DearU, a fan platform company that enables two-way communication between global fandoms and artists, announced on the 24th that it plans to collaborate on various content and business ventures with Kakao Entertainment. Through this partnership, DearU aims to captivate global fans as a fan platform offering a richer and more diverse experience.
DearU Bubble has primarily operated as a communication-centered fan platform service. Recently, it has been focusing on expanding into overseas markets such as the United States and China, starting with a joint venture (JV) in Japan. Additionally, key features like the nickname substitution function have been solidified through patent registrations, establishing strong technological barriers to entry.
The business collaboration with Kakao Entertainment is expected to be a strategic move that clearly differentiates DearU’s fan platform.
Since over 95% of Bubble’s users are centered around K-POP artists, cooperation with Melon, Kakao Entertainment’s music platform, can be anticipated. It is expected that various joint marketing efforts will be promoted targeting all users, including Melon’s approximately 5 million paid subscribers.
Furthermore, by linking with the webtoon business, which has become part of the daily lives of domestic and global MZ generations, DearU plans to offer diverse content to appeal to global fans. Leveraging Kakao Entertainment’s experience and know-how in operating content platforms such as Melon, KakaoPage, and KakaoWebtoon, it is expected to bring new and different changes to DearU’s fan platform.
In the market, as HYBE’s Weverse and DearU Bubble form a duopoly, signaling the start of serious competition in fan platforms, attention is being focused on DearU Bubble’s business direction. In this context, the collaboration with Kakao Entertainment is interpreted as DearU’s strategy to differentiate itself as a fan platform combining IT and content, raising market expectations.
DearU and Kakao Entertainment plan to finalize detailed discussions soon and officially announce their business cooperation plan.
Meanwhile, following the recent news of SM artists opening official communities on Weverse, SM Entertainment stated, “We will continue to use Bubble, the existing one-on-one private messenger fandom platform,” adding, “With the addition of the official Weverse community opening, communication with fans worldwide is expected to be further strengthened.”
SM Entertainment added that alongside Weverse’s official community, they expect artists and fans to communicate closely through Bubble as if exchanging personal messages, enabling broader engagement with fans worldwide.
Additionally, according to a HYBE official, “SM artists have decided to continue using the Bubble service.”
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