KaKao

Harkening back to Kakao Emoticon's first step

 

'What else do we make other than basic emoticons?'

 

It was the fall of 2010 when the number of users surged after the launch of the KakaoTalk Android version. Alice, UI (User Interface) designer, recalled some names of webtoonist who had been acquainted with her. The then webtoon industry stood on tiptoe to develop into the pop culture while producing a number of popular webtoonists. Alice brought up a topic in a meeting.

 

"How about making emoticons with webtoon characters?"

 

"Let's do it!" A positive mood was created. It was the time when KakaoTalk that had declared the 'Free Messenger Forever' slogan, pondered on how to provide better user values than its competitors. Potential cast webtoonists showed an immediate interest upon contact, emphasizing the nature of the mobile platform where webtoon characters could be exposed more to fandom. It was the story of the time when the number of KakaoTalk users just surpassed 2 million. Eventually, four webtoonists who would share a new beginning with Kakao were selected: Kang Full, Lee Mal-nyun, Yellow Gummi, and Narm.

 

#Humble Beginning

Kakao Emoticon was not a monetization project. Its true purpose was to 'upgrade conversation experience.' Krews expected that popular webtoonists' fandom and artworks would seed and spread valuable experiences naturally on KakaoTalk.

 

However, they got stuck with practical problems soon after casting webtoonists. The service cost for webtoonists would be obviously hard on the budget if Kakao continued to provide webtoon for free. Ironically, turning to paid service would be at risk of provoking antipathy in the meantime because buying something for the fun of mobile chats were without precedent.

 

After considerable discussion, they determined the primary direction: ▲ Marketable enough ▲Launch at a lower price than the value customers perceive.

 

A blueprint after the launch of the webtoon emoticon was presented during the series of in-house meetings. Some novel ideas, such as paid emoticon lineups and the concept of open-market (i.e., emoticon store), were made then. 

 

Draft webtoon characters arrived in a stream.

 

#Differentiation is the key, but no one has gone there before.

The emoticon has now become a part of the digital language since the PC communication era. But no one, at first, tried enlarging emoticons, thinking outside the text size. Moreover, some competitors even outstripped Kakao while it was so caught up in new issues that it had not experienced before, such as webtoonist cast or profit-sharing and the like. And then, still-images designed in-house got reborn into emoticons.

 

"We all thought that it was such a good thing. At that time, we tried to make an animated webtoon emoticon in GIF format to convey more vividly what it originally intended. Our team was all of the views that the moment a chatroom opened was when the window opened up to the chat members. Chatrooms are the space where chat members can feel the breath of each other while communicating. That's why we were confident that making the world's first big animated emoticons would draw better reaction than our competitors," reminisced Brandon, who then developed the KakaoTalk Android version.

 

Nothing seemed to work out smoothly to the brink of the product launch. It was November 19, 2011, just ten days prior to the launch of webtoon emoticon, when bad news was heard from Califonia: the AppStore review team rejected the KakaoTalk 2.8.4 version loaded with webtoon emoticon because there was no in-app purchase intent. Kakao was the first to apply the in-app purchase to emoticons. And the then in-app purchase was generally used to add features to game items or productivity tools; therefore, the company had to appeal for approval by submitting the last-minute explanation.

 

Kakao sent detailed materials for re-examination and finally obtained the approval after setting an unlimited emoticon use period. At last, the KakaoTalk webtoon emoticon came into the world when the number of KakaoTalk subscribers increased to 30 billion during this thirteen-month project.

 

#The best of both worlds

User response was instant upon the launch of emoticon when the average daily traffic of KakaoTalk was about 800 million messages. This new chat environment made a good impression on users who had experienced no such kind and soon went viral. A Kakao partner announcing the launch of a payment system for emoticon hit the upper limit price on the KOSDAQ: the evidence of high expectations for the future value created by Kakao's new communication culture.

 

No doubt emoticon gave a boost to the company along with the 'Gift' feature. Also, 'Biz Emoticon' proposed by a consumer goods company went through a feasibility test and developed into the official business model.

 

What is deemed most valuable here is that the co-existence ecosystem has been created. KakaoTalk Emoticon serves as a new gate for emoticon creators who want to showcase their artwork, a mouthpiece for users who want to express their taste and emotion, and the wellspring for the industry that wants to discover various IPs.

 

In 2017 when Emoticon Studio opened, Kakao Emoticon, which had been considered the expert's province, eventually started to develop into the arena for all.