Naver is expanding its reach into the K-Pop entertainment market by leveraging its various vertical services. Although it ended operations of its fandom platform V LIVE in 2022, Naver continues to maintain connections with the entertainment sector through its services such as Naver Maps, Chijijik, and Webtoon.
According to industry sources on October 22, Naver is enhancing collaborations with entertainment companies by linking its advertising, marketing, and content technologies with K-Pop fandom.
Naver has actively pursued its entertainment business in the past, primarily through the fan communication platform V LIVE. Launched in 2015, V LIVE allowed artists and fans to interact in real-time, marking Naver's entry into the global K-Pop fandom market.
Since then, Naver has established partnerships with major agencies, investing 100 billion won in a fund related to YG Entertainment in 2017 and another 100 billion won in a content fund with an SM Entertainment subsidiary in 2020.
Naver later integrated V LIVE into HYBE's Weverse, stepping back from direct operation of the fandom platform. In 2021, Naver collaborated with HYBE (then Big Hit Entertainment) to merge V LIVE into Weverse, aiming to strengthen competitiveness in the global market through collaboration rather than resource allocation among domestic fandom platforms. Naver invested approximately 411.9 billion won to acquire a 49% stake in Weverse's operating company, establishing a business partnership.
V LIVE concluded its services on December 31, 2022, after nearly seven years of operation. Despite ending direct management of the fandom platform, Naver retains its stake in Weverse Company, maintaining its relationship with the entertainment platform business.
Recently, Naver has been broadening its connections with the entertainment market through its various vertical services. The live streaming platform Chijijik and the short-form service Clip, launched in 2023 and 2024, serve as channels for artists' video content.
Chijijik has seen participation from celebrities and artists during major sports broadcasts, including the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics, the North and Central America World Cup, and the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games. This shift from being perceived as a gaming-focused streaming platform to a potential venue for entertainment content showcases its versatility.
A Naver representative stated, "The increasing instances of celebrities participating in broadcasts, such as the official streaming of Lissenne and voluntary streams by model and broadcaster Jung Hyuk, have confirmed the potential for Chijijik to serve as a communication channel with fans."
Naver is also utilizing these user touchpoints for its advertising business. Recently, it held the 'Naver Entertainment Day 2026,' showcasing K-Pop marketing strategies using its services and advertising technologies to major entertainment companies like SM, JYP, and YG.
Naver plans to leverage services favored by users aged 10 to 20, such as Naver Maps, Chijijik, Webtoon, the trading platform Cream, and the short-form platform Clip, for artist promotions. The strategy involves exposing new song releases and comeback news across various services, linking them to search and video content consumption.
The company is also employing AI-based advertising technology. Naver's digital out-of-home advertising (DOOH) solution, 'AdBoost Screen,' launched in November last year, enables advertising across 359,000 digital media outlets in 17 cities nationwide, including cinemas, billboards, public transport, and convenience stores.
This year, Naver's advertising products, including this solution, were utilized in the comeback marketing for groups like IVE and Lissenne. During a two-week digital single promotion campaign in July, Lissenne saw an increase in search exposure and click rates by 1.8 times and 1.6 times, respectively, compared to the average.
Looking ahead, Naver plans to expand collaborations with major entertainment companies and strengthen integrated marketing that connects artist news encountered through outdoor advertising with content consumption on Chijijik and Clip.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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