MANILA, PHILIPPINES — Viber, one of the world’s leading apps for free and easy communication, has expanded its growth in the Philippines in 2021, a year marked by strategic partnerships that respond to the changing needs of the users and allowed them to explore how the app can be an integral part of their day-to-day life beyond calls and messages.
These partnerships have been Viber’s key driver for success, as the messaging app has recorded 33% growth in monthly active users in 2021, with 31% increase in power users or those using Viber more than 25 days in a month. Group features like group messages and calls have remained a favorite among the users, posting the biggest gain at 110% upsurge. More brands and businesses have also started using Viber to communicate with their customers given that the app noted a 54% increase in business messages. Meanwhile, one-on-one messaging is still a must feature at 28% growth.
What’s more interesting is that Viber has noted that over half of its users in the Philippines are part of the younger demographic with 40% belonging to the 25-34 age group, followed by the 35-50 at 30%. Filipinos below 24-years-old have also started using the app more, making up 17% of its users, while the remaining 13% are comprised of 52-years-old and up.
“Partnering with local brands and businesses has allowed Viber to strengthen its presence in the Philippines while improving our connection with them, responding to their needs, and presenting them with new features that help them enhance how they communicate and make their lives more efficient,” said David Tse, Rakuten Viber Senior Director for APAC.
With this, the app has noted significant growth in content collaborations across various categories like entertainment and sports. It has also pursued partnerships with fintech companies, tie-ups with government agencies particularly the health departments, and pacts with telecommunication companies.
Viber in the Philippines has notably sealed partnerships with local brands like Globe to help micro, small, medium entrepreneurs on Food PH bot through the Negosyoserye webinars, LEB Holdings Inc. to help Cebuanos connect with local food sellers on Let’s Eat Bai Community, and PGAG to provide its avid followers with its own open-for-all Community within the messaging app. It has also tapped personalities like actor and beauty queen Megan Young and radio and TV host Sam YG to help spread the word about Viber’s new updates and features.
“Viber is truly becoming an all-in-one app. It is not only a platform for users to express themselves, but it has also enabled them to transact and be entertained at the same time,” Tse shared. “What matters to us most is the user journey and how relevant we are to their daily lives. Our users remain and will always be at the forefront of our developments.”
Given Viber’s performance in 2021, Tse is optimistic that Viber will be able to move into 2022 in a position of strength as it will also continue to find ways to better understand and engage Filipino users with features and local partnerships, and content that resonate with them most. He also pointed out that the app will remain an integral part of the users’ lives in 2022, even when restrictions are lifted and things are back to normal.
He explained that the pandemic has shown people how messaging apps like Viber makes things more efficient—like how it cuts business travel costs now that anyone can reach out to their colleagues in a few clicks and how educators can maximize online chats to improve relationships with their students and the parents.
“Even if the situation goes back to a ‘new’ normal, online communication will continue to strive, become more efficient, and change how the people communicate,” Tse said. “And these new realizations and habits will definitely influence our plans and impact our performance next year and beyond.”
