Staff Reporters
Jul 26, 2012

Yahoo returns Koprol brand rights to founders

JAKARTA – Yahoo has returned all the rights associated with the Koprol trademark and domain names to its founders, following its decision to shut down the location-based social network.

Yahoo returns Koprol brand rights to founders in goodwill gesture
Yahoo returns Koprol brand rights to founders in goodwill gesture

Yahoo acquired the Koprol brand two years ago, but decided to discontinue the network earlier this month as it did not "meaningfully drive revenue or engagement". 

Full ownership of the brand and domain names will now be restored to the Koprol founders.

Yahoo said the move is a reflection of its support and commitment to Indonesia’s internet community.

Satya Witoelar, a Koprol founder, said, “Yahoo worked closely with us to arrive at an amicable outcome and we are very pleased with this decision.”

Ian McKee, CEO of Vocanic, suggested that while the gesture was an authentic move by Yahoo, it’s likely to be too late for the founders to resuscitate the brand.

“Two and a half years is a lifetime in the social-media platform environment and has probably meant they have missed the boat,” he said. “The use of Twitter has exploded and that really represents the failure of Koprol to take advantage of the opportunity.”

But others suggest the move by Yahoo! could signal a new future for Koprol. Simon Ashwin, Mindshare's head of social media for Asia-Pacific, said he expects Koprol to remain or venture into a new life. "I don’t think it will disappear given its prominence in the Indonesian market," he said.

Simon Kemp, managing director of WeAreSocial Singapore, agreed adding that he would be surprised if the founders did not leverage the opportunity given their expertise in the space. 

"If Koprol have the rights back I would guess they asked for them and are looking to do something with them," he added.

Tags

Follow us

Top news, insights and analysis every weekday

Sign up for Campaign Bulletins

Related Articles

Just Published

2 days ago

Agency Report Cards 2024: We grade 25 APAC networks

The grades are in for Campaign Asia's 22nd annual evaluation of APAC agency networks. Subscribe to read our detailed analyses.

2 days ago

Publicis Groupe acquires influencer agency Captiv8

Captiv8 will join forces with the group's Influential and Epsilon.

2 days ago

Agency Report Card 2024: EssenceMediacom

In a difficult year underlined by restructuring and turmoil within parent company GroupM, the world’s largest media agency still holds many of the keys to mount a stronger rebound in 2025.

2 days ago

Disney sets sail: VP Sarah Fox on the brand’s ...

With localised strategy, strong fan engagement, and Disney’s knack for storytelling, Cruise Line will make its maiden voyage in December 2025. Campaign speaks exclusively with VP and regional GM Sarah Fox ahead of Campaign 360 next week.