How Line went viral in its first year in Pakistan

Line, the Japanese communications app, officially entered the Pakistani market in August 2014, announcing its arrival with a blitz of advertising and publicity. Popular local celebrities were signed up to endorse the messaging service, primetime television slots were reserved for targeted adverts, and a number of competitions for free giveaways such as vacations and motorbikes were announced. Pakistani consumers were hooked. It seemed as if the Japanese firm wanted to acquire users quickly, irrespective of what it may cost. Crowding out local rivals through its financial muscle was perceived to be a priority.

One year later, the strategy seems to be paying off. Bilal Farrukh, country manager for Line Pakistan, tells Tech in Asia that they’ve grown by 600 percent in the last 12 months alone, but declined to reveal absolute numbers.“It’s been really encouraging, and more than our expectations,” Bilal adds. “Our audience is loyal and now we’re planning on looking into other things.”

Bigger Markets

But why did Line decide to enter Pakistan at a time when most tech giants and VCs were treading carefully? Bilal identifies it as a huge potential market. He explains the country is on the cusp of widespread public acceptance of web-based services and Pakistan can be categorized as one of the “bigger markets,” alongside India, China, Brazil, and Indonesia. Furthermore, it was important for Line to step in and capture the space before the market exhibited signs of maturity – he likens it to the “frenzy” currently engulfing India. “Pakistan is just a few years behind India, and growth patterns are similar. In terms of the numbers, it’s very promising. There are over 130 million mobile phone users, and smartphone sales rising steadily. The market will blow up very soon,” he explains.

Economic indicators are also getting better – it seems like if things carry on in this direction, it’s only a matter of time before everyone starts jumping in.

But despite these giddying growth figures, Bilal explains that monetization is not a priority for Line in Pakistan at the moment. They’re more focused on consolidation and expansion of their user base – and determining which components of their international suite of associated services to bring into the country. Bilal claims Line currently occupies second position in the instant messaging space in Pakistan, behind WhatsApp, but there’s plenty of room to grow as high-speed internet is introduced in more parts of the country.

I try to press Bilal into revealing which services they’re seriously considering but he refrains from giving a straightforward answer. “We’re looking into content, ecommerce, payments,” he explains. “But we haven’t decided which ones.”

But more incessant questions regarding Line’s strategy follow. Bilal hints at an eventual entrance into the payments space and says “it’s an interesting market in Pakistan right now.”

Partnerships

Understanding consumer preferences