What is a sticker? Why do people buy stickers?

Stickers Doll

The United States Science and Technology blog The Next Web Friday, because the mobile IM application line has achieved great success, and the use of virtual stickers to earn a lot of money, virtual stickers are gradually popular around the world, even many European and American social networking companies are actively involved in this trend.

The following is the full text of the article:

Japan Mobile IM application Line a data released in May this year shocked the world: the company sold virtual stickers to $17 million trillion in the first quarter of 2013. Last year, stickers were unknown in the west, but today, along with a large number of Asian apps, Path, Facebook and Viber can also find this expressive cartoon image.

What is a sticker? Why do people buy stickers?

Sticker is a kind of emoticons, mainly used in instant messaging (IM) chat, it is more than the common QQ expression, content pages more rich and interesting. This type of product is popular because it can express emotion and is more vivid than the text, and is particularly popular in Asian markets.

Stickers are usually available in batches, most of which can be downloaded and used free of charge, but some services charge 1 to 2 dollars for premium stickers-stickers that may be a limited-edition version of a brand, product, or event.

Once downloaded or purchased, the sticker can appear as an option in the text box, as long as you click it to send out. Here's how I use stickers in line, which provides free calls and text communications, claiming to have more than 250 stickers.

The effect of using stickers in line

If you're not familiar with mobile apps like line--which already has more than 150 million registered users, most of them in Asia--then your first use of stickers may be on Facebook. The company has recently added this feature to its web page and has been promoting it to the mobile version. You can find stickers in iOS and Android Facebook Messenger apps, and you can also see this option when you send messages to Facebook or a regular Facebook app.

Facebook describes stickers like this: "stickers are different from emoticons, and they depict roles in a personalized manner." Send stickers to share your feelings with your friends. ”

Facebook has a relatively small number of stickers early on, but it already contains some unique content, such as a set of stickers for Mark Zuckerberg's pet dog, Beast. On the left is a few beast stickers, and on the right is Beast's own Facebook page:

Beast's Facebook homepage

The beginning of the birth

The sticker originated in Japan, which had just experienced a tsunami in 2011, when South Korean internet giant Naver began developing line for the Japanese market. The company uses telephone and textual information based on data networks, which is better than regular calls and text messages because of the impact of natural disasters on the country's communications network.

Naver is not focused on the South Korean market because they think the challenges there are too big, mainly because Kakao Talk is already dominant, and the latter boasts more than 90% per cent of South Korean smartphone users.

Line first pioneered the field of emoticons, its rise in Japan-where it uses more than Facebook, Twitter and other social networks-to help stickers become users ' communications tools and businesses ' profitable businesses.

The stickers, mixed with cartoons and emoticons, are two of the most popular elements in Japan, and combine them to provide a new channel for Japanese smartphone users to communicate their feelings and feelings to each other, with some quirky implications. In addition, the sticker also has a certain collection function.

In addition, the most important thing is that the use of stickers can also save time, do not have to input text one after another, so as to achieve a more simple and efficient communication. Stickers are not only very expressive, but also save time, especially considering the Japanese input is more cumbersome.

Figure for Line Sticker example

It is not clear whether emoticons are driving the success of line in the early days of the Japanese market, but the download of the app and the role of the line sticker are growing fast, and the latter has even become a popular target.

Today, the line sticker image of Blanchon and Connie Rabbit (pictured above) may even shine like Angry Birds in franchising. "As a marketing strategy, line's sticker image is now ubiquitous in Japan," says PEI's University business School. Plush toys, books, stationery, egg toys, TV anime, store ads and outdoor advertising, you can see them anytime and anywhere. Even celebrities join. If you spend 1.99 dollars, you can buy the South Korean singer Uncle Bird's line sticker, depicting his flagship song "Jiangnan Style" and the famous equestrian dance. ”

Picture of line sticker image Doll

Towards the world

Line said 80% of the company's total revenue of 58 million dollars in the first quarter of 2013 came from Japan. The company does not disclose revenue or sticker sales in other areas alone, but estimates that most of the sticker revenues outside of Japan originate in Asia.

This may be due to the cultural similarities of other Asian and Japanese cultures, but stickers can still be used, or even purchased, by a considerable number of users in Europe, America and elsewhere. A recent report by the Wall Street Journal suggests that the use of stickers has become a global fad, and that Facebook's recent introduction of stickers could help this content win attention outside of Asia.

(It's worth noting that line's revenue is excellent compared to other information applications.) Other companies have either not started commercialization, are in the early stages of exploration, or have adopted a low resistance/low revenue model. For example, WhatsApp will only charge a subscription fee of 1 dollars per user. )

Figure Line 2013 first quarter and 2012 fourth quarter performance comparison

Stickers are not just cute toys, but also a strategy.

