Uber is getting advertisers to pay for your next ride
Uber has a new ad type, paid for by brands, that gives users money off their next rides.
Uber execs spoke with BI at the Cannes Lions ad festival as it pitched marketers on its ad business.
This article is part of " CMO Insider," a series on marketing leadership and innovation.
Need a cab? This ad's got you covered.
Uber this week said it's launching a new ad format that lets brands offer its users cash off their next rides.
Beverage company Molson Coors is the launch advertiser for Ride Offers. Brands like Coors Light will show up with ads in the Uber app as users check their phones to see where their driver is, offering users an Uber discount.
Uber also pitched its newly launched Creative Studio to advertisers attending meetings at its villa set-up in Cannes. This team works on more bespoke offerings for advertisers, like offering rides to Miami F1 Grand Prix attendees in a luxury vehicle sponsored by La Mer, packed with freebie skincare products.
In another example, Uber Eats users could order Christmas carolers to their doors, sponsored by the alcohol company Diageo.
"Our audience is always looking for an opportunity to drive savings and get affordable things, but also get messages that are personalized and relevant for them," Kristi Argyilan, the global head of Uber Advertising, told Business Insider at the Cannes Lions advertising festival in France on Wednesday.
Uber said in May of this year that its ad business, which launched in 2022, had reached a $1.5 billion revenue run rate — the number it expects to achieve by the end of 2025 — which was up 60% versus last year. The company does not break out a more specific ad revenue figure in its financial filings. It serves ads on the Uber app, on in-car screens, in emails to its users, and on car tops.
Argylian said Uber is looking at ways to ramp up its ad business outside its cars and apps.
It's working on letting advertisers use its data and context about how users have been recently using Uber and Uber Eats to target ads on other websites and apps. An Uber user might be viewing the app to check the arrival of their car, then flip to scrolling on TikTok once they get inside, where Uber can serve an ad specific to that user. It's a similar context to the Meta Audience Network.
"Purchase-based data and the location-based data is what's really fueling the experience," said Megan Ramm, global head of sales at Uber Advertising.
Paul Frampton-Calero, chief executive of the digital marketing company Goodway Group, said Uber's challenge in capturing ad budgets is that it's operating in a crowded market. It's not just fighting for attention with the likes of Google, Meta, and Amazon. It's also competing with the retail media networks from supermarkets and other companies that already have long-standing brand relationships.
"Uber isn't naturally somebody most brands are going to build those strong top-to-top relationships with," Frampton-Calero said. "It's hard enough building a relationship with Google, Meta, Spotify, TikTok, and then having to work out where to put Google in that mix."
Still, he added, Uber's advantage is its mix of data.
"Uber knows a lot about the type of people that like Mexican food who spend time at a particular part of town and visit the airport four times a quarter," Frampton-Calero said. "Then you can make some assumptions about what a high net income audience looks like and how to market to them."
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