House of Fraser's #Emojinal social media campaign invokes ridicule
House of Fraser's brassy attempt to jump on the emoji bandwagon has left many of its Twitter followers bemused and some even wondering whether the brand has been hacked.
The department store’s #Emojinal social media drive on Monday has seen it hijack trending topics such as Pep Guardiola's move to Manchester City and Harry Styles' birthday with a flurry of emoji-filled photoshops. It’s the crux of the retailer’s campaign in the lead up to Valentine’s Day.
HARRY Birthday HAPPY Styles! @Harry_Styles #HappyBirthdayHarryStyles #EMOJINAL pic.twitter.com/DIJ5EJQOyW
— House of Fraser (@houseoffraser) February 1, 2016
Monday is here - get a move on! @Merc_Clothing #Yeeha #Emojinal pic.twitter.com/dSRAQPRMqq
— House of Fraser (@houseoffraser) February 1, 2016
A number of brands have tried to tap into the emoji's popularity, but House of Fraser's campaign has invoked surprise and in some quarters dismay from web users taken aback by the drastic shift in tone from the retailer.
The ironic use of @houseoffraser's own campaign imagery to describe everyone's reaction to their #emojinal PR stunt pic.twitter.com/hMkhA75APE — Roxanne Parker (@MissRoxyParker) February 1, 2016The person running the @houseoffraser Twitter feed right now. #Emojinal pic.twitter.com/RL31wWioM0 — Kieran (@kieranm22) February 1, 2016What a mess the #Emojinal campaign is. The inevitable "we got hacked" is not an excuse, but has become default for a huge screw up. — Neil Langridge (@subirony) February 1, 2016Our favourite #Emojinal tweet: When they wrote a tweet, left out the bear emoji, didn't delete the mistake. pic.twitter.com/HjiA2xferx — Digital Media Team (@digitalmediatm) February 1, 2016Stumbling into the #Emojinal hashtag. pic.twitter.com/JvQlSXYwX6 — Rooftop Film Club (@rooftopfilmclub) February 1, 2016Whats worse; someone pitched #emojinal or someone approved it? (@houseoffraser ) — Jason Dexter (@iamjasondexter) February 1, 2016Not quite getting the @houseoffraser #Emojinal takeover, great idea but not for their target audience. — Lizzie (@erenfrey) February 1, 2016Gadgette founder Holly Brockwell was critical of the campaign's strategy.
Wow. #Emojinal is a masterclass on how to ruin a century-old upscale brand with one terrible social media campaign. — Holly Brockwell (@holly) February 1, 2016It is always easier to be negative when a brand makes bold moves, and it should be noted that not everyone was critical.
Okay, we haven't been able to take our eyes off of @houseoffraser's #Emojinal campaign all morning... That must mean it's working, right? — Digivate (@digivate) February 1, 2016@houseoffraser absolutely amazing #Emojinal campaign! — Aaron Shardey (@aaronshardey) February 1, 2016House of Fraser approached content agency BrightSpark for the seasonal push as it looked to take a more humorous and fun approach to the traditional valentine’s sentimentality. Social media followers will be asked to crack a code which will be made up of a sequence of emojis symbolising a romantic comedy. Once the code has been cracked, the successful social media followers will unlock a 10 per cent discount to spend online.
The campaign will also be supported by other emoji ‘Love Stories’, that tell famous love stories through emoji such as Prince William and Kate Middleton and Elton John and David Furnish. BrightSpark said that it went down the emoji route after a study by Bangor University found 29 per cent of people with smartphones use them in half of their messaging.
The campaign comes as House of Fraser continues its bid to push its ‘edgy’ credentials. For its Christmas campaign it steered away from the traditional festive fuzzy ads and created a music video rather than a box-standard ad.
Chris Bishop, founder and chief executive of 7thingsmedia and former House of Fraser employee analysed the campaign so far claiming it was an attempt to "reach a new younger audience" that "has completely tanked".
He said: "Positioned between Debenhams and Selfridges the department store’s social activity was so off their image that they’ve been ridiculed by the trade, their competitors (namely ASOS) and more to the point their potential consumers.
"I’ll bet Gordon Young’s flat cap the word “millennials” was used more times than Andy Murray has lost the in an Australian grand slam final."
"Crucially though, it is how the 167 year old brand respond that is key. Yes, House of Fraser should be on social. Yes, old heritage brands can be on Twitter and engaging with all audiences but the effort into the message, the tone, and creative has to be at the same intensity of a heavily scrutinized TV, print or digital ad campaign."
He argued that it is a lack of consistency in the move, although that could change if the campaign exits its infancy: "Is this a one off or a major move? They need to respond accordingly throughout. Are they going to merchandise their Buchanan Street store with interactive digital show windows with selfie #Emojinals? Are they going to sack their agency or in-house junior and revert back to pushing Howick jumpers?"
If you subscribe to the all publicity is good publicity school, then you might even suggest the campaign has been a success.
The question remains, is this a conversation the company, founded in 1849, really needed to be a part of?