WEBTOON Introduced Digital Comics Case for Global MBA Study
- WEBTOON's growth strategy adopted as a case study in textbook at INSEAD Business School in France, famous for its ‘Blue Ocean Strategy’
- INSEAD Research Team, “WEBTOON succeeded in pioneering a new market and building a creative ecosystem, enabling unprecedented customer value”
- Maximized the value of webtoon IP by creating various business opportunities using original IP leading it to become the 'Next Marvel'
The growth strategy of WEBTOON, which has pioneered the global digital comics market by changing the landscape of the comics market, is introduced as a case study and used as educational material at business schools and graduate schools around the world. Case studies, which closely analyze corporate cases, are considered the core of business graduate school education.
According to WEBTOON, a team led by Professor W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne of the Blue Ocean Strategy Institute at INSEAD, a prestigious business school in France, published a case study called “Innovate Storytelling: How Webtoon Entertainment Transformed Comics”. This case study analyzes how the company pioneered the digital comics market and its global success strategies. Webtoon Entertainment, WEBTOON’s parent company, manages the global digital comics business.
The case study analyzes how WEBTOON successfully pioneered the market through its new content, ‘Webtoon’, in the publishing-oriented comics market and became the No. 1 global storytech platform.
The INSEAD research team paid attention to the fact that WEBTOON found a breakthrough in innovation by creating a new type of content called webtoon, rather than simply 'digitizing' comics, using digital transformation as a lever for value creation and growth. The case study mentioned, "The fact that WEBTOON pioneered the market by attracting users who have not read comics as readers and established an ecosystem where users and creators create content together is an example of digital media creating unprecedented customer value. In addition, the case study analyzed that the company has been able to become a major player in the global entertainment industry because it moved beyond simply using webtoons as content, expanded its services to 10 languages, globalized the platform itself, discovered local creators, and created economies of scale. As WEBTOON explosively increased the value and potential of its IPs by creating various business opportunities such as adaptations, WEBTOON was perceived to have what it takes to become the "Next Marvel".
For the case study, Junkoo Kim, the founder and CEO of WEBTOON, Hyeeun Son, Global CDO (Chief Design Officer), and the creator of Lore Olympus Rachel Smythe, who won three awards at this year's global comic awards ceremony, and French original webtoon artist 'Art of K' were interviewed. Based on the interviews, the following were included in the case study; the company’s initial intention for its services, user expansion strategy, monetization strategy, global expansion strategy, UX/UI design strategy by language considering usability in each country, and amateur creator promotion system.
The case study will be used as a textbook for strategic management, innovation strategy, entrepreneurship, digital transformation and platform economy.
Ohyoung Koo, the senior researcher at INSEAD Blue Ocean Strategy Research Institute, said, "The way WEBTOON pioneered the market is significant to introduce as a textbook example of blue ocean strategy theory." She added that “WEBTOON not only showed the infinite potential of content IP by creating an innovative business model, but also created a market by generating new demand in an era where digital transformation is required, and even ranked number one in the global market. The case of WEBTOON is an interesting educational material for current and future executives to learn insights of value innovation.”
Junkoo Kim, the founder and CEO of WEBTOON, said, “I hope that the experience of WEBTOON can be used as a meaningful resource in the academia of various countries. WEBTOON, as a leading company that has created the global webtoon industry, will continue to make investments and efforts to expand the base of the industry and promote healthy growth of the creative ecosystem.”