Team Partners with Snaps to Create Emojis for Fans Ahead of NASL Final
Soccer News: The New York Cosmos partnered with Snaps to launch a customized, Cosmos-branded emoji keyboard or “Cosmojis” that will work on any iOS or Android device.
“We’re always looking at ways in which we can help improve fan engagement and this is a another fun way for fans to interact with both the team and each other,” said Paul White, New York Cosmos Director of Licensing and Merchandising.
The initial keyboard consists of 18 emojis, 18 stickers, seven gifs and three videos. The “Cosmoji” images are made up of a combination of standard emoticons, along with some fun soccer-specific images including jerseys of current and legendary Cosmos players (including Pele).
“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 it happens simply by copying and pasting an emoji, gif or video from the keyboard in to their text.” Mr. White continued.
The Cosmos are the first professional soccer team in North America to develop its own emoji keyboard. The keyboard is compatible with virtually any mobile messaging app, including iMessage, Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, Kik and Tango, among others, and is available for download in Apple’s App Store and Google Play.
According to Meeker’s “Internet Trends 2015” report, messaging apps make up 60 percent of the top 10 global apps by usage and the top four messaging platforms have outpaced the top four social networks in terms of monthly active users.
Fans can download the free apps here:
iOS: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/cosmoji-keyboard/id1053261985?ls=1&mt=8
Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.snaps.cosmoji
Smart-URL: http://bit.ly/nycosmoji
“Every day 250 billion messages are sent globally. The market is expected to triple by 2019 to 100 trillion messages sent,” said Christian Brucculeri, CEO of Snaps. “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.”
The Cosmos conclude their season schedule with the NASL Championship Final on Sunday, Nov. 15 at Hofstra University’s Shuart Stadium against the Ottawa Fury. Kickoff is slated for 5 p.m. ET. The game will also mark the final-ever appearance of legendary players Raúl González Blanco and Marcos Senna, who are both set to retire.