LINE, World’s Hottest Mobile Messenger, Gets Closer to Malaysians

- LINE is one of the fastest growing mobile messaging services in the world that integrates various dynamic features into a ‘Smartphone Life Platform’
- LINE plans to collaborate with various Malaysian businesses and personalities for more localized offerings and also to stimulate investment in Malaysia
- As the first brand ambassador of LINE, Super Junior’s Siwon Choi starred in a locally-filmed TV commercial and attended the Malaysian press conference

[Friday, April 12, 2013 – Kuala Lumpur] LINE, the world’s leading mobile messenger service provider, announced its goal to exponentially grow its Malaysian user-base this year at a press conference held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Spurred by vibrant mobile technology and consumer trends, LINE will continue to invest and grow its Malaysian user community through various collaborations with local businesses and an extensive integrated marketing campaign featuring Korean star Siwon Choi.

To kick off its first local campaign, LINE will be airing a locally-filmed TV commercial starring Siwon Choi, an internationally recognized singer and actor, who portrays a boyfriend interacting with his girlfriend on LINE – a situation to which many Malaysians can relate. Siwon Choi himself attended the press conference to show his support for LINE and unveil his virtual brand room and avatar on LINE PLAY, LINE’s avatar communication service.

The commercial, shot in Tasik Ampang Hilir amongst other familiar Kuala Lumpur locations, showcases a couple who, while separated by physical distance, grow closer via their connection on a digital social platform: LINE. This embodies LINE’s global aim, to bridge the growing gap between people in an ever-expanding digital world.

“We have carefully selected Malaysia as a key market for this new transition as we feel that Malaysia has a high growth potential and also has one of the highest smartphone penetration rates in the world. Therefore, we plan to shape LINE and its family brands to complement the needs of our users in the Malaysian market, by continuing to invest in enabling simpler and more convenient use of the service, connecting users around the world without any borders between desktop and mobile,” said Hyun-bin Kang, Head Director of LINE PLUS Corporation.

LINE has evolved into much more than a mere mobile messenger app, closely pursuing its goal of becoming a Smartphone Life Platform. With games, tools, social connectivity and entertainment apps complementing LINE Messenger itself, the LINE family has grown into a multi-faceted platform that allows users to create, share and connect with one another across any platform.

“We expect that 2013 to be a year of transformation for mobile messengers to become a mobile platform for content distribution. LINE has already established partnerships with many local businesses, corporations, as well as well-known personalities to grow its local content and provide a more enriching experience for our users who are always seeking new ways to enhance their lifestyles,” said Jin-woo Lee, General Manager of the Global LINE Business Office.

To provide a more local flavour to its services, LINE has also garnered the support of key Malaysian celebrities on LINE Official Accounts that allow them to directly engage their fans. Among the personalities unveiled today were Zizan Razak (Raja Lawak), Danny One, Liyana Fizi, Isaac Dang, Chris Tong Bing Yu, Jane Ng, and Keqing.

In addition to celebrity partnerships via LINE’s Official Accounts, LINE is also transforming the music industry by becoming a new platform for music. G-DRAGON of K-pop group Big Bang recently released a new song via his LINE Official Account. Fans can download an exclusive set of G-DRAGON Stickers which allows them to listen to his new song “GO” for free.

In Malaysia, LINE now supports Nokia’s S40 platform and also comes preloaded on Nokia’s Asha smartphones. This is in addition to iPhone, Android, Windows Phone and Blackberry devices – making LINE a truly cross-platform app and bringing its goal of the Smartphone Life Platform closer to reality.

“Our goal has always been to create a true Smartphone Life Platform, used by everyone around the world. Today marks the continuation of that effort, by growing our user-base in Malaysia. We truly believe that LINE will soon become the most popular mobile messenger with the best localized features and services for Malaysian users,” added Jin-woo Lee, General Manager of Global LINE Business Office.

LINE’s tailoring of its offerings for the Malaysian market comes shortly after a strategic internal reorganization which will allow it to better react to the rapidly changing global mobile market. LINE now falls under the banner of LINE PLUS which serves its vision of becoming a young and fresh lifestyle brand. LINE has proved itself as a top mobile platform amongst users, with over 130 million users across 231 countries in Asia, the Americas, Europe and Africa. Previously, LINE operated under the NHN Corporation.

For more information about LINE, please visit its official website http://line.naver.jp/en/.