The encyclopedia · Product & Design · Product decision · 2011–2015
LINE's stickers were an afterthought — they became a billion-dollar business
LINE launched as a messaging app after Japan’s 2011 earthquake. Stickers were a minor feature. Users bought millions; a billion are now sent daily.
LINE Corporation · Naver · 2011-06-23
What happened
In March 2011, a magnitude 9.0 earthquake struck Japan's Tohoku region. The disaster left millions without power or phone lines. SMS networks were overwhelmed. But Wi-Fi and some 3G networks remained operational. People turned to data-based messaging to reach their families.
Naver co-founder Lee Hae-Jin, who was in Japan during the earthquake, saw the need for a reliable messaging app that worked on data networks. Within two months, his team built LINE, launching in June 2011. The app offered free messaging and calls over Wi-Fi or mobile data. It grew quickly through word of mouth.
LINE introduced stickers — larger, more expressive emoji — as a decorative feature. The original characters, known as LINE Friends, were designed by Kang Byeongmok in 2011. The company expected stickers to be a minor addition. Instead, users embraced them as a new form of communication. The Sticker Shop became a major revenue source.
By January 2013, LINE had 100 million users. By July 2013, 200 million. Stickers were central to the platform's appeal. Over 1 billion stickers were sent daily worldwide. The feature that was supposed to be an afterthought had become the product's identity and a multi-billion-dollar business. LINE's IPO in 2016 raised $1.3 billion.
Why it happened
- LINE launched in June 2011 after Japan's Tohoku earthquake — stickers were introduced as a decorative feature, never expected to be the main product
- Users embraced stickers as a new form of communication, sending over 1 billion daily — the Sticker Shop became a multi-billion-dollar revenue source
- LINE grew to 100 million users in 18 months and 700 million by 2017 — the afterthought feature became the product's identity and main revenue driver
The lesson
LINE launched stickers as a decorative afterthought. Users treated them as a new language. The feature that was never meant to be the product became the product.
Sources
- LINE (application) — Wikipedia (origin after Tohoku earthquake, sticker introduction, growth milestones, 1 billion daily stickers)
- How Digital Stickers Became a Billion-Dollar Business — The Hustle
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