The English language is constantly shifting, with merging communities and tech making it evolve faster than ever; 86% of British parents think teens speak a different language on social media. So how can brands use words, emoticons and colloquialisms to better communicate with their audiences?

Over two billion smartphone users send six billion emojis a day. And most Gen Yers now believe that these symbols improve our ability to communicate. But research shows that emojis may be more confusing than we think, as they can have different meanings to different people.

With just 7% of communication being attributed to spoken words, and the remainder down to body language and tone of voice, it’s easy to see why communicating online has been described as cold and impersonal. Emoticons, emoji and stickers are helping make digital communication a bit more human.

With 79% of Brits rarely or never clicking online ads, brands are wasting huge sums of money on ineffective advertising. So how can companies entice consumers to voluntarily eyeball their content? Canvas8 sat down with 15 British men and women to find out what they think about online ads.