Thailand and Taiwan have all developed into line's two most important international markets, because users there find that stickers can help them save information editing time--non-English characters are more difficult to use than smart-phone input. Although China's micro-letters and South Korea's Kakao Talk have already launched advertisements in both markets and launched a major push, line has gained a market lead in both regions.

Facebook uses the "thumb up" icon in its information service to save time with stickers that allow users to recognize a content simply by clicking the "Like" button. Do not need to input "OK", "understand", "yes" and so on, just use the sticker to complete.

Picture of Facebook's "thumb up" icon application example

Despite its success in Asia, the attractiveness of stickers in the west is different because Roman characters are better supported on smartphones, so the popularity of emoticons and cartoon culture is relatively low.

Since line, Kakao Talk and micro-letters are all in the early stages of internationalization, it is not yet known whether they and their stickers can be recognized by users outside of Asia.

But besides Facebook, there are other non-Asian companies that are expanding this area. Despite major markets in the United States, the private social network path was the new sticker and information feature this March and has made progress in Asia.

Line stickers are more comic, and Path's approach is more high-end and more design-style. The company's stickers are "unique works" chosen by artists from around the world, and are presented exclusively through path, but still retain the style of emoticons.

The company has never disclosed the details of its revenues, but has said to the tech blog TechCrunch that it will make more money within 24 hours of the release of the sticker than any previous product. The lack of revenue data in various regions makes it impossible to tell whether such rapid growth stems from a growing and fanatical minority of Asian users, or because of the American audience.

Figure for Path Sticker example

Business model

Stickers are just one source of revenue for line, Kakao Talk, and other services, and they can generate revenue through application games, other virtual projects, and corporate accounts. and specific to the sticker, the profit method is more than one.

Many stickers can be used free of charge, or free trial for a period of time, then need to pay. The combination of brand or celebrity stickers are likely to need to pay, because this kind of content has become attractive to consumers, with a certain collection value.

Many of the services, including Facebook and hike in India, were originally released for free, but once users started using the stickers and had unique content to charge for, it was possible to launch a paid version.

Line users can also buy stickers for their friends, possibly for special events or for good intentions. Transactions need to use the virtual currency of the service to complete--kakao talk and other services are also used in this mode-but because of the violation of Apple's terms of service, line recently removed from the iOS application of gift-giving function.

Line is not just a mobile chat app, it has grown into a platform, and many of its stickers are already appearing in social games and affiliate applications (such as line Camera, which can add images of Blanchon and Connie Bunnies to Photos), Makes the company's brand and platform more closely linked.

Line also implements a two-way pricing strategy, in addition to the sale of stickers to users to generate income, but also to the intention to introduce their own stickers of the enterprise fees. For companies that want to advertise their brands, the business is attractive, helping them to develop new platforms and explore new ways of branding.

According to the Line Taiwan branch of data, if a company to launch 8 stickers, download time of 1 months, it will pay 1 million NT dollars (about 35,000 U.S. dollars). Users can use up to 6 months, and then automatically disappear. It is not clear whether the fee includes the design and development costs of stickers, but this is only the entry price, and many companies actually pay much more than that.

Today, stickers have a lot of uses, can promote movies, music albums, beverages, air tickets and other goods. Developing a set of stickers is clearly an interesting complement to existing advertising and marketing platforms, but many Western companies have yet to get involved in this area.

Stickers can also promote the sale of licensed goods and the visibility of information services. As previously said, line franchise business has made a huge profit. The company's sticker image has been incorporated into cartoons, television commercials, clothing and plush toys. This helps boost line's brand awareness and provides additional sources of profit.

Future prospects

While line's success in finance and branding is partly due to stickers, other companies cannot easily imitate the way companies like Line, Path, Kako talk. User stickiness and unique content are the two key factors driving the rapid development of stickers.

Stickers are no doubt more popular with new users, but it remains to be seen whether consumers elsewhere in Asia are willing to buy stickers to convey their feelings.

Of course, Facebook may be a barometer of this trend. The company has never been known for its rapid response – because of its conservative style, the company will emulate a feature when it is on track – but if it starts selling stickers, it means the user is ready to pay. And since Facebook has 1 billion-month active users around the world, it will also show that the trend is likely to become common in regions outside of Asia.

Stickers were initially popular in several information services in Asia, but as these services gradually expanded to the world, and the business model of Asian companies received more attention, we could meet and the stickers would be synonymous with the smiley icon as information services.