SK Telecom has revealed a strategic collaboration with key industry players in Southeast Asia to fortify its metaverse platform, ifland.
The telecommunications giant has teamed up with CelcomDigi, Malaysia’s largest telecom company, Agate from Indonesia – a prominent game developer and publisher, and Cosmic Technologies, a leading IoT platform provider and consumer electronics supplier in the Philippines. This coalition aims to cultivate business prospects through publishing partnerships centered around SKT’s burgeoning metaverse platform, ifland.
The collaboration delineates specific roles: while SKT focuses on universal aspects like service planning, operational frameworks, and content creation across global iterations of ifland, its partners will spearhead localized content, targeted marketing initiatives, and primary customer support within their respective markets. SKT recently inked MoUs with Agate and Cosmic Technologies, furthering an ongoing partnership with CelcomDigi initiated in February 2023.
The envisioned benefits are mutual: partners gain a foothold in the metaverse service sphere sans the initial development investments, while SKT can swiftly tailor content for specific regions and conduct targeted marketing through its regional allies.
Initiated discussions earlier this year culminated in joint localization tests since July. Activities encompassed collaborative marketing initiatives and localized events hosted by partner companies at their ‘if home’ spaces within ifland.
SKT’s proactive measures to enhance partner support and fortify its global metaverse presence include plans to incorporate Indonesian, Malay, Hindi, and Spanish languages into ifland’s language options. They also aim to develop a curation feature suggesting content based on user profiles and geographical location, along with an overarching improvement of global service quality.
The roadmap ahead for SKT involves granting greater administrative rights to partners, incentivizing ifland’s utilization in diverse regions. Long-term plans extend towards forging partnerships in the U.S., India, and Europe, accelerating ifland’s global expansion.
Since its November 2022 launch in 49 countries, SKT has been amplifying ifland’s footprint. Innovative endeavors such as virtual meetups with K-pop stars have been instrumental in enhancing its appeal to a broader audience.
Yang Maeng-seog, Vice President and Head of Metaverse CO at SKT, emphasized, “By forging pacts with three leading IT companies in Southeast Asia, we aim to deliver tailored marketing experiences in these regions. Our commitment lies in consistently providing ifland users with culturally attuned content and services, achieved through collaborations with more local companies.”
