KakaoTalk, the newest mobile messaging application to reach the country, is now the number one free social networking application in the Philippine iOS App Store and the number one free communications application in Google Play.
The mobile application saw a surge of downloads over the past couple of weeks, taking the No. 1 spot in Communications category of Google Play on the 18th, following its matched success in the App Store where it rose to become the No. 1 Social Networking application on August 7th, the same day of its official launch.
The impressive results are backed by Kakao’s aggressive localization efforts, in addition to the messenger’s fun and unique features. On August 7th, Kakao launched a TV and radio ad of KakaoTalk featuring K-pop superstars, Big Bang and Philippines’ pop royalty, Sarah Geronimo. These two stars are also featured on KakaoTalk’s Plus Friend channel, a fun interactive advertisement platform where users can add Sarah and BigBang’s official accounts to their Friends’ list to receive latest updates and content including pictures and videos on them. Kakao plans to partner with more celebrities and companies in the Philippines to offer Filipino users content that is locally relevant.
Kakao has also been offering free BigBang and Sarah Geronimo animated emoticons and stickers for those who download the application, so that they can get a taste of the fun and expressive communication that stickers offer. In addition, Filipino KakaoTalk users can get a chance to win exclusive KakaoFriends dolls by chatting with ‘Event KakaoTalk’ until August 25.
“We are overwhelmed by the support of the Filipino users. We are very optimistic that our application will keep growing and we are determined to become an integral part of the local ecosystem and how Filipinos interact,” shares Jang. “We are working on creating localized stickers and content that are more appealing and relatable to Filipino users.”
Jang adds, “Apart from offering free messages and calls, KakaoTalk has more fun features that we have yet to introduce to Filipinos. By listening to our users, we can customize the application’s features based on their wants and needs. We look forward to launching them here in the future.”