Korean mobile app market and marketing - Korean SNS, Gaming Platform, App community sites, Promotions

Appsasia Monthly Report [August 2014]

APPSASIA Market Research
APPSASIA Monthly Report
Appsasia’s Korean Market Research
1. Korean Market Overview
2. Korean Market Analysis
3. Korean Marketing Channels

 Korea is a very small country in comparison to the global powerhouses such as the U.S. and China.
But the Korean market is important for several reasons. First, it has an excellent mobile network
infrastructure and a high smartphone penetration. Second, it is the third largest country in the world in
terms of mobile application revenue. Finally, it is home to more mobile gamers than anywhere else.
Features of Korean Market
1) Excellent infrastructure and smartphone penetration
2) High mobile app monetization per device
3) Great popularity of games
1) IHS & AppAnnie. Digital Content Report 2013. 19th Feb 2014.
2) Strategy Analytics. Android captured record 85 percent share of global smartphone shipments in Q2 2014. July 2014.
3) MOIBA. May 2014.
Mobile OS Market Share²˙³
Contents sales revenue by app markets ³
Korea Global
The statistics can be varied depending on research institutions

 Korea is a tech-savvy country. Smartphone penetration rate has already hit the
70% mark with over 39 million¹smartphone users.
 Korea is leading the world in 4G penetration and is the first country to reach over
50% for LTE subscribers.
 Korea is the world’s first country to commercialize an LTE-A network.
1) Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning. Wireless communication statistics. 25th July 2014.
2) Bloomberg. Countries With the Most 4G Mobile Users. Sep 2013.
Korea
Japan
Australia
United States
Sweden
LTE Subscription by country population (%)²
= 10%

 It turned out that Koreans spend the most money on games worldwide. In terms of
spending on mobile games, it takes second place next to Japan.
Average time spending on mobile games (min/day)²
1) IHS & AppAnnie. Digital Content Report 2013. 19th Feb 2014.
2) KOCCA. Korea, China, Japan, SEA mobile game user report. July 2014.
Number of mobile games played ²
Composition of digital content spend, 2013¹
The number is based on the number of games downloaded and played after July 2013.

2. Korean Market Analysis
 Korea : Game Market Analysis
Implications 60% of Top 50 (70% of Top 10) games are Kakao-dedicated
Est. ARPU
(iOS/Google) $ 2.36 / $ 1.43
Google
Market Size
Approx. $ 94M iOS Market Size Approx. $ 8.8M
Localization Compulsory Popular Games Clashofclans, 몬스터길들이기forKakao,모두의마블forKakao
Genres of Top 50 iOS/Google games
July 2014 / Market size and est.ARPU are based on Free app and IAP Grossing (Paid apps excluded)
Characteristics of Top 50 iOS/Google Games
Korean
93%
English
12%
• RPGs have strong market share
• Kakao-dedicated games are very
popular
Share of Kakao Games in Top 10 Rankings
iOS
Google
iOS Google

Line
Band
AfreecaTV
Kakao
3. Korean Marketing Channels
SNS
Platform
Community
Promotion
Twitter
Facebook
Band
KakaoStory
HandyGame
Contact us for further
marketing opportunities
Pre-registration
Metro AD
Offline Events

3. Korean Marketing Channels_(1) SNS
 The most popular SNS in Korea is KakaoStory with MAU of 14 million. The next
players appearing in the rankings are Facebook and Band.
MAU Statistics (in millions)¹
DAU Statistics (in millions)²
1) Nielsen KoreanClick. Android Mobile Behavioral Data. June 2014.
2) AppRanker. July 2014.
3) Nielsen KoreanClick. Unique Visitors Statistics for Mobile SNS. Feb. 2014.
Unique Visitors Statistics (in millions)³
Kakao Story
Band
Facebook
KakaoGroup

3. Korean Marketing Channels_(1) SNS
KakaoStory is the biggest SNS connected
to Korea’s famous mobile instant
messaging application, KakaoTalk. It is a
mobile-centered photo-sharing SNS.
Band is an enclosed-type SNS in Korea
serviced by Camp Mobile, a mobile service
subsidiary of Naver. Band is a group-based
SNS, where users can share photos and
content with only invite-based groups.
2) AppRanker. July 2014.
3) KIDIS. SNS usage analysis. December 2013
Kakao Naver
Kakao started its business with KakaoTalk
in 2010. It became the most powerful
distributor in the mobile market. Its
service arena now includes KakaoTalk,
KakaoStory, KakaoGame to name a few.
Naver is Korea’s premier internet company,
operating the top search portal “Naver”. It is
playing a leading role in pioneering oversea
markets with Line corporation, a subsidiary of
Naver corporation. It has been a pioneer in
Korea’s mobile market with Band, Band Game
and Naver Appstore.

