Kakao seeks 1 million partners with new apps

Mobile communication venture firm Kakao launched three new mobile service platforms on Tuesday, aiming to secure at least 1 million individual and group partners in three years.

Before the launch, Kakao had 31 mobile game partners and 260-some “plus friend” partner companies.

In unveiling the new applications ― Kakao Page, Story Plus and Chatting Plus ― the mobile venture tech firm is poised to convert itself from customer-centered social servant to a powerful marketing-booster to its business partners.

Kakao Page enables users to upload information content on both PCs and mobile devices, which other users can buy and share with their Kakao friends. For instance, a user can purchase a recipe at Kakao Page and post it on his or her Kakao Story so that friends can see and share.

Story Plus, a “meta-version” of already-existing Kakao Story, enables users to surf other people’s postings that link to non-Kakao Story pages or websites. This platform will help many enterprises to promote their firms and products, the company said.

Chatting Plus, which is an upgraded version of Kakao Talk, offers new chatting options for parties with three or more members. Group-chatters, for instance, can play mobile games during the chat.

Under the slogan “Together, Altogether,” Kakao seeks to establish a mobile market based on the co-prosperity principle, Kakao chairman Brian Kim said. 

The Kakao chairman distinguished Kakao from other dominant social network service platforms such as Facebook and Tapjoy.

“Facebook is an excellent platform, but its crucial weakness is its customer-focused business model. Only a few business partner firms succeeded through Facebook.”

“Our goal is to make Kakao a mobile platform that makes its partners make money,” Kim said.

By Chung Joo-won (joowonc@heraldcorp.com)