Promotion of mobile games and applications in South Korea
Mobio has been promoting mobile games and applications in Asia for over a year now. At the beginning of the year, we opened an office in Beijing to be closer to our customers and to better understand the enormous nuances of the Asian market.
In this post, our director of business development in Asia, Jason Kim, will talk about the market and some features of promoting mobile apps and games in South Korea.
The territory of South Korea is 100 thousand square meters. km., which is 80 thousand square meters. km less than one Chinese province Hebei. Nevertheless, the country is included in the "Four Asian Tigers" along with Singapore, Taiwan and Hong Kong and every year demonstrates high rates of economic growth.
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The market for mobile applications is growing every year, largely due to the high penetration of mobile technologies. About 50 million people live in the country, and the number of registered smartphones for 2016 has reached 46 million 420 thousand devices.
South Korean on average receives 20 thousand yuan ($ 2,925); for comparison, a Beijing resident receives 12,000 yuan ($ 1,755). The standard of living in the country is high, and the Internet penetration rate is the first in the world - 92.8%. There are three main operators on the market: KT (Olleh!), SK Telecom, LG U Plus.
If you look at the market as a whole, residents of South Korea prefer local brands, both in cars: Hyundai, Kia, and in smartphones: Samsung, LG. Samsung firmly holds the leading position in the market. However, the Chinese brands Xiaomi and Huawei are gradually taking their share. Xiaomi is an excellent choice in terms of price and quality, but their phones are still being imported illegally. In South Korea, there are central stores Xiaomi, which do not sell phones, the stores have no rights to sell them. Therefore, they mostly sell related products of the brand: bracelets, segways, etc.
Apple holds only 19% of the market due to Samsung’s pressure on the government and the lack of an official store. But, given the recent political changes in South Korea and the arrest of the president of Samsung, Apple has every chance of raising sales.
In South Korea, the average user of 20–29 years old spends four hours a day on a smartphone. If you look at the statistics, the average South Korean uses more than 45 applications per month, of which 20 applications are social media and games.
The mobile gaming market in South Korea is constantly growing. The estimated total market volume is 23.4 billion yuan - $ 3.4 billion (according to Data Quest). Among the popular companies there are both Chinese and local players who are not inferior in profitability to foreign companies.
For example, the Korean mobile game Heaven Sword 2 earned 47 million yuan ($ 6.8 million) on the first day of launch. Over the next 14 days, they earned 600 million yuan ($ 87.7 million), and total revenue for the month reached 1.2 billion yuan ($ 175.5 million). Even in China, the popularity of games does not reach such a volume. Without the support of large investors, of course, not done.
Now there are about 30 companies developing mobile games in the country.
(Popular mobile developers in Korea)
Online promotion of games and applications in South Korea can be divided into 4 points:
In South Korea, players are attracted to the pre-registration stage. They give gifts for registration, for example, weapons for use in the game in the future. Thus, a registered user immediately has an advantage over other players, and at the same time a desire to play.
The format of pre-registration is various, usually companies collect phone numbers and ID numbers of potential users to send SMS messages about the launch of the game or ways to download it.
As with the rest of the world, companies from South Korea buy a lot of traffic on various networks.
Some popular CPI sources: Cheetah Mobile , NSwitch , AdColony , Applift , Taptica , Applovin , Appier , Mobusi , Syrup Ad .
Users are also actively attracted via Facebook, the social network is very popular in South Korea, developers get a lot of traffic from it. Many companies in South Korea are looking for Facebook traffic optimizers, and also promise a solid premium for their help in finding such people. The conclusion suggests itself.
In addition, CPM pay-per- click video ads on Youtube , Cheetah Mobile , Pandora.TV , Videology , Unity Ads , Vungle , Naver tvcast , Daum tv , Dawin , AdColony are popular .
A great role is played by good relations with the media and opinion leaders. For the promotion of games actively attract bloggers who write their impressions about the game or stream. Some companies deliberately leave flaws in games for users to discover and begin to discuss. The discussion draws attention to the game, and with it, new users.
The main channels of offline promotion are outdoor advertising, press conferences and stands at exhibitions.
Outdoor advertising, according to the Koreans themselves, is one of the most inexpensive and effective methods of promoting games and applications. It is placed at bus stops or in the subway.
Press conferences are one of the traditional formats that helps with getting publications in the media. At press conferences, manufacturers talk about the status of the game / application, market size, number of users, future intentions. The media like these stories and most often produce informational material with a link to download.
It is worth noting another popular method of offline promotion, which is also used in Russia: the developers of mass mobile products can pre-install their applications on devices in stores.
There is another feature in the South Korean market, about which many developers do not know. Recently, the government regulates the activities of gaming companies.
In 2015, a decree was issued on the mandatory publication for users of information about the probability of obtaining tools in the game. Developers are required to publish the exact probability of receiving gifts or any other chips in the game. When the ruling came out, no one gave it any significance, since no sanctions for non-compliance were prescribed.
After that, the government tightened the requirements: on February 15, 2017, an amendment to the law was issued, according to which companies are required to publish accurate data about the game, otherwise the game will be blocked. Thus, any gaming company that is going to launch a new product must first advertise the exact data on the planned equipment, gifts and various chips for users to be used in the game.
Despite the huge potential of the South Korean market, there are many difficulties and nuances that must be taken into account both in development and in promotion. Because of this, the threshold for entering the market for Russian (and not only) players is quite high.
However, if you decide to promote your product in South Korea or in any other Asian market, the Mobio team will be happy to help.
In this post, our director of business development in Asia, Jason Kim, will talk about the market and some features of promoting mobile apps and games in South Korea.
