LINE, the wildly popular mobile messaging service, has set its sight on expanding its user base in Malaysia. At a press conference held in Kuala Lumpur earlier today, the brand outlined its methods of increasing its local presence – which included a TV commercial shot in Kuala Lumpur featuring dashing Kpop star Choi Siwon, as well as strategic partnerships with mobile giants Nokia.

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With 130 million active users worldwide, LINE is certainly one of the most popular mobile messaging service. The app, which is available for free on iOS, Android, Windows Phone, BlackBerry as well as on Nokia S40, has unique chatting features such as Stickers which increases the ease of conveying emotions beyond normal emojis and emoticons. In addition, LINE also allows celebrities and corporate brands to create Official Accounts, where their fans can directly communicate with them in real time during “On Air Mode”. Also, the Home and Timeline features allow LINE users to share their thoughts as well as pictures, videos and locations to their status updates to make it easier to keep in touch. Further, the LINE app can also be installed on PCs in addition to mobile devices such as tablets and smartphones.

LINE is also quickly expanding into something more than just a mobile messaging platform. LINE also has several other apps that make up the LINE family, such as LINE POP, LINE Camera, LINE Play, LINE Tools and even LINE Anti-Virus. In total, there are 24 apps which further enhance the LINE experience as well as expand the brand into a suite of must-have apps.

To expand the local user base here, LINE has gone for a multi-pronged approach involving strategic partnerships with device manufacturers and influencers alike. The most crucial move for LINE has been to secure its first brand ambassador, who is also one of Kpop’s biggest stars, Siwon Choi. The Super Junior member has one of the largest number of followers on his Twitter account, with over 3.3 million followers and, crucially, a large fanbase here in Malaysia. Siwon also stars in the LINE TV commercial which was shot locally in Tasik Ampang Hilir and several other iconic locations around Kuala Lumpur.

In addition, several local celebrities have also opened LINE Official Accounts, allowing them to directly engage with their fans. Among the personalities are Liyana Fizi, Zizan (Raja Lawak), Danny One, Isaac Dang , Chris Tong Bing Yu, Jane Ng as well as Keqing.

Finally, LINE has also formed a partnership with Nokia Malaysia, where the app will be preloaded into Nokia’s range of Asha feature phones running on the S40 platform. And, as mentioned earlier, the app is also available for the Lumia line of Nokia smartphones, which run on the latest Windows Phone 8 platform.