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Well, I might be scream at the wind...but this article certainly seems to support the theory:
clip:
Yahoo Japan is thriving while Yahoo Korea is struggling to stay afloat.....Yahoo Japan, indisputably the No.1 Internet company in the country....In stark contrast, Yahoo Korea is treading a thorny trail being sandwiched by bigger players _ NHN, Daum Communications and SK Communications _ and emerging KTH.
full article here:
Yahoo Facing Divergent Fortunes in Korea, Japan
[search.hankooki.com]
just some food for thought. Do it the Korean way...or face the consequences. =P
Yahoo seems to be trying to do something similar in China. They are taking the lessons learned in Japan and really making an effort to localize in China.
Given all this it seems strange to me that the situation in Korea would be so different. I know that the Korean market is unique even among Asian markets. You'd think that they would see the neighboring examples and take heart.
Yahoo is held back by the long arm of corporate US. Its just too slow to be a leader in Korea. And always will be unless it really localizes and gets the freedom to break away from the US brand (imo).
I'm interested to know what do you mean by localise and freedom? In what sense and any examples you can see where corporate US is holding back the Korean arm?
However, I want to know where there has been a clear blockage due to Yahoo! Corporate's decisions which has hindered Y! KR's potential. Y! KR failure does not translate automatically to a lack of freedom because of the ties with its parent company, more so it suggests mis-management in the local area.
And now for the infamous bore-me with a long GK reply ..^^
I want to know where there has been a clear blockage due to Yahoo! Corporate's decisions which has hindered Y! KR's potential. Y! KR failure does not translate automatically to a lack of freedom because of the ties with its parent company, more so it suggests mis-management in the local area.
As with all things.... I'm sure its some combination of both. To what degree it is so in what direction is anyone's guess and will probably differ depending on who you ask.
but IMO and from what I know...
the "Yahoo corporate factor" should not be underestimated and would imagine its the opposite of what you say (more parent company ties then local mismanagement). Again, though, I'm sure both were factors.
Generally speaking, I have a feeling they got "lazy" being number 1 early on and then they never quite got the combination of independent freedom (there is no way this wasn't a factor AT ALL) and cutting-edge offerings/killer content right once they lost the market.
The market is undenialibly cut-throat competitive here. So, back to basics:
what's Yahoo's "thing"? What's their niche? Portals are all basically offering the same stuff now.......
So why Yahoo (Korea)?
I don't know. +_+
And that's telling. To me, if I have to say, their big thing is that they WERE first and number 1. So people are just used to it (habit). And that is a very thin position at this point.
The only thing I can remember in recent times that Yahoo did well was with "GUGI ("where/there") search" (a location finder search feature -- ie: search for a restaurant, place etc)...which is now their primary bread and butter, most popular search feature and probably the only thing that really gave/gives them hope recently from the look of things. (imo).
But that's it. I don't how compelling that is for advertisers other than small restaurants either (aside: and from what I hear, they will problems here because of other offerings to be announced from a HUGE, but "left-player" --- shhh! you didn't hear me say that ~_^).
Did yahoo has other ideas they wished to do that corporate heads said, "no" to? who knows. I do know for long time Yahoo Korea USED to be the only international affiliate that used a local built search engine, but then that got ousted around the time of the Google confusion and Overture M&A. Related? dunno, but certainly interesting that they started having serious issues not too long after.
I once posted a long thing about how Yahoo's acquisition of Overture might be great for them globally, but probably a huge problem for them in Korea. I don't know how much this is a factor to recent woes...but it certainly is a didn't help. (again, this is 100% out of the "local managements" control).
The bottomline is: the general concensus from the "industry" and the netizens (consumers) is that Yahoo feels "old" or behind the curve in terms of their offerings, styling, and content. There just isn't anything exciting coming out Yahoo and it really...doesn't....well..."feel" like a korean company.
Further, as we all know, once you are behind the eightball, companies have a tendency to always be chasing others with a "me too" feature (yahoo copied naver knowledge search way late in the game--with little success), jacking pricing they shouldn't (advertising is ridiculously expensive giving what you get in this competitive environment--imo), and/or throwing out something in a desperate attempt to reclaim some momentum(gugi search--great! but now what?).
So what is its position? (yah yah..third in terms of usage...but again....I say that's just riding off their initial success...)
lets run a quick overview:
Off the cuff I CAN say for other portals:
--Naver...search search search. Its THE default portal.
--Daum....email (very strong email base), cafe (this is on the out though). First, in the truly "Korean" portal game. If you don't find it at naver...you probably come here. (though most people DO find it at naver).
