Chapter 114: Reversal
“How’s the task I assigned last time coming along?”
In the Dojin Soft conference room, Han Yu-ju turned her laptop screen toward me and replied.
“If you’re referring to KTalk and Ani-pung, as you can see, they’re about 95% complete.”
“And you’re also reviewing compatibility with jOS, right?”
The name jOS referred to the operating system developed by A-ple.
“It’s taking a little longer due to API issues, but it’s proceeding without major problems.”
Following Han Yu-ju, Hong Jin-man added further details.
“KTalk’s server-based messaging implementation is complete, and we plan to finalize testing for profile photos and status messages within the week. As for Ani-pung, only the final testing in the Lunar environment remains.”
As always, I felt that the drive and work capabilities of Han Yu-ju and Hong Jin-man exceeded my expectations.
After listening to the explanation, I added one important point.
“Ani-pung must include a score competition system.”
“A score competition system?”
Hong Jin-man expressed his doubt.
“By integrating it with KTalk, features like inviting friends, sending hearts, and boasting about your score will make it feel like a game you play with friends, not alone.”
Before my regression, during my time at Ahsung.
The success of Titan, which first introduced smartphones to the world, wasn’t built solely on hardware specs or brand power.
The decisive factor that allowed Titan to dominate the market at the time was thanks to KTalk and Ani-pung.
When the simple chat app KTalk was released,
people quickly began using it instead of text messages.
And the culture of competing for scores and exchanging hearts with friends on Ani-pung spread rapidly.
“In my opinion, it seems like a game that anyone, regardless of age or gender, can enjoy.”
A one-minute puzzle game per round.
It was simple and not difficult, making it highly addictive.
‘As people contact each other through KTalk, show off their Ani-pung scores to acquaintances, and request hearts needed for the game, it’s bound to affect smartphone sales.’
It might not seem like much,
but I knew better than anyone that this kind of social integration structure could become a weapon to dominate the smartphone market.
…
…
…
“How’s the advertising preparation going?”
“The main slogan for KTalk is already ready.”
Han Yu-ju showed me the phrase she had prepared.
[Anytime, anywhere, instantly connected.]
[Start with KTalk.]
It was clean and straightforward.
“What about Ani-pung?”
“For Ani-pung, it’s not finalized yet, but we’re considering something like this.”
[It’s no fun alone, right?]
[With friends! With family!]
[Send hearts through KTalk, boast your Ani-pung score.]
The strategy was to use popular celebrities from the idol industry for a massive advertising campaign.
“Not bad. Finalize the phrases at that level, and additionally, make KTalk and Ani-pung accessible on desktop PCs with just a phone number.”
“Create a general PC version?”
I briefly explained the purpose to Han Yu-ju, who asked the reason.
“We need to make people realize how inconvenient it is without a smartphone.”
Creating the perception that a smartphone is necessary to comfortably use KTalk and Ani-pung
would positively impact Quantum sales.
“If it works on PCs and Quantum but not on Ahsung’s Taebaeksan OS, it could also affect Titan sales.”
“But will it really gain that much popularity?”
Though Hong Jin-man expressed doubt,
there was no need to worry about its success.
Before my regression, they had already achieved tremendous success.
＊＊＊
At the same time,
at Ahsung Group’s Strategic Planning Division.
Three months had passed since the launch of Quantum.
The initial heated response had subsided somewhat,
but Titan still hadn’t caught up to Quantum’s sales.
Despite similar prices, Quantum outperformed Titan in design, performance, and convenience.
Naturally, the atmosphere in the Strategic Planning Division was tense.
“What’s the current sales gap between Quantum and Titan?”
Bong Sang-min, the department head, quickly answered Kim Seong-jae’s question.
“Initially, the sales gap was nearly double, but now Quantum is ahead by about 20%.”
Kim Seong-jae’s expression showed relief.
“At least the gap has narrowed significantly.”
“Early on, Quantum gained attention due to the smartphone’s convenience, but Pintech’s low brand recognition seems to be limiting its growth.”
Moreover, Ahsung had a powerful offline distribution network,
which provided significant support.
“Continue the policy of guiding customers primarily toward Titan at our dealerships and offering incentives to employees with high Titan sales.”
“Understood.”
Bong Sang-min nodded.
Thanks to this incentive policy at Ahsung’s own dealerships,
it was common for employees to claim they had no Quantum stock, even when they did, and recommend Titan as an alternative.
“In about one or two weeks, we should be able to surpass Quantum’s sales.”
Both Quantum and Titan were still only distributed domestically,
so even Quantum couldn’t completely escape Ahsung’s influence.
“How’s the marketing going?”
“We’re focusing on TV ads featuring famous celebrities and drama sponsorships. We’re also planning additional discounts for customers who switch from our feature phones to Titan.”
“That’s a good idea.”
Kim Seong-jae thought it was a decent approach.
Recently, due to the AP patent issue and benchmark score problem, meeting Chairman Cheon had been awkward,
but now it seemed he could face him more comfortably.
“In addition to the established sales strategies, I’ll look for further measures.”
Market research showed that most consumers still found smartphones unfamiliar.
