Zhang: Why do mobile internet, must go to Korea?

Intermediary transaction SEO diagnosis Taobao guest Cloud host technology Hall

The writer is Zhang, president of the State Digital

Not long ago, we announced the establishment of a joint venture in South Korea, go Launcher Korea Co, Ltd. (went to South Korea), after the United States, South Korea is one of our official landing began commercial promotion of overseas markets.

The Korean market is really tough, but as our second largest overseas market and the most developed smartphone market in the world, it has to be done. Now, we're finally done. This thing worked for more than a year, the middle of a lot of twists and turns, today things settled, and think of the beginning of last year when the mind flashed the idea-do mobile internet, must go to Korea. That's true.

South Korea is the most developed country in the global mobile internet market

Please note that I did not say "one".

South Korea's current smartphone penetration rate is the world's tallest country. The smartphone penetration rate in South Korea has reached 73% per cent, with only 62% in the UK and only 56% in the United States, according to a survey by Google in July last year. According to Strategy Analytics's data show, about 67.8% of Korean smartphone users will change their smartphones once a year, the highest frequency is the world's top. In the August 2012, the number of mobile phones in South Korea (including the functional and intelligent machines) had surpassed the total population of South Korea, with 16% of South Koreans using two or more handsets at the same time.

For state digital, this highly developed smartphone market, the most valuable is that the Android system in South Korea's market share reached 85%, of which Samsung accounted for more than half; Flurry's data show that iOS accounts for only 14% of the South Korean smartphone market, the world's first-lowest. Thanks to Samsung, which is the world's rival to Apple's handset makers, the South Koreans, who love their products, have put Samsung and Android in an unbeatable position.

In particular, unlike other markets, the iphone does not really form a brand in South Korea. In other markets around the world, using the iphone is more or less fashionable, with a sense of identity and self-identification. And the South Korean market, is entirely Samsung/android a single big, no such situation.

Our products Go Desktop is also very early with the rapid expansion of Android in South Korea occupies a very advanced position, the third party mobile desktop market share of more than 90%. This makes South Korea the second largest overseas market for Go desktop. After that, NHN's doodle, a native Korean company, made its own desktop products.

Korea is a market that recognizes personalized products

Go desktop The original business is to beautify the business, make a landscaping theme, sales to users. Globally, this part of the income has accounted for only a small proportion, but in South Korea, the Korean People's love for personalization is beyond our imagination.

2000 years or so, the Internet has emerged as a new business model, later known as the "Avatar model". "Avatar" originated in Indian Sanskrit, is meant to mean "fen, Avatar", the internet age, used to refer to the virtual world of network users use the virtual image, users can according to their own preferences, the replacement of the virtual role of the shape, pay to buy the role of the costumes, hairstyles, scenes, etc.

South Korea's first to promote Avatar and its commercialization of the South Korean chat site Sayclub, and soon in the Korean market popular. According to statistics of 2001 Korea's avatar sales reached 18 million U.S. dollars, and in 2003, it grew to 250 million U.S. dollars. It can be said that the Avatar model is a valuable commercial innovation in the early Internet era, which relies mainly on advertising to gain income.

This model was later learned by Tencent, "QQ show" for Tencent to achieve the initial commercial transformation. No QQ show to support Tencent's early cash flow, there is no today's Tencent Empire. Until today, the Avatar model as the core member value-added services, Tencent is still one of the main revenue sources.

South Korean users ' pursuit of individuality and self-expression has been extended to smartphones. Can tell a story, before the establishment of the joint venture, the go desktop in South Korea has never been operating and promotion, but in the local spontaneous development of the Go desktop theme of the user community, designers and users active, or even more than we operate in China's autonomous user community.

For China, South Korea has another meaning. From the geographical and cultural perspective, South Korea in the Asia-Pacific region Confucian cultural circle within the radiation, but also the first to enter the ranks of the developed countries in Asia, Seoul Urban Circle formed a very cutting-edge urban fashion, it can be said that South Korea is the region's popular culture and a new way of life. Life style, social form and popular industry have a forward-looking reference meaning for the rapid urbanization of China's market.

To do mobile internet in Asia, South Korea has to win.

But the Korean market is a closed market.

South Korea Everything is good, the market is very mature, the user's willingness to pay is very strong. Only a little bad, the Korean market is very closed.

The closure of the Korean market is reflected in two points. One is the strong nationalist sentiments of the users, and Koreans are world-famous for their support of domestics. The advantage is that by Samsung's Dongfeng, Android is very market, and by the east wind of Android, the desktop market is very space, the disadvantage is that the local brand played "national brand" and "patriotic card", foreign brands are very passive.

The go desktop experienced similar events last year. NHN's dodollauncher on the line, has played "Korean own mobile phone desktop" such ads. Last May Go desktop also encountered malicious bad reviews in South Korea's Google Play, in the absence of any version update, suddenly received a large number of low score, social network people say "do not use American products" (go desktop was also considered to be American products), later found that the Chinese products and said " Can't use Chinese products. " It turns out that a lot of people are starting to use their own mobile desktop.

Second, the South Korean commercial market nepotism is serious. South Korea has a small land and a relatively concentrated population. This creates a business environment that is often built on interpersonal relationships, much like China and a human society. And more than China, with a clearer, more seniority, more explicit and hierarchical relationship. In business development, whether the channel or the operation, without first courting interpersonal relationships, there is little chance of success.

Last year, for example, we had no channel to explain and clarify in the Korean market. In addition to Google Play we have almost no channel to communicate with users, we do not know any Korean media, do not know how to contact them. Jokingly, I don't know who to look for in PR.

Get a local company to play with.

Such a market with mature commercial potential, but because of the closed and isolated relationships, for a long time, we can only exclaiming. In the United States we use acquisitions to achieve the landing of subregional operations; In Korea, we finally chose the way to form a joint venture. Cooperation with us is IHQ company chairman Zheng Zhuo.

IHQ is Korea's most important comprehensive entertainment listed company, the main business including artist training, music distribution, TV dramas, movies, arts and crafts production, etc., Jin Yubin, Rain, June, song song and other famous Korean artists are from this company.

In the main business, the company is a bit far away from the mobile internet, but IHQ has a long state digital does not have the advantage of the need--in South Korea's excellent market resources and operational capabilities. South Korea's largest chain of coffee shop brand Caffebene by virtue of IHQ strong promotional channels and promotional capabilities, in the local one more than Starbucks, become the South Korean people's favorite chain of coffee shop brand.

In Korea, the entertainment industry is very developed market, IHQ Rich Star, cartoon, performing arts and other content copyright resources for the Go desktop in personalized development to provide strong support. Full use of IHQ comprehensive resources in South Korea to promote the legitimate desktop theme and related surrounding, will help go desktop to further explore the local market.

Korea is a market that is important and tempting to state the global layout of digital and go desktops, but it's also the hardest, and now we're done. By handing the complex market situation in South Korea to Ihq and Zheng Chaolai, we can focus on technology and user accumulation, as well as the mining of commercial value.

And the last thing I want to say is that the United States represents the English market and go desktop The world's second largest overseas market, South Korea, has been done. Next, guess what?