+ Community throughout the year, not just in June. They do this with continued donations (American Express) and inclusive marketing (Gap and Absolut Vodka). Two, they specifically call out where they are donating their money, instead of just vaguely stating they are supporting the community. This makes the campaign seem more genuine. Lastly the pride/rainbow items they are selling are completely or in-part not for profit. The transparency demonstrated by these brands isn’t just a new fad. 

    Regan Clarke, Brand Director of Absolut Vodka, USA knows exactly where his brand belongs in all of this and is proud of it. Stating “Supporting the LGBTQ community back in 1981 was a risky decision for mainstream brands, when taking a stand for equality meant going against conventional culture.” Absolut’s 30+ year commitment to Pride is a great example of how inclusive marketing, can work and has worked. Demonstrating how powerful, socially aware marketing really can be when trying to further your brands position and satisfy younger consumers. These brands are creating an image for themselves as a positive presence in the world. Brand directors  like Regan Clarke, show how putting time and effort into a pride campaign can really yield positive returns. 

    On the opposite spectrum is Victoria Secret. Earlier this year they had a major scandal involving their CMO Ed Razek. When he claimed transgender people don’t belong in the “coveted” Victoria Secret fashion show, because they don’t represent fantasy. “Dear Victoria’s Secret, you said trans women can’t sell the “fantasy” so here I am as a TRANS WOMAN selling the FANTASY!  wrote trans makeup mogul, Nikita Dragun on her Twitter account in the weeks following the 2018 fashion show disaster. Fans were quick to bring Dragun’s tweet up again when Victoria’s Secret attempted to voice support for the LGBTQ+ community during pride month (The Tweet above). Showing how consumers are quick to call out inconsistency and injustice within a brand. The brand has not fully recovered from Ed Razek’s comments. This tweet sent out for Pride makes the company look even more out of touch. Only helping in bringing up past scandals and driving even more consumers away.

    Adidas similarly has a bad reputation when it comes to supporting the LGBT+ community year round. The company is a huge sponsor for the Olympics, which took place in Russia in 2014. Russia’s anti-gay policies are well documented and many LGBT+ Individuals from all over the world run the risk of these harsh policies by traveling to and participating in the games. Many consumers called them out, saying the company is not truly LGBT+ supportive when they are helping fund the Olympics in such a dangerous place for the community. Many calling their  “Pride Pack” a cash grab because of LGBT+ consumers’ desire for rainbow everything during Pride. The “Pride Pack” seems disingenuous because the money made from, those shoes specifically, all goes into Adidas’ pocket.

    The donations they are giving to the Trevor foundation are appreciated and valid, but many consumers seem to be unhappy with the broad claims of supporting the Trevor Project because isn’t being transparent about the actual amount or percentage of product sales that they are donating. Vox writer Alex Abad-Santos summarizes what Adidas is doing perfectly stating that “Brands promoting gay pride and the LGBTQ community may not always be consistent in actually supporting the LGBTQ community, but they still capitalize on the help that people want to give that community.” With their continued support of an event that isn’t LGBT+ friendly like the 2020 Olympics consumers are smart enough to realize that this brand doesn’t really have the LGBT+ communities best interest at heart year-round, only when it might seem convenient. 

Is Marketing During Pride Worth The Risk?

    A good Pride campaign can break boundaries, start meaningful conversations and position your brand favorably with a growing audience. On the flip-side, brands whose campaigns seem like lazy cash grabs will dig their company into a very big hole both on social media and with the general public mindset. Consumers are savvier than they have ever been and can tell when a brand is being genuine in their marketing.  Companies like Gap and American Express clearly state where the money raised from their Pride campaigns is going and it is that transparency that draws in the modern consumer. In today’s age consumers vote with their dollars, many choose not to support brands that don’t align with their views. It’s up to brands to decide where they will fall politically and socially because it might affect their bottom line. 

