“It could be a perfect platform for trying on items.

But Bitmoji could also function as a playful dress up tool - getting people to do their product decision-making over messaging. Augmented reality - like Rimmel’s latest app - is one route to get consumers trying before they buy. The hurdles that online retailers face in recreating the in-store experience have been well documented. The typically unsexy brands (such as banks) will have a tougher time, as users probably won’t want to show off their HSBC avatar like they would a Starbucks Bitmoji. This includes fashion companies, but also other lifestyle brands like Toni&Guy. With access to a bigger audience, which Snapchat pegs at 150 million daily users, the platform will work for brands that have an existing affinity with users, says Toto Ellis, head of strategy at Droga5. Users can dress their avatars in these brands, alongside outfits from cinematic releases, most recently “Ghostbusters.” Who you gonna call?īitmoji began experimenting with branded content at the end of 2015 with Bergdorf Goodman, Steve Madden and Joie. “It allows brands to sneak into those sacred, impossible spaces which are private conversations,” she said. To own and control your identity in messaging is incredibly important,” Keys said. “You have this ever-growing library to put yourself into. By their private nature, they don’t allow for analytics the way Facebook does. For Th_nk’s senior content strategist Vanessa Keys, Bitmoji’s appeal to brands is that it invites them onto the so-called dark social channels which have puzzled marketers. Messaging channels have also been a difficult proposition for brands.

What is bitmoji