KaKao

Kakao Friends dolls for testing set fire to the character business

 

In the early winter of 2012, Kakao Friends gained recognition among Korean users in the KakaoTalk chatrooms. As most Koreans were using the messenger, Kakao Friends could be naturally exposed to users thanks to the network effect. KakaoTalk users quickly felt familiarity and favor with the character living with their own little deficiency. Kakao Creative Lab started to ponder the 'next something.'

 

Various thoughts passed: 'How would it like if we encountered Kakao Friends that we could only meet on mobile in an offline shop?' 'Wouldn't it make us feel more intimate with Kakao if we could directly touch, feel and talk about the Kakao characters?' 'Just because the company operates IT businesses doesn't mean that it is unable to do a character business, right?'

#Is there anyone who once made character-based merchandise?

Since most Kakao Krews were focused on the mobile and digital sectors, such initiatives did not attract much attention within the company. No one has experienced related businesses, even in the Creative Lab, mainly composed of designers. Then, Kellan, who used to work as a marketer at a financial company before joining Kakao, was appointed as the person in charge of the character business team. That was because he was ripe with customer-facing communication experiences.

 

Kellan recalled, "Manufacturing and selling character-based merchandise was completely different from the marketing work I had previously experienced, so I felt much burdened. I rejected the proposal three times, but I couldn't resist the strong encouragement and eventually took over the reins. In the fall of 2013, three designers and I took on the job."

 

Previously, four characters were released in the form of limited edition and sold out via KakaoTalk Gifts. They were even sold back at a premium on the online second-hand market. It seemed quite natural to choose the idea of an offline character store as 'Next Something' for the company unless they consider that everyone inside had never done it before. Until then, no one had ever figured out in detail that opening a store required another level of preparation.

# Excuting the brick and mortar business in a mobile company

Even though users liked Kakao Friends, opening offline stores was not placed on the 'important agenda.'

 

Kellan remembered, "At the time, KakaoTalk, KakaoStory, KakaoGames, and several other mobile platform services were generating tremendous traffic. Moreover, no one had any experience in manufacturing and distribution. A mood of putting less value on the success of character business prevailed, even if it went well, compared to Kakao's flagship mobile business.”

 

Preparations for the opening of pop-up stores began in late 2013. However, there were very few detailed sketches of where to open, what partners to hire, and how much to secure initial supplies. In time, Hyundai Department Store that had closely followed the Kakao Friends' progress sympathized with ideas of Kakao. They then set a goal to showcase 60 kinds of character-based merchandise on the basement floor of the Shinchon branch on one fine spring day.

 

# Spring in Shinchon

Throughout the winter of that year, Krews and relevant Hyundai Department officials underwent trial and error to prepare the store's opening. Things would have gone on in a flash if character business experts were lined up as now, but at that time, there was little field know-how, so Krews often struggled at every point. For example, Krews learned by trial and error, such as dismantling the existing store and carrying out the remaining work after the department store was closed, or the common understanding that Kakao had to dispatch separate stevedores to the point where freight vehicles with products loaded arrived.

 

Kakao didn't dispatch such workers, so Krews had to go inside and outside the department store to carry the products all morning since the night before the opening day. As the morning dawned, the lines started to get longer at the department store's door near the pop-up store.

 

Kellan recalled, "I thought there was a sale at a popular brand, or another event was scheduled on that day. None of us could have imagined that customers would come and wait in advance just to see Kakao Friends. I was curious about what brought them there, so I asked some of them. They answered that they all came to visit the Kakao Friends pop-up store. Some of them even took KTX to Seoul early in the morning. Our initial KPI was to take photos of people standing in line at the cash register at least once during the two weeks of running the pop-up store. We were completely wrong. No one inside expected such responses from customers."

 

As soon as the door of the department store opened, customers poured in. Safety personnel was urgently dispatched in fear of an accident, and escalators stopped operating temporarily. The movement line designed for character experience became useless, and as soon as Krews opened product boxes to fill the empty shelf, customers snatched products from their hands. Both part-timers hired at the site and Krews dispatched all had to work soaked with sweat. "It was too busy to find time to go to the restroom." Kakao Friends bloomed in the spring of Shichon.

# Across generations and borders

The Shinchon pop-up store ended swept along in the crowd. Thanks to pop-up stores opened nationwide, such as Mokdong and Trade Centers in Seoul and other regions like Busan, Daegu, and Jeonju, Krews had to go on business trips throughout the year.

 

After the Shinchon store, Kakao operated 10 more pop-up stores for a year and opened five regular stores. Thanks to explosive popularity, Kakao had to broaden its product lineup. In the meantime, the company continued to sign license agreements with various necessities brands and additionally hired experts. The TF team was promoted to the status of a Part, which spurred the pursuit of independent businesses for Kakao Friends.

 

Apart from using KakaoTalk or sympathizing with Kakao Friends' worldview, people tend to comfort by projecting themselves or their acquaintances onto character-based merchandise. It is also Kakao Friends' power to make preschool children, grandmothers, and grandfathers visit the store hand in hand and form a consensus transcending generations. Above all, we should admit that Kakao Friends are the critical factor that had implanted friendly and gentle impressions of Kakao on its users.

 

"The Korean character IP market was divided into childrens' characters or foreign characters until Kakao Friends appeared in the form of a real product. Kakao Friends was the first Korean character merchandise that even adults could use in their daily lives without feeling awkward. Also, Kakao Friends served as a momentum for many companies to express their own corporate identity and an opportunity to make them look at character-based merchandise as a business model. We pride ourselves on being one of the drivers behind the changes in the Korean character market."_Kellan

 

Kakao Friends are now busy with overseas activities in the US, Japan, Taiwan, China, and the like. And we are all wondering how far these round-faced cuties with a unique birth story can go.