An interview with KRAFTON Publishing Group Asia Biz Div.
PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS is a game that’s enjoyed by fans all over the world, not only in Korea, but also in Japan, China, Southeast Asia, America, and Europe. At KRAFTON, there are those who focus on analyzing fans in each region of the world and listening to their opinions as closely as possible. Meet those who work for International Biz. Among them, we interviewed KS Lee and Sehyung Oh, members of the Asia Biz Div., which is in charge of tightly communicating with local offices in each region of Asia, including Korea, Japan, Chinese Taipei and Southeast Asia. What are the merits of working with global markets?
Nice to meet you. Could you briefly introduce yourselves?
KS Lee (KS): Hello. I’m KS Lee, the head of Asia Biz Div.
Sehyung Oh (Sehyung): I’m Sehyung Oh and the lead of KR PUBGM Marketing Team.
What kind of work are you doing at the moment?
KS: Asia Biz Div. is the organization in charge of local business and marketing for each country within Asia in relation to games serviced by KRAFTON. Currently, we’re working on marketing for the four regions ━ Southeast Asia, Chinese Taipei, Korea and Japan.
Sehyung: I’m in charge of marketing for PUBG MOBILE in the Asia market. Before that, I used to work on local marketing for Korea, Japan, and India.
How does “local marketing” differ from marketing in general?
KS: First of all, there is a separate HQ organization within KRAFTON in charge of each product. When the HQ coordinates with the product development group to establish the overall business and marketing roadmap, we then use that roadmap to conduct business and marketing activities in the field. We use seasonal keywords in the local context to effectively convey messages to our fans, then deliver the opinions of local fans back to the development group through the HQ. In this respect, we serve as a kind of a “bridge.” We communicate with local offices in other countries to handle the product in a more region-oriented way.
Sehyung: The HQ organization is more like a generalist that can cover all areas. The local marketing manager has to understand the relevant region’s local characteristics and repackage the content in line with local contexts. I guess that makes me more of a specialist.
Since the organization is rather large, I imagine your scope of business is also sizeable, too.
KS: We have around 120 employees in total, including Asia Biz Div. and our local offices. We’re in charge of such a large area, those countries in the area all differ in terms of languages, cultures, religions, and backgrounds. As such, a core part of our work is to ensure that the four business areas ━ local cooperation, partners (influencers), community management, and Esports ━ are aligned with the local context of each area.
Could you introduce some of the projects conducted by Asia Biz Div.?
Sehyung: There are some cases that started out as region-specific projects, but later became expanded to a global level when they became popular. One example would be the Kakao Friends collaboration that was initiated in Korea. It was the first time in which Kakao Friends collaborated with the PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS IP to produce merchandise. The response in Korea was explosively positive, which led to the establishment of a strategy to expand the promotion at a global level to sell the goods as in-game items within PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS. For Kakao Friends, it was a win-win project that allowed them to promote their IP across the world through collaboration with PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS.
In addition, there was a TV program titled “Idol Star Athletics Championships” that was produced and broadcasted to celebrate a Korean public holiday in 2019. At the 2019 championships, the Esports category was newly established with PUBG MOBILE as one of the events. The program was already popular in Southeast Asia as well as Korea and we believe that the synergic effect between PUBG MOBILE and Idol Star Athletics Championships had a significant appeal for overseas fans. I think it allowed our game to become more widely-beloved content among the general public, in addition to the users who already play our game.
KS: I once designed in-game items for “MinORu,” a pro player from the Thai PUBG Esports team “Made in Thailand” (MiTH).” This was early on after the launch of PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS, and his popularity as a pro Esports player and a local influencer was off the charts. We didn’t realize it at the time, but whenever MinORu entered into a competition, the Thai viewership ratings would jump exponentially and there were countless Thai viewers who were already fans of MinORu’s content. Also, when it was time to sell items for our Esports competitions, the proportion of Thai users among item sales would rise substantially. That’s why Asia Biz Div. caught on to MinORu’s popular influence, subsequently manufacturing and selling signature items. Eventually, all of our partners in Thailand who knew of MinORu began to advertise PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS items of their own accord. The Thai fans were truly impressed that KRAFTON was going to such lengths to cater to the Thai market. Later on, we began producing and selling items for popular players in other regions, building up trust with local partners (influencers) and fans alike.
Sehyung: Similarly, there was another project in which we collaborated with the Japanese celebrity “Gackt.” He’s a famous singer and entertainer in Japan, but he’s also a die-hard fan of PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS. So, we produced a Gackt skin, a special program, and even a fan meeting. We made similar marketing efforts with popular Japanese animation IP such as “Jujutsu Kaisen” and “Neon Genesis Evangelion.” We’re constantly developing opportunities with other globally-competitive IPs from Japan. That’s how we discover local hot items and use them to promote various business projects here at Asia Biz Div.
It must be vital to gain an understanding of the local culture. How do you gain such insight?
