SAN JOSE, Calif. – The San Jose Earthquakes have adopted the soccer ball emoji. A deal with Mountain View nonprofit Unicode Consortium, that approves which of the icons can be used on smartphones and social media, has seen the Earthquakes become the Official Gold Sponsor of the ball.
Emojis, which date back to the 1990s, are symbols used to denote a variety of emotions and have a wide array of uses. The sponsorship is part of the Unicode fundraising campaign Adopt a Character, where people can adopt their favorite characters, including emojis. Funds raised help Unicode in extending language support throughout the world.
The Earthquakes have also launched an emoji billboard campaign. The campaign, which utilizes more than 40 different locations across the Bay Area, started in January and will run through the beginning of April.
“We are delighted to partner with Unicode to sponsor the soccer ball emoji,” said Earthquakes President Dave Kaval. “With the billboard campaign, we wanted to come up with a fresh way to break through the clutter, create conversation and engage a new audience leading into the 2016 season - what better way to do that than by using emojis? Emojis have become the new norm when conversing with friends, co-workers, family members and on social media, plus they are perfect for describing what it's like to attend a San Jose Earthquakes soccer game.”
San Jose kicked off the 2016 MLS season on Sunday, March 6 with a 1-0 win against the Colorado Rapids at Avaya Stadium. The Quakes return to action on Sunday, March 13 when they host the Portland Timbers at Avaya Stadium (4 p.m. kickoff), presented by Supercuts. Tickets are available at sjearthquakes.com, Ticketmaster.com or by calling 800-745-3000 and 7,500 fans will receive schedule magnets.
