 "Uber: Tugging at the heartstrings")
How do brands make an impact in a market where the product or service on offer is more or less standardised with little room for innovation? Once it has built an unrivalled product-service record, how does a brand differentiate itself from competitors where deliverables such as on-time service, fair pricing and a comfortable ride experience are hygiene if it wants the customer to come back for the next ride? This is the challenge every cab aggregator faces in a market where riders will always opt for the brand that offers them the cheapest fare.
A simple answer is a brand tugs at the consumer's heartstrings eliciting emotional responses. Emotional ads can be a useful tool for marketers trying to forge brand associations to stand apart in a congested market. By incorporating emotions into a brand's story, a marketer can build positive associations among consumers about the product. And if a brand can feature heart-warming stories like Apple and Google have done consistently, emotion becomes a shortcut reference to the brand and builds on the feel-good factor, shaping the consumer's long-term view of the brand.
With its maiden campaign, "Move Forward", Uber seems to be following that strategy. The underlying premise is simple: that Uber will provide its driver partners and riders a platform to move forward in life.
Over the past year or so, Uber has witnessed significant growth in its business in India. As per industry reports, Uber completed trips have risen from 165,000 a week in January 2015 to 1.6 million in January 2016. That figure has since increased to 5.5 million at the end of August. India is now the second-largest market for the taxi aggregator globally and the local operation accounts for 12 per cent of its global market share. The company has 400,000 drivers on its platform, of whom 200,000 are active ones.
"Having built Uber as a strong and credible brand over the last three years of our operations it was time for us to rejoice in the progress that we are making together with our drivers and riders," adds Dias.
The campaign has been conceptualised by BBH India. The brief to the agency was to create a work that would help drive a step-change in adoption and help scale the service. Also, the idea had to work for driver partners as well as for riders, the brand's two key stakeholders. "The fact is, people are doing amazing things with their lives right now. People from every stratum of the society are accomplishing so much more and Uber, as a service, wants to be right there and be the vehicle to take forward their ambitions and dreams," says Russell Barrett, chief creative officer, BBH India.
The TVC captures this thought by showing how Uber provides its driver partners an opportunity to become micro-entrepreneurs and therefore their own bosses. Alongside, riders get to enjoy an affordable and reliable option.
A simple answer is a brand tugs at the consumer's heartstrings eliciting emotional responses. Emotional ads can be a useful tool for marketers trying to forge brand associations to stand apart in a congested market. By incorporating emotions into a brand's story, a marketer can build positive associations among consumers about the product. And if a brand can feature heart-warming stories like Apple and Google have done consistently, emotion becomes a shortcut reference to the brand and builds on the feel-good factor, shaping the consumer's long-term view of the brand.
With its maiden campaign, "Move Forward", Uber seems to be following that strategy. The underlying premise is simple: that Uber will provide its driver partners and riders a platform to move forward in life.
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The television commercial tracks a day in the life of an Uber driver partner and rider; it highlights the pride Uber provides to its driver partners by offering them a respectable livelihood and the freedom of mobility and reliable service it offers its riders. "By doing so, the campaign brings alive our product positioning," says Ashwin Dias, general manager, Uber.
Over the past year or so, Uber has witnessed significant growth in its business in India. As per industry reports, Uber completed trips have risen from 165,000 a week in January 2015 to 1.6 million in January 2016. That figure has since increased to 5.5 million at the end of August. India is now the second-largest market for the taxi aggregator globally and the local operation accounts for 12 per cent of its global market share. The company has 400,000 drivers on its platform, of whom 200,000 are active ones.
"Having built Uber as a strong and credible brand over the last three years of our operations it was time for us to rejoice in the progress that we are making together with our drivers and riders," adds Dias.
The campaign has been conceptualised by BBH India. The brief to the agency was to create a work that would help drive a step-change in adoption and help scale the service. Also, the idea had to work for driver partners as well as for riders, the brand's two key stakeholders. "The fact is, people are doing amazing things with their lives right now. People from every stratum of the society are accomplishing so much more and Uber, as a service, wants to be right there and be the vehicle to take forward their ambitions and dreams," says Russell Barrett, chief creative officer, BBH India.
The TVC captures this thought by showing how Uber provides its driver partners an opportunity to become micro-entrepreneurs and therefore their own bosses. Alongside, riders get to enjoy an affordable and reliable option.