Technology doesn’t surprise us anymore. Instagram updates every day, new emojis are a dime a dozen, and Facebook shows us ads for that pizza we’ve all been craving. All this combined presents a new frontier for commerce. For the first time what we spend money on, how long we stay on a sight, and potentially even our future behavior is all data. Everyone’s behavior is traceable and predictable. This is a huge benefit for business. In a perfect world, it gets consumers what they want before they even know they want it. However, our world is not perfect and sometimes the succinctness of these ads gets a big brother vibe from consumers.  

People are inherently private so they don’t like the idea that everything about them is online. It’s this odd love of convenience but fear of a loss of privacy. The biggest example of this paradox coming to a head is the Facebook Cambridge Analytic scandal. People felt a significant loss of privacy by the hands of Facebook. As a company, they are still feeling the effects of this breach in trust today.  With the Facebook scandal, this reality of consumer data got pushed front and center. Facebook is funded through advertisements, so what solution could they come to that wouldn’t stop businesses from advertising and won’t make their users feel unsafe?

They create the “clear history” function

Creating the “option” for Facebook users to delete their history and become a ghost online. This is a solution for the private Facebook user. While being a problem for digital marketers and Zuckerberg knows this; he already warned advertisers this will change their strategies for Facebook ads. Even though this option may impact Facebook’s ad business. Zuckerberg clearly sees this tool as necessary to win back user trust. “After going through our systems, this is an example of the kind of control we think you should have,” he wrote in his announcement post on Clear History. “It’s something privacy advocates have been asking for — and we will work with them to make sure we get it right.”

The stance of Facebook is strong; is privacy going to kill specified ads on Facebook?

The clear history button if used will affect specifications of ads, but a big part of that is if it’s used. There is a reason Facebook is giving this as an option, not a mandate. Also, an upside is its release has been delayed. They have released statement after statement promising this feature will arrive even though it is a couple of months late already. With a release like this, it seems like it is purposefully going under the radar. Facebook knows they have one of the most effective platforms for specified ad targeting due to the information Facebook users tell about themselves. From their relationship status, to what pages they visit. The upside of the clear history function is that it gives users the confidence that they aren’t being watched, so for some, the ad they eventually see could sit better with them. Another big plus for businesses is that it is optional; so most people, who are not privacy advocates who stay up on Facebook news might not know about this new option.

So even though it seems like a death sentence for digital advertising that’s a far cry from the truth. If anything users who find a problem with personalized ads won’t have that problem anymore. Now ads will seem more genuine and trustworthy. So yes data is being erased. But Facebook knows this won’t really matter other than the initial dent in loss of data. Facebook will still be an extremely effective marketing tool for all users.

At the end of the day, features like clear history remind everyone that privacy is no longer a fringe concern—it’s mainstream. Users are more aware of how their data is tracked, stored, and leveraged, and that awareness shapes how they interact with platforms and ads alike. Beyond platform settings, practical safeguards such as encrypted browsing add another layer of reassurance. For instance, using a VPN for Chrome strengthens session security and reduces exposure to third-party tracking on unsecured networks. In a landscape where data fuels digital marketing, balancing personalization with proactive privacy measures reinforces trust—something that ultimately benefits both users and brands.

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Links for sources:

•  https://slate.com/technology/2019/02/facebook-clear-history-button-real-wow.html
•  http://fortune.com/2019/05/14/facebook-clear-history-may-hurt-targeting/
• https://www.theverge.com/2019/2/26/18241985/facebook-clear-history-launch-2019-ad-targeting-privacy-tool

Help For Our Heroes

Darren Seys, founder, and CEO of Peak Seven was quoted in the Miami Herald’s article There’s still lots of time to help others for Thanksgiving, this week. As a board member of Entrepreneurs’ Organization South Florida (EO), Darren indicated that troops in their early 20s needed guidance on “starting a business, joining a company or just integrating back into the civilian community,” and that EO was going to give these troops any mentoring they needed to get readjusted to civilian life.

