Japanese messaging app Line went public July 14, with the potential to raise $1.14 billion in the largest tech IPO of the year. According to MarketWatch, the company is valued at $7 billion. While the app has the largest following in Asia, its well-publicized IPO in New York today will likely stoke curiosity in U.S. mobile users, and Line's global potential for brand-to-consumer reach should not be ignored by communicators keeping an eye out for the next Snapchat.
The messaging app, launched as an alternative to landlines during 2011's magnitude-9 earthquake in Japan, provides a unique service to brands via its Line@ product: the ability to message users individually with CTAs, links and special offers. This aligns beautifully with Line's in-message payment options, which can be used to book travel and make purchases à la Google Wallet or Apple Pay. The effectiveness of Line@'s personalized messages relies on push notifications, a powerful engagement tool for PR pros. The catch: Users must first subscribe to brands to receive notifications. But how are brands getting the word out about their Line presence?
A recent TechCrunch article provides a useful case study: In January 2015, Paul McCartney had a Line following of more than 10 million users. McCartney's communications team had attracted the star's massive Line audience with a combination of effective cross-promotion across other socials and an exclusive sticker package for subscribers (stickers are the app's biggest source of revenue to date). Compared with McCartney's Facebook (6.2 million likes at the time) and Twitter (2.7 million followers) accounts, Line was likely the biggest source of global attention for McCartney's "Only One" collaboration with Kanye West.
The star's team sent a private message (and a push notification to match) to the rock icon's massive Line subscriber base, complete with a link to the download. Unfortunately, much like Snapchat, the messaging app has yet to include engagement metrics, but given the fact that the "Only One" single put the rock icon back in Billboard's top 40 for the first time in 25 years, it's not a stretch to say the campaign was a success.
Communicators seeking brand subscribers on the Line platform should consider using cross-promotion strategies via preexisting socials (much like brands have been doing to alert followers to their Snapchat presence) and offering eye-catching goodies, like Line's lucrative sticker packs, to subscribers. While Line@'s top tier options are as yet only realistic for major, high-grossing corporations, the app's free option still allows for 1,000 messages a month, which should be more than enough for smaller brands to experiment with targeting and driving engagement in Line users.
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