Rakuten Viber wraps up 2024 by sharing how brands globally interacted with their audience using Viber for Business solutions.
Viber for Business offers Advertising solutions (Ads, branded Stickers, branded Lenses, and branded Gems) and Rich Business Communication solutions (Business Messages, Chatbots, and Business Calls). Over 20,000 brands around the world use Viber for Business to achieve their business goals: build awareness, drive conversions, increase sales & ROI, foster customer loyalty, and more.
Viber Ads provide different brand placements within the app to boost awareness, increase visibility, and generate new leads. The company recorded an average of 9.3 billion monthly Viber Ads impressions globally in 2024. Among the countries with the biggest year-over-year growth in average monthly impressions were Ukraine, which experienced a 25% increase, Croatia with a 28% increase, and Bulgaria with a 33% increase.
Rakuten Viber has also introduced new branding opportunities with Viber Gems—special animations triggered by keywords like "Happy Birthday" or "Happy New Year" in user chats. Companies can now exclusively brand the Gems for special occasions, and the solution has already been used by brands like Fanta during the carnival season in Greece, Nestle Nido during Mother's Day in the Philippines, Puma during Euro 2024, and others around the world.
In 2024, brands showed an even stronger interest in Viber Rich Business Messaging solutions to build personalized 1-2-1 communication with their customers, enhancing their mobile marketing strategies.
The number of delivered Viber Business Messages grew by 12% year-over-year globally and almost doubled in Hungary and Vietnam.
Transactional Viber Business Messages, like order confirmations, delivery trackings, appointment reminders, one-time passwords, and more, increased by 15% year-over-year around the world, as brands were keeping customers informed on important updates. The number of transactional messages increased by 97% in Vietnam, by 91% in Bulgaria and by 89% in the Philippines.
Promotional Viber Business Messages, such as special offers and discounts driving sales and conversions, have also seen an 11% year-over-year increase globally. Among the countries with highest growth were Hungary with a 99% increase, Bulgaria with a 94% increase, Serbia with 77% increase, and Greece with 58%.
Notably, users and brands maintained active conversations, with users often turning to live agents or automated chatbots for around-sales assistance, customer support, and providing feedback. The number of such conversational messages increased by 78% globally, and double in Greece, Vietnam, Serbia, Hungary, and Croatia.
In 2024, the app introduced two new security solutions to enhance communication protection on the platform. Verification messages provide businesses with a secure and seamless way to authenticate clients using one-time passwords (OTPs). SecurePlus messages add an extra layer of protection for businesses by verifying the recipient’s number to ensure it hasn’t been flagged for potential fraudulent activity.
Rakuten Viber has also expanded its communication suite for brands with Business Calls, allowing customers to make free international calls to businesses right within the app. It gives customers a choice whether to message or call a business, appreciated by 91% of consumers, and makes businesses globally accessible to their clients from anywhere in the world, ultimately enhancing customer experience. Since the launch, businesses and users interacted for over 1.7 million minutes via Viber Business Calls.
Developments on the app are part of its super app strategy – giving as many services with added value as possible throughout users’ day and providing brands with more opportunities to interact with their customers in the native environment. In 2025, Rakuten Viber aims to further expand its super app ecosystem to help businesses achieve their goals.
"It's been fifteen years since Rakuten Viber introduced the free calling service, and since then, we've created a super app ecosystem that enhances communication for users and businesses,” says Cristina Constandache, Chief Revenue Officer at Rakuten Viber. "While 2024 was a 'super' year for the app, we plan to bring even more value-added services to users, provide more opportunities to businesses, and advance our global super app strategy in 2025."
