Mobile instant messaging app, Line, which officially unveiled in India three weeks back, claims to have 5 million registered users in the country.
It's worth pointing out that while the brand marketing campaign for the app, including two television advertisements started this month, the app has been available for download on app stores of various smartphone platforms for a long time. So it's likely that the 5 million figure also includes users that signed up before the India marketing initiative started.
Commenting on the achievement,Jun Masuda, Chief Strategy and Marketing Officer (CSMO) of Line Corporation, said, "We are extremely happy with the response to our service in India. This is the testimony that we are in the right market with the right product and at the right time. We believe that the framework for web based messaging has already been laid with consumers hooked to it and now are looking for a product that can elevate their communication experience through richer features and functionality. Line comes in at the right time with an app that will transform the way people communicate in India".
"Our aim is to achieve 10 million users in India in a few months. We are confident with our feature rich product and market specific localization, India will be one of the key markets contributing to our global growth," he added.
Line is similar to other P2P mobile messengers such as WhatsApp, Viber, WeChat and Hike, but its USP is its stickers and voice chat features. The app offers more than 8,000 stickers, out of which some are part of premium packs which need to be bought via in-app purchase. This is a major monetization model for the app. Line even inks 4 week deals with brands to offer customised stickers.
Line also monetizes through tie-up with brands to create official brand accounts and artist accounts. The Japanese app company informed that it had signed a deal with Sony India under the same arrangement.
The app is popular in markets such as Japan, Thailand, Taiwan, and Spain, and is now targeting the Indian market. It intends to offer localised stickers and support for Indian languages, in the near future.
Line claims to have 200 million registered users worldwide, as on July 21, 2013, and says that 80.4 percent among these are monthly active users. The app is available on all major mobile OS platforms, including iOS, Android, Windows Phone and BlackBerry.