Line is an application developed by Korea Naver Corp.

Line is an application developed by South Korea's Naver Corp., which has grown rapidly and has more than 100 million users since its launch in the summer of 2011. Line is generally considered a communication program, as WhatsApp, Viber, Skype, as it provides free calls and text messages. But actually line's goal is to approach social networks. In other words, line seeks to stop obsessing over Facebook's old users and pursue those who use Skype to talk.

Download the line program and you will find other applications and services within the service. For example, playing games with friends, photo and photo filter utility line Camera, it's kind of like Instagram. It also provides "official Accounts" (official account), where users can focus on certified celebrity accounts and accept their dynamics. With line Café, users can discuss similar topics with others.

At the start of the year, line entered the U.S. market, which has accumulated initial users in Asia; It is particularly popular in Japan, with users approaching 50 million. Naver, US CEO Jenny Han, says line believes there is a chance between basic mobile information and traditional social networks.

Not just information.

"I feel a bit tired of being too open to social media," says Jenny Han. In the United States, while we have some strong competitors, line services can fill vacancies that are not yet populated. ”

Line is not just an information program. It's a bit like social media, but it's not too open, it's enough to make users feel comfortable. You can pick a way to communicate with friends and family, you can completely control it, there is no need to worry about the photos taken last night the world will know. ”

"It's not just text information, you can communicate through interesting forms without having to worry about identity being shared, leaked, sold, it won't be too open." This is the selling point of line. In the United States, the time is right, because we think the vacancy needs to be filled. ”

Jenny and Han did not mention Facebook by name, but apparently Facebook was on her list, not just because Facebook has its own program, Facebook Messenger, but also some of its features, such as sending text, instant messaging, There is even a free VoIP call function.

If line is a young Up-and-comer, Facebook is no doubt a huge predecessor. But line's focus is on moving information as a platform for social networking (which is exactly the opposite of Facebook's evolution), which has proved successful in Asia. Jenny Han said she was optimistic about the U.S. market, saying: "Acceptance is good." Although our user in the United States is not large enough, but has taken the first step, line is indeed a platform, it can make life more interesting, it is not just a simple application. ”

To become a platform, line has already covered multiple mobile platforms and launched web programs for PCs, Macs, and tablets. Look at the combination of communications it offers, where you can find the line experience of happiness, which not only provides free products, but also provides a charging program for downloading. Downloads provide the company with key revenue streams, and the company has not yet disclosed revenue data.

Cartoon symbols

Line did not use standard emoticons and emotional symbols, instead, line produced its own cartoon symbol, it is very pleasing, symbols for stickers, games, line platform program. These symbols became the line mascot, the company's brand symbol.

Line did not limit its own symbols in the form of cartoons, in the Far East this form is very popular. Line is localized for different markets and even tailored to the user's ethnicity. Line is not limited to making it itself, it also authorizes other businesses to make it, so that it can provide a similar type of Hello kitty sticker.

The line's employees will track local trends to help localize the sticker content, says Jenny Han. "We tailor each culture to each country," she said. In Spain, we make specific stickers, which are associated only with Spaniards, with trends in society at the time, and are associated with hot topics. We will do the same in the United States. We already have Snoop Dogg free and paid stickers, the effect is very good, the response is unprecedented. ”

Line Sticker Truth

Line is not the only information program that provides stickers. For example, Viber has its own purple paper character Violet, although Viber has 175 million users, but there is no indication Viber will promote violet dolls and games commercialization. Line has devoted more effort to fulfilling the cartoon character, developing a fully-developed role, and trying to make it completely proprietary, and not limited to 2D stickers, which is a key difference.

Jenny Hanzeng, who worked for 10 years in the Hollywood film industry and then joined Line, thinks she's joining an entertainment company, not a tech company. "I did not enter the technology industry, and I moved from one entertainment industry to another," she said. I know how to bring happiness, how to promote entertainment to people, I do these things. ”

In young people, stickers and cute cartoon symbols are very popular, young people are just the original target group line. In fact, Jenny Han says the 18-19-Year-old young man is a core target user, and in Asia, once a girl uses line, the boy will follow. These people will lead older people into the domino effect.

