Behind every chat, there’s a true story: Rakuten Viber marks a decade celebrating its users

 Gayan and Gavindi

• The popular messaging platform marks its 10-year anniversary by shining the spotlight in a 14-episode mini docu series about its users, from Sri Lanka to Ukraine to Nepal, who used Viber to literally change the course of their lives

Rakuten Viber, one of the world’s leading apps for free and easy communication, announces the launch of its ‘Heroes of Viber’ package, complete with a 14-episode mini docu series chronicling real-life stories of how people’s lives around the world changed over the past years by using Viber. The campaign marks Viber’s decade anniversary, celebrating the company’s growth into one of the world’s most widely used messaging apps through the people who have used Viber to make meaningful connections throughout the years. 

Since its debut 10 years ago, Viber has offered breakthrough features such as free VoIP calls, to group video chats, fun stickers, and top-notch security protocols by default to preserve user data privacy. Today, Viber celebrates heroes from Russia, Algeria, Iraq, Bulgaria, Greece, Serbia, Ukraine, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and the Philippines in a series of 14 short videos documenting their true personal stories. The protagonists are of different ages and backgrounds, telling stories from meeting their significant other on Viber to keeping in touch with old friends, to reaching out for help through the platform.

The compelling narratives include:

Sri Lanka – In 2015, Gayan met the most wonderful person in his life, Gavindi. He first saw her on their office shuttle, but was too shy to say hello. Finally, he sent her a sticker on Viber, and to his surprise, she sent one back. Eventually, the messages became more frequent and two years later, they tied the knot.

Ukraine – As the national lockdown forced a halt to public transportation, Ukranian doctors needed a way to get to work. Yaroslav Kureza, a doctor at the Kiev Center for Emergency and Disaster Medicine, launched the ‘Take the Medic’ community to empower doctors to solicit rides through Viber. The initiative propelled the number of members in local Viber Community to more than 10,000 – helping each other in time of need. Even after the return of public transport, the groups are still actively working.

Bulgaria – During the pandemic earlier this year, Viber was the only way for premature babies born in Bulgaria’s Burgas Main Hospital to see their parents. The staff of the Department of Neonatology made a special effort to facilitate the video call and support and reassure the parents separated from their children.

Russia – Alena is a mother of a disabled child who can rarely leave the house. Thanks to Viber, she started a gardening Community that has already grown to 2,000 members. Alena grows seedlings and flowers, and shares them through her Community, sharing her gardening experience with other people and helping her cope with the trying times. 

Iraq – Sheelan, a dedicated teacher who kept teaching her students of all ages from home during the pandemic. She started Community on Viber to facilitate lessons and activities, finding innovative ways to pass her knowledge onto students – and parents – during a global crisis.

“We truly believe the success of our platform over the past 10 years is something we owe entirely to our users all around the world – the real people who use Viber to connect with others. Behind every chat on Viber, there is a real story. We love our users and we are happy to be part of their everyday lives. To think people are able to share joy, happiness, and maybe even sad moments at times – in other words, real feelings – through us makes our job meaningful. We are thankful and committed to continuing our journey together,” says Rakuten Viber Chief Growth Officer Anna Znamenskaya.

Watch the full series of ‘Heroes of Viber’ at https://lp.viber.com/heroes-of-viber/.