3. Korean Marketing Channels_(2) Game Platforms
 Mobile Game Platforms (Kakao Game, Afreeca TV, Line Game, Band Game) – There are
4 major game platforms available in Korea. These platforms differ in terms of their
commission rates, core users and user characteristics. So the features of each platforms
must be taken into a careful consideration.
Name Category Launch
Date
Commission
Rate
Features
Kakao
Game
Communication Jul 2012 21% It is the first game platform with a huge
penetration
Band
Game
SNS May 2014 14% Its growth is largely driven by people in their 30’s
and 40’s
Afreeca
TV
Video Sep 2013 10% It utilizes famous BJ’s for marketing
Line
Game
Communication Nov 2013 N/A It has a large user pool both in and outside of
Korea

 Kakao, originally started as an instant messaging application, expanded its business to the
game market with Kakao Game Platform in July 2012. It established a solid foothold in the
Korean application market after the huge success of ‘Anipang for kakao’. It is equipped
with a strong user base and network capacity.
KakaoTalk Users
26M
Kakao Game Users
16M
Platform Information¹
Average Playing Time
27 hours/month
Number of Games Played
3.4 Apps
Applications on the Market
400 Apps
Accumulated Users
500M

 Band is a platform serviced by Naver since May 2014. Kakao’s gaming platform has
been dominating the market so far, but Band has appeared as a new challenger in the
mobile gaming market. With Band platform, developers and publishers can reach
Band’s 30 million users, who are mainly people in their 30’s and 40’s. This demographic
has strong purchasing power.
Band Users
13M
Band Game Users
1.2M
Average Playing Time
3.4 hours/month
Number of games played
1.8 Apps
37+ Apps

 Afreeca TV started its business as TV live broadcasting service. Now it has expanded its
business area to include a gaming platform with its famous BJ’s as a game marketing
component. A large number of its users are of the younger generation in their teens and
20’s, who are also very interested in playing games.
AfreecaTV Users
3M
AfreecaTV Game Users
178K
Number of Games Played
5.5 Apps
11 Apps
Average number of programs
5,000 programs

 With 450 million users worldwide, Line is one of the most popular game platform to
approach global game users. It began its service in Korea in November 2013 and
attracted 10 million users in total in 2014. However, its games have not yet drawn much
attention among Korean gamers.
Line Users
10M
Line Game Users
160K
Number of games played
1.2 Apps
36+ Apps

3. Korean Marketing Channels_(3) Community
 There are three major community sites in Korea, namely HungryApp, HandyGame, and
Inven. These sites have a massive user base which can be characterized as interested in
gaming and eager to communicate. Therefore, by running a community forum on these
sites, you can gauge the interests of gamers, increase their loyalty, and get valuable
feedback.
- 33M UV/month
- 540M PV/month
- 5300 community pages
HandyGame
- 9M UV/month
- 114M PV/month
- 39M UV/month
- 2100M PV/month

3. Korean Marketing Channels_(4) Promotion/Event
 Pre-registration is one of the hottest mobile game promotion trends in Korea, gradually
replacing CPI marketing. Pre-registration events are designed to make users register with
their phone number before the game is launched. Users then receive rewards upon launch.
Pre-registration is favored by many developers and publishers since it is an effective way to
heighten users’ expectations of games before the launch, and to build a large user-base
during the early stages of the launch.
Pre-registration Top10Game Shuttle

 Offline Promotion
3. Korean Marketing Channels_(4) Promotion/Event
• Popular offline marketing tool in Korea
• 5 million commuters a day in Seoul
• Image, Video, Interaction ads types available
Offline EventsMetro AD Offline Events
Iron Knights : offline
gamezone²
Brave Frontier :
offline event¹
Screen Door Ads³
Appsasia’s
Ads for
Touriworld
1) Game Donga. April 2014.
2) Game Chosun. July 2014.
3) Thisisgame. June 2013.
• The most popular spot for offline events is
metro station
• The cost varies depending on places and scales
of events

