Tokyo, Japan – June 10, 2014 – LINE Corporation, owner and operator of the free call and messaging app LINE, today announced its partnership with United States based Salesforce.com, the world’s #1 CRM (Customer Relationship Management) platform.

The LINE Business Connect service provides a business-oriented API that includes many of the features of LINE official accounts, and offers a high degree of customizability for companies. It may be used to enable targeted messaging or two-way communication with regular LINE users, 

Since the launch of the service on February 26, 2014, LINE received feedback from many companies about the usage of their own mobile CRM base. Some were worried about schedule delays and development costs that would arise from the fact that they must develop integrations in-house in order to introduce LINE’s CRM. In order to alleviate the development burden associated with LINE Business Connect and to ensure a smooth integration, LINE formed a partnership with salesforce.com. They will work together in the co-development and sales of the “Salesforce ExactTarget Marketing Cloud”.

Salesforce ExactMarketing Cloud excels in automated marketing and event management, offering a centralized management system that enables the sending of messages and content to the right users at the right time by taking advantage of user data such as customer databases and browsing histories. The cloud service will now integrate support for LINE messages in addition to pre-existing support for email, SMS, and other forms of electronic communication. Companies will now be able to take advantage of this service’s highly optimized management system to send messages to highly active users and users who often check their messages, building an even more effective method of communication.

The development and introduction of LINE Business Connect utilizing the Salesforce ExactTarget Marketing Cloud will begin first in Japan, which holds over 51 million users at the present moment. As the usage of LINE as a marketing platform increases, LINE aims to introduce the service in many more countries and regions around the world.

As a result of this partnership, companies that are considering the introduction of LINE Business Connect with Salesforce ExactTarget Marketing Cloud can expect the acquisition of new customers thanks to the effective synergy of both companies’ services.

LINE will work to further expand upon and improve the features it offers as a marketing platform for the benefit of communication between both companies and users.

Shintaro Tabata, Senior Executive Officer, Head of Corporate Sales at LINE Corporation, commented:

“I am extremely pleased to partner with Salesforce.com, which has an outstanding track record in the global CRM service market, and believe this is a huge step for LINE. This partnership will greatly lower the hurdle of implementing LINE Business Connect, and contribute to the endless possibilities of communication between businesses and consumers. We look forward to seeing businesses around the world explore these possibilities with LINE Business Connect.”

Scott McCorkle, President of Technology and Strategy at ExactTarget, commented:

“Marketing has shifted from brands managing customers through campaigns, to brands and customers engaging on a journey together. Now more than ever, that journey is taking place on a phone. ExactTarget Marketing Cloud empowers brands to take advantage of this shift by connecting with customers in new ways through mobile messaging, starting with LINE and its more than 400 million global users.”

About Salesforce.com

Salesforce.com (NYSE: CRM) is the world’s leading CRM (customer relationship management) software vendor. For more information about Salesforce.com, please visit http://www.salesforce.com/

About Salesforce ExactTarget Marketing Cloud

The ExactTarget Marketing Cloud from salesforce.com (NYSE: CRM) is the leading 1:1 digital marketing platform, connecting companies with customers in entirely new ways. Learn more at www.ExactTarget.com.

ExactTarget, Salesforce, and their respective logos are the property of Salesforce.com.