KS: Insight comes from a variety of small facts and pieces of information and I believe that it’s crucial to communicate with local offices based on mutual respect in this process. Just because we’re based at the headquarters in Korea, it doesn’t mean we can unilaterally give orders to local offices. Instead, we can stand to gain outstanding insights by asking local office staff about issues and collaborate with them to find the best way to do things. There’s no way I could learn everything there is to know about the Thai market by working as the Thailand liaison for six months or so. We need to recognize that as reality and communicate with each other in a clear and honest way.
What appeals to you about the kind of work you do in local marketing?
Sehyung: I like to emphasize the fact that the headquarters of a globally-serviced game is based in Korea, while the headquarters for most famous, large-scale games are usually either based in the United States or Europe. KRAFTON’s headquarters is based in Korea, which allows us to conduct marketing campaigns targeting various countries. Meanwhile, our local offices and local marketing managers carry the same authority as HQ staff, which allows them to work autonomously.
Also, KRAFTON has a highly-capable in-house translation and interpretation department. I was in charge of the Japanese and Indian markets without speaking either Japanese or Hindi, but I was able to capitalize on opportunities and successfully complete projects by working with the translation and interpretation team.
KS: There are so many opportunities available. I’m a local business and marketing manager, but I’m not restricted to certain tasks for a specific region. Sometimes, I have the opportunity to work for the headquarters, and other times, I might be in charge of a different region altogether. Because there’s an effective structure that ensures a virtuous cycle, our staff are given plenty of opportunities to do work that suits their own preferences.
Speaking of which, what are some skills that a local marketing manager must have?
KS: I think it’s important to have the mindset of trying to understand and respect the culture of other regions. We must always be aware that we might be wrong when it comes to local matters. It’s also necessary to accept that it takes time to collaborate and build consensus with local offices and move forward patiently. Even when we fail, it’s paramount that we recognize the value of failure and identify any lessons we can learn. Again, I think clear and honest communication is vital in this process.
You’ve emphasized the organizational culture of “clear and honest communication” at Asia Biz Div. several times. Could you elaborate on that a little?
KS: We try to recognize our differences and minimize information gaps among ourselves. I think it’s inevitable that the HQ organization sometimes has more information than our local offices, since it’s based in Korea. In these cases, we clearly and honestly share everything with our local offices from A to Z. Only when we share the same information can we make plans, anticipate the market, and advance projects together. The culture of Asia Biz Div. focuses on making sure that our members based in Korea and abroad are on the same page based on mutual respect.
Since you’re in charge of local marketing, I imagine you’re frequently traveling abroad on business.
Sehyung: That’s true. I do go on overseas business trips quite often. Each trip usually entails several destinations. I’ll go to Europe, then fly to the Middle East, followed by China, for example. I’d say I fly out at least once every two months or even once a month. It’s an appealing line of work for those who want to experience the world.
KS: I once visited Japan, Indonesia, Vietnam and Amsterdam within 14 days. I was almost accused of being an illegal alien at airport immigration. (Laughs)
What was the most rewarding moment of your work so far?
Sehyung: I remember when I used to work on the Indian market. “BATTLEGROUNDS MOBILE INDIA” is one of the most popular video games in India, to the point that its release was front-page news for India’s public news outlet. (Laughs) I always feel a sense of pride whenever I’m abroad and I meet someone who loves our game. We held an Esports competition in Malaysia once, and a fan came up to me and asked me for an autograph, because I was wearing a KRAFTON t-shirt. I replied that I was a staff member, not an Esports player, but I was asked to sign something nonetheless. My heart swells up every time I’m abroad and I hear our fans thank us for making such a fun game.
KS: It’s a different feeling altogether to meet with our fans in person in Korea or overseas. It’s incredible to see so many people gather together overseas because of a video game, but it also makes me feel a sense of pride and responsibility. The vivid emotions we feel in the field become a huge source of motivation for us.
I’m curious about Asia Biz Div.’s future endeavors.
KS: At present, we’re conducting local business and marketing campaigns for four products, namely PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS, PUBG MOBILE, NEW STATE MOBILE, and PUBG Esports. In the future, we plan to take on a number of new products that KRAFTON will showcase. We would like to meet even more fans through a more diverse range of products. It’s a new challenge that we’ll take on in collaboration with the local offices.
Lastly, what would you like to say to readers who are interested in job vacancies at Asia Biz Div.?
Sehyung: I think there’s a stereotypical image of marketing for a game company, where we only work for the launch and run user acquisition adverts in the off season. KRAFTON’s game marketing is somewhat different. Because we conduct marketing using our own IP, we have an entirely different approach and there are infinite opportunities to realize diverse ideas beyond conventional video game marketing. Essentially, it lets us do everything we can as marketers. I can exercise my creativity to plan something, then take it past the planning stage to the implementation stage. I would dare say it’s a godlike workplace for those who want to grow and develop their personal careers alongside IPs.
KS: People of all backgrounds gather at Asia Biz Div. The greatest advantage of working here is that we can mingle with the other members and take on new challenges. I’d like to also emphasize once again that we have so many opportunities to pursue our own interests here. Even if we’ve only ever handled work for a certain region at our headquarters, we can always take on work for another region or product whenever we want. Since it’s an open organization based on clear and honest communication, it’s always open to mutual growth.