Appsasia

Appsasia Marketing Solution
From evaluating the suitability of targeted marketing to providing the know-how to successfully market an
app globally,Appsasia suggests overall guidelines from Media Mix to event ideas — and more.
■ Appsasia Marketing Solution
 Incentive Advertisement for
Ranking entry
- CPI/CPC/Platform (per country)
 Non-Incentive ads for genuine users
- Facebook/YouTube, etc.
Marketing for engaged users
MKT
Program
Local
Expert
Network
Game
Expert
MKT
Know-How
Other New / Special Media
 The only agency of Line Free Coin
in South Korea
- Cover over 55 countries,
Android/app No.1 MIM
 Specialized Marketing Channels
- Community Action /Video/ Event
 Market analysis and localization
- One-Stop Localizing Service
 Target market Suitability testing
- Survey, Beta Test, etc. analysis
PR / Game Site
 Pitching to top websites
Ex) 40 U.S. Game review sites,
over 100 news media sites
 DirectconnectiontoGamesite&appsites
- Local Promotion/ Events/ Review

Appsasia provides One-Stop Solution for market research, Localization, marketing plan, Launch,
Management, result analysis for MKT A to Z Service with local experts and partners.
Marketing Process
■ Appsasia Marketing Solution
Step
Process
Timeline M-1 W-2 W W+2 M+1
Goal Market Research Awareness/Expectation Rank Action UA
Spread MKT /
Event Management
Report /
Second MKT Decision
Localization
PR /
Community
Action MKT
Download
MKT
Brand
Awareness
MKT
Market Research
& Localization
Launching MKT
Management
&Spread MKT
MKT Plan
Pre-launch Boom-up
Result analysis &
2nd MKT Decision
Market
Research
Line Coin / T-mon
Beta-Test
Localization
Other Community Action
PR / Review Site PR / Review Site
CPI/CPC/CPM/Platform
Managing Event Second MKT
Final
MKT
Report
Facebook / YouTube
Other specialized SNS by region
Appsasia’s specialized Marketing Tool

Line Coin Official Agency, Appsasia
Appsasia, as a Line Coin agency, can organize Line Coin promotions to encourage downloads.
Line Coin has reached 300 million users around the world in the past year.
■ Appsasia is a Line Coin agency

T- Mon Non-ince CPI Official Agency, APPSASIA
Ticket Monster is a popular social commerce company in Korea, with more than 13,000,000 member.
Appsasia organizes non-ince CPI promotions to reach your target and encourage downloads.
Advantage of Social Non-ince CPI
 NEW user pool
 Korea’s largest 20-30’s female user base
 Reach users with strong mobile purchasing power
 High retention rate

Facebook AD Case Study by appsasia
Facebook CPC by appsasia
Appsasia can produce effective and creative materials. With our hands-on management, including daily
report and material testing, our campaigns drive exceptionally cost-effective ad results.
< Over 10 AD TESTS before actual campaign >
< Young Creator’s brilliant AD Copy >
Appsasia Facebook ad management process

Reference
Marketing
Start
U.S.AppStoreTopFree #34&50+appsinTOP100
Japan App Store Top Free #1 / Gross #7
100+ apps,
Successfully marketed
[2012/2013] about 40 apps,
U.S., Japan, China Marketing Project
DL/Gross
Japan Market Top 10
for 60 days
[2013] 7 apps,
U.S, Japan, SEA Marketing Project
[2012] 20 apps,
U.S., Japan, Beta Test Project
Appsasia,forlast3years,hassuccessfullyoverseentheglobalmarketingforover100appsinU.S.,Japan,Europe,
China,andSEA.AppsasiahasbeenselectedasanofficialagencyforprojectssupportedbytheKoreangovernment.
■ App Marketing References
[2014] 15 apps,
U.S., Japan, Taiwan Marketing Project

Korean Contact
Ray Ahn
CEO
ray@appsasia.co.kr
+82-10-9729-0519
English Contact
Peter Song
CEO
petersong@appsasia.co.kr
+82-10-9015-3026
Japanese Contact
KiHyun Cho
Japan Project Director
cho@appsasia.co.kr
+82-10-3387-6790
Chinese Contact
Jia Wang
China Marketing Manager
china@appsasia.co.kr
+82-70-4176-0717
Contact US

Korean mobile app market and marketing - Korean SNS, Gaming Platform, App community sites, Promotions

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

What's hot

What's hot (19)

Similar to Korean mobile app market and marketing - Korean SNS, Gaming Platform, App community sites, Promotions

Similar to Korean mobile app market and marketing - Korean SNS, Gaming Platform, App community sites, Promotions (20)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

Korean mobile app market and marketing - Korean SNS, Gaming Platform, App community sites, Promotions