--Nate.... got to hand it to them. They had a rocky start (formerly LYCOS KOREA)---got bought out (sold out) and then got smart and second branded. They have since carved a niche that I can't imagine anyone touching them in for a long time (if ever).
They are mobile content kings (strong integration with IM, mobile, and email clients).
===> Lesson for Yahoo?
I mentioned this before. Yahoo, imo, should have second branded -- or should still. And this must clearly be a US CORPORATE pride factor not to (they suffer the "line extension" positioning problem here.)
eg: again...Lycos Korea? BOMB. Nate (and subsequently, cywold?): WOOT! Number one and growing in its category (AND it should be noted, though nate IS a online portal, per se, but is not considered, officially, one. It competes alone in the "mobile portal" field).
-- Paran? New kid. New energy. Korean's love new. But growing, so far so good they are continuing to gain ground...why? Cool game/s early on (via earlier dealings with MU), and a lucky hit with "Freestyle" game (a basketball game which got big enough to have its prime time gaming competitions on the gaming stations.) They have good localized telephone type directory stuff too via Korea Telecom.
-- Empas: entertainment and games. comparitively, Empas games are well localicized (exclusive deals with local right players). Why yahoo game when everyone else has them--and they are more localized?
==> Lesson for Y? Get a killer game.
(if you didn't notice or know...games are "the thing" here. And it will be so in the foreseeable future).
--Yahoo: again, Gugi ("where/there") search. and ...um.... News search(maybe?)... and they were first (they still have the "habit" consumers).
That's seriously shaking ground, imo. And that, on surface at least, MUST have a lot to do with its corporate restraints. Does it really matter to what degree it is due to corporate binds or local mishandling?
Not really.
Fact is ..yahoo korea needs to do SOMETHING about it (fire everyone or give them a free hand) or YK is going into the history books again for completely different reasons then one should expect from that company.
As an interesting aside: So what up with Google? MSN?
I wouldn't give MSN a second thought (and no one does)...new search engine about to be launched? pffft. A blip on the screen I can bet. That's about all there is to report.
Google...still a big question mark. On the surface, it may look like they aren't doing well here. But I say, they are obviously biding their time...STILL *rolleyes* And clearly, they really "haven't tried yet".
Rumblings are still brewing...but as the market keeps rapidly evolving..tough to say if they will be able to keep up in the way they need to for this unique market.
But when the big G does turn its eye on Korea in full... postioning and localization will be absolutely critical for them (IMO).
So far, Google's guerrilla marketing efforts are proving to be fairly fruitful...but as of yet not a player so to speak yet--certainly not in terms of a "destination site".
Personally, I see a niche they CAN hit (fortunately for them)...but we'll see if they go for it that way (and I'm not telling--not for free at least. haha). If someone else fills it first or they suffer the "US corporate long arm" problem (hey, they ARE public now...so that does mean more constraints BY DEFAULT)...then they might end up in position like Yahoo or forever just another "me too".
time will tell.
my 3 and half cents.
GK out
that said.
in regards to the orginal question, the sum is:
Some direct problems from parent company influence (from what I see):
---acquired Overture. Google for global market. BAD for this market.
---got rid of local search provider.
---no second branding.
---limited brand and site localization. Its still clearly looks and feels like Yahoo (Korean version).
---no local acquisitions. I would that gotta be corporation controlled (final decision).
---limited moves into "new" tech or offerings (probably both corporate and local mishandling, but more corporate cause why would local guys NOT want to do all things that everyone else seem to be doing?). ie: Nothing to differentiate it from the more powerful competitors, except for "gugi" search (which is not a killer item and will face competition).
---normal, red-tape and process that MUST be INHERENT to having a parent company with direct influence at all.
In my mind's eye, I see Y Korea local guys running around bailing water outta the YK canoe (no time for progress there), and having brainstorm meetings about what new item to make or go with to stop the pain or create new buzz, and then pitching these to Mother Corporate (ie: to get the OK and get budget to run with it), then going through the inevitable 987987 year, 89798324 emails and faxes approval process (and even if it was relatively quick...that's still extra steps other portals don't deal with)...
...but then everyone at corporate, who are sweating what to do about Google (and beginning to get worried about Big G moves in Korea), saying that all that new idea stuff is taking too long, or too risky, so firing some guys or bringing in "rainmakers" to help lead Yahoo to former glory...again (they've done this a couple times now I believe).
but this takes time too remember. So back to bailing water.
Meanwhile, Naver is on is 20th! (yup 20 listed!) type of search engine (Yahoo K has 10). Daum is diversifying and making strides with mini-hompies system and going Stateside. Paran and Empas are building momentum (or keeping ahead) in killer games. Nate is smuggly dominanting its own niche with cyworld and mobile content.
but again..that's just what I imagine. :p
