Global ★ LINE Rapid Growth: Expanding into the U.S. with a Wide Range of Services Including Stickers and E-Commerce

The free call and messaging app LINE is rapidly gaining traction overseas. Since its launch in 2011, it acquired 450 million users within three years, with 85% of them located outside Japan. According to Ad Age magazine, its main markets currently include Thailand, Taiwan, Indonesia, and other Asian regions, plus Spain and Mexico, but it is poised to actively expand into the US market next.

So-called messaging apps are services that enable users to exchange voice, images, emails, and other messages via the internet on smartphones and other devices. Supported by features like being free, they are growing their user base by the hundreds of millions. Estimates indicate WhatsApp currently leads in users, drawing attention when Facebook acquired it for a staggering $19 billion in February. China's WeChat ranks second, with the rapidly growing LINE securing third place.

LINE was developed in Japan in 2011 by a subsidiary of the South Korean internet company Naver. It offers a wide range of services including games, stickers, official accounts for businesses, and e-commerce. According to app research firms, it ranks top in revenue among all apps on iOS and Google Play.

In the Americas, LINE first launched in Latin America. Using that as a foothold, it launched its first major TV advertising campaign in the US in May, targeting Hispanic viewers. If successful, it plans to broaden its target audience further. Its US user base already exceeds 10 million.

Long-term, the company views the U.S., Europe, and Africa as its primary battlegrounds. The acceptance of its stickers, often criticized as too childish for U.S. adults, is also a point of interest.

Source: Ad Age
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