"Line Sticker" : A New Popular Tool for Business in Thailand
+ KBank case study
+ KBank case study
Risa Hemtasilpa 29-09-13
“Line” is a well-known application on smart phone from
Japan. Now there are about 200 million users all around the world and Thailand
is the second biggest market with 18 registered users after Japan (Adslthailand
2013).
Undoubtly that many companies foresee
this trend and try to get advantage by create their own character. The character
will represent company brand personality and the sticker launch will create brand
awareness.
To download ‘Line’ sticker, of course people have to add each
official account as friend. This becomes another channel to communicate with
people.
However Line’s Official account and brand sticker isn't what
all business can do. If the created character doesn't fit with brand “Line”
then you would be rejected. Process from
draft character design to launch program spent about 1.1 month (Prapretsujarit
2012).
Although Line sticker creation cost
boost up to approximately 5 million Baht in Thailand (Lertwiram 2013) and many-step
process, many Thai brands invest in it.
These
are examples of Thai brand Line Sticker (such as Siam Commercial Bank,Thai Airways and Mueng Thai Life Insurance)
As you can notice, all of them were created to be each company’s own brand character.
On 17th of September 2013 KBank launched
Brown&Cony in KBank world sticker and it created more than 2.8 million download
in the first day!!!
I can’t say that it’s the highest first day download since I cannot find number of first day download of other companies.
I can’t say that it’s the highest first day download since I cannot find number of first day download of other companies.
What I found is Meng Thai Life insurance gets the highest sticker
download with 7+ millions. However this number is accumulating from its first
launch on 11th of December 2012 until now, launched a second
version.
Source : Positioning Magazine, 21st August 2013
KBank is the first company that uses existing popular Line
character. However there are advantage and disadvantage as I will show you in
the table below;
Advantage
|
Disadvantage
|
1. Get
more channel in customers’ communication
2. Add
more opportunity to reach non-KBank users through official account
3. Decrease
risk of unlike character by selected the one majority of people like to have
4. Create
new character by KBank itself will destroy the previous brand presenter (E-Girl)
and confused customers
5. Able
to make further advantage on popular character such as merchandise
6. Support
perception on innovative brand which related to previous products, especially
cartoon character debit card
7. Engage
banking with customer lifestyle by choose daily financial life topic in
sticker design rather than just emotional
picture as other companies
|
1. Higher
cost than create its own characters
2. It
may have the same disadvantage as celebrity endorsement which is if someone
creates Brown&Cony in inappropriate personality; it might affect the
KBank brand.
3. “Line”
sticker will valid only 3 months so if KBank wants to keep this channel, it
needs to spare a lot of budget and the second time may not build surprise phenomenon
as the first launch.
4. Financial
related posture may create lower daily usage than emotional characters design.
|
Further on
Companies need to think further on how to use official
account in downloader’s smart phone more efficient. This channel will be only
way to present new promotion, new products or we can make it as another channel
to do survey, strengthen customer engagement etc.
Appendix
Reference:
Prapretsujarit,A 2012, “How to do official and brand sticker
with Line”, Bangkokbiznews, released 9th November 2012, viewed 29th
September 2013, http://www.bangkokbiznews.com/home/details/business/ceo-blogs/ap/20121109/477241/%E0%B8%81%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%97%E0%B8%B3-Official-%E0%B9%81%E0%B8%A5%E0%B8%B0-Brand-Sticker-%E0%B8%81%E0%B8%B1%E0%B8%9A-Line.html
Anektaweephol,S 2013, 100 Line! Report the popular Line
sticker, posted on 18th January 2013, <http://www.marketingoops.com/news/tech-update/line-stickers-rank/>
Adslthailand 2013, “Line growth from Line Conference”,
released on 21st August 2013,
Lertwiram, P 2013, “Line and Kantana make Line sticker cartoon
on TV”, Positioning Magazine, released on 21st August 2013, < http://www.positioningmag.com/magazine/details.aspx?id=96847>