"People like stickers, especially young people," says Jenny S.. In the United States, the proportion of people who buy our online stickers is fairly high, and the number of people who use our games outside the platform is high among total users, and we are optimistic about the U.S. market. ”

Currently, Spain is the second largest market in line, after Asia. "Spain is growing organically, and I think it has something to do with the warm nature of the Spaniards, who like to express themselves and like to send paper to each other, so they develop quickly," says Jenny S.. ”

Jenny Han wants line to be a strong attraction in Latin America, too, because it has similar characteristics. This year, Latin America is another key market for line. Jenny Han says line in the United States will be targeted at different ethnic groups to carry out independent marketing activities. "The attraction of line is very dependent on culture and the communication style of people," she says. The American market is good because its culture is more integrated. There are many Spaniards in the United States who will accept line apps and in the United States we will focus on many different races. The United States has enough people to target groups. ”

Technology plus pop culture

One of the things you can do to localize content is to get the authorization of American pop cartoon characters to help Line bridge cultural differences. "Whether it's the Disney character or the Angry Birds role or anything else, there are many opportunities for us to work together on different roles," said Jenny Han. Our characters are liked, and if there are other countries or corporate roles that people like, you can put them in the new game. ”

"Line employees are in coordination with these intellectual property owners every day and there is a good synergy between our role and some of the other roles ... Now we have more than 100 million users and many companies want to work with us and they are willing to take our call. It would be a bit difficult at first, but now it's easier to talk. ”

Although line's surface goal is to build its own social entertainment network, its bottom line is supported by Technology Enterprise NHN Naver parent company, a search and online gaming company. Speaking of competition with imitators, Jenny Han said Naver has a good experience in developing digital products and can lead faster and quicker.

Jenny Han further said: "Nave is a technology enterprise, in product development is very good, it is fast and agile, when it is necessary to target a large market localization, I think we will be the fastest forward." We have a lot of employees and a lot of resources to invest in to figure out what countries want, which will make us different. ”

Jenny Han was interviewed in Spain, and soon she will return to the United States to strengthen marketing. Jenny Han says line America's marketing campaign was initially relatively small, with no 360 overall marketing.

"With a large population in the United States, we will pick up some big city regional marketing, such as New York and other big cities, to fight for young people." Soon I will be back in the United States, we will hire a large agent to assist marketing, including broadcasting, online, mobile marketing activities. ”

"The United States is much more competitive than other countries, we have seen the evolution of the market, now is the time to start, you will see more line content, not only in the media, the next few months will also invite celebrities to promote line." ”

Stay free

Jenny Han says line has no intention of charging the program. There have been rumours that line's rival WhatsApp to charge, and Jenny Han said rumours helped line to get more attention in markets such as Spain. She thinks it's effective to sell stickers and send official accounts to celebrities and brands for free. Jenny Han said: "The sticker revenue growth is good, we will not disclose the revenue data, but we do get revenue, the monthly growth is very good." ”

Line's consumer joint marketing platform (implemented through the official account function) is also a key part of the revenue strategy, which gives brands and celebrity marketing channels to sell products directly to line users. The channel lets the brand contact the fan directly, may offer the promotion, buys, publishes the news.

"We've created a completely different marketing platform for business," added Jenny Han. Unlike traditional TV and online marketing, you can get consumers in the first, which is a very efficient platform. Many Spanish companies are asking for an official account, and I have no time to meet them all. ”

Will line be split from Naver? Jenny Han said it was "absolutely possible" to open an office in some of the successful market line plans. Jenny Han said: "We are really thinking about this kind of thing, there is no official news, but many companies after the break-up of the good, there is no reason not to split, we are indeed considering the matter." ”