E-comics are selling well in Japan’s harsh economy, which has been in a long-term recession.
In the e-book market, e-comics account for more than 80% of the total, with sales of approximately 240 billion yen (according to 2018 research). In the rapidly growing e-comic market, LINE Manga is running effective promotions. The service was launched in 2013, and in 2020 it became the most downloaded app. How did LINE Manga, Japan’s top-class e-comic service that continues to make rapid progress, acquire users? Verify the appeal points of effective advertising.
Reference source:
App strategy with “continued use” in mind – What is the promotion method that does not rely solely on the power of LINE Manga’s works?
Shift from “I have the work I’m looking for” to “I want to read it whenever I have time” app
“LINE Manga” and other major e-comic service companies recommend “mobile apps” for smartphones, which are quick and easy to display. The challenge then becomes “guidance” to the app. In order for users to use the service from a mobile app rather than a website, they need to install the app.
One way to get users to take action is to have them read the “work they’re looking for.” In that case, advertisements will be launched that focus on the work itself, but a major issue will be whether users will continue to use the installed app after reading it. It is important to create advertisements that encourage continued use, so that even after the user has finished reading the desired work, they will want to use it whenever they have time.
Use YouTube as an advertising medium/encourage the use of mobile apps
Looking at the search keywords on YouTube, one of the world’s largest video sharing services, you can see that the amount of searches for “manga-related” is increasing year by year. It continued to increase in 2017, 2018, and 2019, and the growth rate was more than 6 times. Therefore, we used YouTube, which is compatible with e-comics, as an advertising medium, and created an advertising creative that emphasizes the appeal of manga itself while emphasizing “LINE Manga’s services”.The results are shown below.
“LINE Manga” promotion strategy/results seen through data
As a result of efficiently deploying advertisements on YouTube, which has a strong connection with the e-comic user base, the cost per app install has significantly improved. In addition, by switching from advertisements that focused on works in the past to focusing on services while appealing to the appeal of reading manga, we are promoting e-comics widely to new users and appealing to users who have already installed the app. , we were able to deliver effective advertisements that encourage continued use.
Return to the origins of “LINE Manga”/Summary
The fact that they were able to acquire a large number of users through an effective medium aimed at the demographic that “likes reading manga” without relying on the power of the “work” alone will have a major impact on the advertising industry in the future. In promoting continued use of the app, the advertising creative, which can be described as a “return to basics,” focused on the “LINE Manga Service” itself was successful. This could serve as a reference example in various industries as a “creative advertisement with high appeal” that reconfirms the value of the service itself.
Reference source:
App strategy with “continued use” in mind – What is the promotion method that does not rely solely on the power of LINE Manga’s works?