TOKYO, November 14, 2013 – Rakuten, Inc. today announced that it has concluded a partner agreement with LINE Corporation for distributing golf related information, all provided by Rakuten GORA, one of the Japan’s largest golf reservation service operated by Rakuten, via an all new and first-of-its-kind “golf” official LINE account called LINE Golf.
LINE will launch the official account on November 14, 2013. LINE Golf will distribute information on golf courses and special golf packages from Rakuten GORA to LINE users with an interest in golf. LINE will use weblinks to provide users useful golf course news, deals, and information and to seamlessly make golf course reservations through Rakuten GORA.
Through this agreement, Rakuten GORA will seek to expand its contact point with users via LINE Golf, to both capture new users and encourage more golfers to get out on the course, which will help to drive traffic to Rakuten GORA’s member golf courses. Rakuten GORA also plans on delivering certain exclusive information on golfing and special golf packages only for LINE Golf users.
Going forward, Rakuten GORA will work to strengthen its marketing capabilities in order to convey the appeal of golf to a wider audience, and to effectively deliver special information from its member golf courses to users.
About LINE
LINE is a communication app boasting more than 49 million users, or approximately 40% of Japan’s population, about half of which use the service on a daily basis (*1). A majority of users are over the age of 30 (*2) and LINE has recently seen a sharp increase in the number of users from other parts of the world.
About Rakuten GORA
Rakuten GORA is an online golf reservation site started in February 2000. The service was merged with Rakuten’s golf reservation site, Golf Port, and the name was officially changed to Rakuten GORA in October 2004. Currently, golf reservations can be made for some 1,900 courses in Japan. Since it was launched, Rakuten GORA has grown to become one of Japan’s largest golf related sites.
About Official LINE Accounts
An official LINE account is a dedicated account created by a company, artist, or other entity to distribute information instantaneously to all users that have registered as a friend of that official account.
Note 1: July 2013 study by Macromill, Inc.
Note 2: July 2013 study by Macromill, Inc.