About South Korea
The territory of South Korea is 100 thousand square meters. km., which is 80 thousand square meters. km less than one Chinese province Hebei. Nevertheless, the country is included in the "Four Asian Tigers" along with Singapore, Taiwan and Hong Kong and every year demonstrates high rates of economic growth.
')
The market for mobile applications is growing every year, largely due to the high penetration of mobile technologies. About 50 million people live in the country, and the number of registered smartphones for 2016 has reached 46 million 420 thousand devices.
South Korean on average receives 20 thousand yuan ($ 2,925); for comparison, a Beijing resident receives 12,000 yuan ($ 1,755). The standard of living in the country is high, and the Internet penetration rate is the first in the world - 92.8%. There are three main operators on the market: KT (Olleh!), SK Telecom, LG U Plus.
If you look at the market as a whole, residents of South Korea prefer local brands, both in cars: Hyundai, Kia, and in smartphones: Samsung, LG. Samsung firmly holds the leading position in the market. However, the Chinese brands Xiaomi and Huawei are gradually taking their share. Xiaomi is an excellent choice in terms of price and quality, but their phones are still being imported illegally. In South Korea, there are central stores Xiaomi, which do not sell phones, the stores have no rights to sell them. Therefore, they mostly sell related products of the brand: bracelets, segways, etc.
Apple holds only 19% of the market due to Samsung’s pressure on the government and the lack of an official store. But, given the recent political changes in South Korea and the arrest of the president of Samsung, Apple has every chance of raising sales.
In South Korea, the average user of 20–29 years old spends four hours a day on a smartphone. If you look at the statistics, the average South Korean uses more than 45 applications per month, of which 20 applications are social media and games.
Mobile gaming market
The mobile gaming market in South Korea is constantly growing. The estimated total market volume is 23.4 billion yuan - $ 3.4 billion (according to Data Quest). Among the popular companies there are both Chinese and local players who are not inferior in profitability to foreign companies.
For example, the Korean mobile game Heaven Sword 2 earned 47 million yuan ($ 6.8 million) on the first day of launch. Over the next 14 days, they earned 600 million yuan ($ 87.7 million), and total revenue for the month reached 1.2 billion yuan ($ 175.5 million). Even in China, the popularity of games does not reach such a volume. Without the support of large investors, of course, not done.
Now there are about 30 companies developing mobile games in the country.
(Popular mobile developers in Korea)
Promotion of mobile games
Online promotion
Online promotion of games and applications in South Korea can be divided into 4 points:
- Pre-registration in the game / application;
- Purchase of traffic by CPC, CPI, CPA, CPM, CPV;
- Publications in the media;
- Work with opinion leaders.
Pre-registration in the game / application
In South Korea, players are attracted to the pre-registration stage. They give gifts for registration, for example, weapons for use in the game in the future. Thus, a registered user immediately has an advantage over other players, and at the same time a desire to play.
The format of pre-registration is various, usually companies collect phone numbers and ID numbers of potential users to send SMS messages about the launch of the game or ways to download it.
Traffic purchase
As with the rest of the world, companies from South Korea buy a lot of traffic on various networks.
Some popular CPI sources: Cheetah Mobile , NSwitch , AdColony , Applift , Taptica , Applovin , Appier , Mobusi , Syrup Ad .
Users are also actively attracted via Facebook, the social network is very popular in South Korea, developers get a lot of traffic from it. Many companies in South Korea are looking for Facebook traffic optimizers, and also promise a solid premium for their help in finding such people. The conclusion suggests itself.
In addition, CPM pay-per- click video ads on Youtube , Cheetah Mobile , Pandora.TV , Videology , Unity Ads , Vungle , Naver tvcast , Daum tv , Dawin , AdColony are popular .
Publications in the media and work with opinion leaders
A great role is played by good relations with the media and opinion leaders. For the promotion of games actively attract bloggers who write their impressions about the game or stream. Some companies deliberately leave flaws in games for users to discover and begin to discuss. The discussion draws attention to the game, and with it, new users.
Features offline promotion
The main channels of offline promotion are outdoor advertising, press conferences and stands at exhibitions.
Outdoor advertising, according to the Koreans themselves, is one of the most inexpensive and effective methods of promoting games and applications. It is placed at bus stops or in the subway.
Press conferences are one of the traditional formats that helps with getting publications in the media. At press conferences, manufacturers talk about the status of the game / application, market size, number of users, future intentions. The media like these stories and most often produce informational material with a link to download.
It is worth noting another popular method of offline promotion, which is also used in Russia: the developers of mass mobile products can pre-install their applications on devices in stores.
Something else
There is another feature in the South Korean market, about which many developers do not know. Recently, the government regulates the activities of gaming companies.
In 2015, a decree was issued on the mandatory publication for users of information about the probability of obtaining tools in the game. Developers are required to publish the exact probability of receiving gifts or any other chips in the game. When the ruling came out, no one gave it any significance, since no sanctions for non-compliance were prescribed.
After that, the government tightened the requirements: on February 15, 2017, an amendment to the law was issued, according to which companies are required to publish accurate data about the game, otherwise the game will be blocked. Thus, any gaming company that is going to launch a new product must first advertise the exact data on the planned equipment, gifts and various chips for users to be used in the game.
Conclusion
Despite the huge potential of the South Korean market, there are many difficulties and nuances that must be taken into account both in development and in promotion. Because of this, the threshold for entering the market for Russian (and not only) players is quite high.
However, if you decide to promote your product in South Korea or in any other Asian market, the Mobio team will be happy to help.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/328332/
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