Thus, they naturally opted for products from familiar brands.
After some more time passed,
Titan’s sales finally surpassed Quantum’s.
To report this, I sought out Chairman Cheon Ho-tae.
…
…
…
“Chairman, we’ve finally surpassed Quantum’s sales.”
Since Titan’s launch, every meeting with Chairman Cheon had ended in scolding.
But today, his expression wasn’t too bad.
Of course, that didn’t mean his words were any kinder.
“What are the exact numbers?”
“Last month, Quantum sold 500,000 units, while Titan sold 550,000.”
It wasn’t a huge difference,
but considering the initial disadvantage, it was a decent figure.
“I heard our dealerships aren’t even displaying Quantum. Is that true?”
“We’re not completely avoiding display, but we’ve instructed them to place it in less visible areas.”
If we didn’t display it at all, we’d be accused of pettiness.
So, we placed Quantum where it could be found, but only with effort.
However, Chairman Cheon still seemed displeased.
“After all the humiliation I’ve suffered from those guys, why bother with such things? Just get rid of it entirely—even the corner space is a waste!”
At Chairman Cheon’s outburst, Kim Seong-jae smiled faintly.
It was more or less the response he had expected.
“We’ll do that.”
“Haha, Father, doing that will make Quantum’s sales drop even further.”
“Those kinds of people should be rooted out from the start!!”
The sense of victory filled the chairman’s office with warmth,
but the mood didn’t last even ten days.
A week later, in the Strategic Planning Division.
“Director, take a look at this.”
Bong Sang-min showed Kim Seong-jae something.
“……What is this?”
“It’s an app released by Dojin, and the situation doesn’t look good.”
Kim Seong-jae examined the screen carefully.
“KTalk……?”
It was an unfamiliar name.
“What’s KTalk? A game?”
“No, it’s not a game but a messenger app, and it’s spreading at an incredible speed. With just data, you can send unlimited messages for free, and it’s much faster and more convenient than regular texts. People are going wild over it.”
Kim Seong-jae furrowed his brow.
“Does it work on our Titan?”
“It’s confirmed that it’s not compatible with our Taebaeksan OS, and users are flooding us with complaints.”
Bong Sang-min added that it worked on jOS
but not on Taebaeksan.
“…….”
Kim Seong-jae’s expression darkened.
It was clearly a bad sign.
Bong Sang-min cautiously continued.
“Uh… Director, there’s one more thing. Dojin also released a game called Ani-pung.”
“Ani-pung? What’s that?”
“It’s a puzzle game. It’s easy and simple, but highly addictive.”
“It’s just a game. How is that a problem?”
Kim Seong-jae didn’t immediately understand why Bong Sang-min suddenly brought up a game.
“The thing is… Ani-pung integrates with KTalk, allowing players to compete for scores with friends and exchange something called ‘hearts.’ It’s spreading like wildfire.”
“Is that really such a big problem?”
“If you look at online communities and various forums now… they’re flooded with posts about KTalk and Ani-pung.”
Bong Sang-min showed him the community screen.
The top of the forum was filled with posts about KTalk and Ani-pung.
└KTalk is so convenient. I don’t think I’ll ever use texts again.
└I tried Ani-pung out of curiosity, and here I am two hours later. Can someone send me some hearts, please? ㅠㅠ
└I’m competing with friends on Ani-pung, and I can’t put it down.
└Without Quantum, it’s going to be hard to keep in touch with friends.
└Lol, me too. I just bought a Quantum because it’s hard to keep in touch.
└But Ahsung dealerships aren’t selling Quantum. Where did you buy it?
└They have it at Ahsung dealerships, but they’re deliberately not selling it.
└It’s far, but I went to a Dojin direct dealership to buy it. Check the location in the URL below.
└Oh, thanks. I need to go buy one right now.
└Me too…….
After reading all the forum posts, Kim Seong-jae finally grasped the seriousness of the situation.
Just a messenger app and a game app.
He never imagined such things could turn the tide.
“Director, what should we do?”
Bong Sang-min’s voice was filled with worry.
At this rate, it was only a matter of time before Titan’s hard-won sales lead was overturned.
“Check if we can develop similar apps, and thoroughly analyze KTalk and Ani-pung’s features to create a counterstrategy.”
“But even if we start developing apps now, it’ll take time…….”
At Bong Sang-min’s skeptical response, Kim Seong-jae snapped.
“We can’t just sit here and do nothing. If app development is difficult, find another solution. No, call an emergency meeting right now!”
“Understood.”
Given the situation,
Kim Seong-jae gathered key figures, including Moon Yong-wook, Senior Vice President of the Mobile Division,
the head of Ahsung Group’s development division, and the head of Ahsung Soft.
After a four-hour-long strategy meeting,
they still hadn’t found a clear solution.
There wasn’t enough time to develop new apps,
and Dojin’s KTalk and Ani-pung didn’t work on Titan due to compatibility issues.
Replacing Titan’s OS with Lunar wasn’t an option either.
Of course, with so many talented people gathered,
they did come up with one countermeasure after brainstorming.