“One of EO’s core values is to ‘Make a Mark’ like serving our community,” Seys said. “It’s extra special to do this for these young South Florida men and women who bravely serve our country in the air and on the ground.”

Thank you to the Miami Herald for writing such an uplifting and thoughtful article. We hope Darren’s words helped to inspire some more good acts in our community this holiday season. You can find their interview with Darren in the second section of the article.

To read the full Miami Herald article, click here.

To learn more about EO, click here.

The Who’s Who in Real Estate

If you’ve had that chance to read through this month’s edition of Parkland Lifestyle Magazine, you would have come across a great feature spotlighting Darren Seys, the founder and CEO of Peak Seven Advertising. As an agency, we are incredibly grateful and proud to be highlighted in this fantastic piece. arab casino These last two decades, real estate has quickly become the bread and butter of this agency.

We have an unmatched set of national and local real estate clientele. Also, our Florida home builder clients spread all across Florida from The Gulf of Mexico to the Atlantic Ocean.

How We Do It

We go above and beyond in our delivery by using advanced technology and a next-level approach to data. For instance, our team of results-driven marketers and award-winning designers ensure that our advertising instills confidence in our clients. We are proactive brand builders and trend-spotters. That is to say, we use every tool to achieve the best leads and help grow our clients’ business.

With Seys at the helm, our team has “marketed billions of dollars in new homes for the who’s who of builders and developers”. His leadership has been a constant force, endeavoring this agency toward greater heights every year.

Read the Parkland Lifestyle Article Here

View Our Work

Is Video the Answer?

Back in 1980, The Buggles released a little song called Video Killed the Radio Star. It was a pop hit and is remembered for it’s message about how Video was going to take over radio, but moreover, all other forms of media.  In the past year, Facebook has instructed digital marketers to use more and more video on it’s platform because it had adjusted it’s algorithm to favor video posts. The world’s largest social media platform said it would bring more followers and engagement organically than static images or well-written copy would.

What Does the Data Say?

Businesses who valued their social media standing took this advice to heart and started pouring money and hours into video content ranging from 10s clips to live footage of events and Stories. Unfortunately this hasn’t panned out as agencies expected since “engagement has dropped by more than 50% over the last 18 months”. This goes for all post types including video, images and links. Interestingly enough, image posts performed much better overall than video posts in that same 18 months as the chart below shows. Creating video content is an expensive and time draining process. It turns out that all that work might not be worth it in the end.

So what do most businesses do to curb the engagement drop? Post more content of course! Well, not exactly. “Facebook Business Pages that posted less than once a day had the highest engagement per post…however [they] had the lowest overall levels of engagement.” It turns out that even if you’re posting 5x per day on Facebook, your page still suffered greater than 50% loss in engagement.

What Should your Business Page do?

The answer to this question comes in a few different flavors. One thing you can do to bring back followers is post higher quality content. This might be a win-win for both you and your followers. On one hand your followers get to enjoy nicer looking, better written content. On the other hand, your brand is better represented online and may be looked at more favorably than a competitor with lower quality social posts.  Another answer to the organic engagement problem is to focus more on paid engagement by boosting posts. Paying for your social posts on Facebook to reach the right people at the right time can be very helpful is bringing in new followers and driving up viral impressions. Expanding your content offerings beyond Facebook is something to look into as well. There are lots of platforms on the web, each one with a different audience and more opportunities to show off your brand. Maybe it’s time to start thinking about Snapchat, Instagram, Pinterest and even newcomer Tik Tok (Musical.ly) as a space for your brand.

Whatever you decide to do, it’s too early to fully leave Facebook behind as so many people still use it, but it might be a good idea to start thinking about the future of social media as older platforms decline in popularity (see Myspace).

Sources:

https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/buffer-facebook-page-post-analysis

https://www.theverge.com/2018/8/2/17644260/musically-rebrand-tiktok-bytedance-douyin