The Pope’s visit to the United States wouldn’t be complete without an emoji.
Twitter rolled out four custom emojis that appear when the hashtags #PopeInUS, #PopeInNYC, #PopeInDC and #PopeInPhilly are used. Each city is a stop on Pope Francis’ whirlwind American tour and each is adorned with a city-specific landmark; the U.S. hashtag gets an American flag.
“Considering the warm Twitter welcome he received shortly after being named Pope, we anticipate many devotees will flock to Twitter to savor his visit,” the social platform said in announcement posted today. Maybe, but the man himself has yet to tweet one of the emojis in his likeness. No idolatry, please.
Here’s what they look like:
Use these emoji to follow along as the #PopeInUS events unfold on Twitter. https://t.co/yM9NeO9J8V pic.twitter.com/MTrPYsKgYn
— Twitter Faith (@twitterfaith) September 22, 2015
Excitement is building for Pope Francis’ first visit to the U.S.. Twitter has measured 58,000 total tweets with the hashtag #PopeInUS within the past week with more expected when touches down in the country later today.
Topsy measured 3,000 #PopeinUS Tweets tweeted this morning. #PopeInDC and #PopeInPhilly have also been used roughly the same amount today, with only 400 tweets affixed with the #PopeInNYC hashtag.
A unified hashtag for his visit could help brands organize their tweets, which have been minimal so far. Twitter regularly creates custom emojis for big events that get people talking on the website, like the MTV Video Music Awards and social causes like #LoveWins. Coca-Cola was the first brand to pay Twitter to create a custom emoji for its #ShareACoke campaign last week.
Photo via Wikipedia.
.jpg){kind=link}
More in Marketing
New partnerships, marketing fuel BNPL’s holiday surge
This holiday season, more brands deployed BNPL services with different payment options beyond the more familiar “pay-in-four” structure.
Pitch deck: How Amazon is recasting Twitch as a core part of its CTV pitch
Amazon is positioning Twitch as a defining asset in its CTV ambitions.
Netflix transforms former mall department stores into experiential venues
The location in Dallas opens this week, and one at the King of Prussia mall near Philadelphia opened last month.