Observed Signal · Oct 27, 2025 · Analysis · Source: CMSWire · Impact: 2/5 · Sentiment: Neutral
Emojis Undermine Credibility and Trust in Email Marketing
This CMSWire analysis argues that emojis in CRM and email marketing harm brand credibility, trust and accessibility. It traces emojis to 1999, when Shigetaka Kurita designed them for NTT DoCoMo to save character space, not to convey emotion. Citing studies, the article reports that emojis in subject lines increase negative sentiment by 26% (Nielsen Norman Group) and reduce credibility and trustworthiness ratings (Koch et al., 2023). Campaign data is mixed: some studies show higher open and click rates, but also more spam complaints. The article highlights accessibility issues for screen reader users and inconsistent rendering across email clients such as Gmail, Outlook, Salesforce Marketing Cloud, HubSpot and Microsoft Dynamics. It recommends a disciplined no-emoji policy for B2B and retention campaigns, arguing emojis add variance without improving average performance.
Provides evidence-based guidance on emoji use in CRM email marketing, relevant to email marketers but not tied to a major industry event or platform change.
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Key Takeaways & Evidence Grounding
- Emojis were created in 1999 by Shigetaka Kurita for NTT DoCoMo to save character space, not to add emotion.
- Nielsen Norman Group found emojis in email subject lines increase negative sentiment by 26%.
- Koch et al. (2023) found messages without emojis scored 4.20 for credibility and 3.94 for trustworthiness, while messages with many emojis scored 3.10 and 3.26 respectively.
- Campaign Monitor reported emails with emojis achieved 56% higher open rates and 96% higher click-through rates, while Return Path found 60% of tests improved but 40% did not.
- The article recommends eliminating emojis from CRM and B2B email campaigns to improve clarity and brand perception.
- Nearly two million people in the UK and about 7.6 million screen reader users in the US face accessibility barriers from emojis in emails.
Connected Companies & Entities
4 Entities mapped“CRM platforms from Salesforce Marketing Cloud to HubSpot to Microsoft Dynamics....”
“CRM platforms from Salesforce Marketing Cloud to HubSpot to Microsoft Dynamics....”
“CRM platforms from Salesforce Marketing Cloud to HubSpot to Microsoft Dynamics....”
“Gmail's web client can't properly combine multiple Unicode characters into single emojis....”
Ontology Mapping & Concepts
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