Line, a mobile massaging company from Japan, has reaped great profits through selling stickers, or emoticons. These are fully delineated cartoon characters that help users express their feelings and send their massages in a playful and funny way.

This success shows Line’s human-centered focus on the desire to express feelings in a more efficient way. Typically, apps like Line profit from advertising of discounted coupons and games. These streams rely on the additional functions of Line rather than the basic function of massaging. Stickers store, on the other hand, are more relevant to users and more related to its basic function. Also, it constantly updates the stickers store with classic or trendy cartoon characters. Apparently, Line is accepted as a “smartphone life platform” by most customers, and in this virtual platform, stickers contribute a lot to the fun of users’ real-time sharing and chatting.

The success of stickers reminds app designers of a big business potential in the social media market. Emoticons have existed for a long time, but it seems that the idea of selling them hasn’t been noticed for a period of time. Being the first ones to grasp this opportunity will definitely generate great profits for companies like Line. Business is about people, and Line has for sure practiced this notion.

Reference:

• Fitzpatrick, Michael. “The Japanese App That Is Storming the World.” Fortune Tech Technology Blogs News and Analysis from Fortune Magazine RSS. CNN Money, 29 Jan. 2013. Web. 04 Oct. 2013.
• Bea, Francis. “Line Is a Messaging App Meets Social Network Headed for the U.S. Market – Here’s What to Expect.” Digital Trends. N.p., 29 Jan. 2013. Web. 04 Oct. 2013.
• TNW. 2013. Untitled. [image online] Available at: http://thenextweb.com/asia/2013/09/13/lines-web-store-lets-you-buy-stickers-and-virtual-goodies-without-a-credit-card-via-a-computer/ Web. 04 Oct. 2013.