SINGAPORE: Uber is learning from its stunt marketing flops in Asia as it evolves to a more purpose-driven approach, according to a senior executive at the ride hailing company.
Margery Lynn, Head of Social & Content Marketing in APAC for ride-hailing behemoth Uber, is the first to acknowledge that the company’s marketing hasn't been without some “epic fails” in Asia. (For more details, read WARC’s report: Uber learns from its mistakes in new brand purpose drive.)
In Malaysia last year, for example, Uber partnered with Starbucks to bring frappuccinos directly to users’ doorsteps in six Malaysian cities for one day only.
“We were only able to deliver about 1% of that demand,” said Lynn at the Content Marketing Summit in Singapore recently, acknowledging that customers were annoyed and frustrated at Uber’s failure to deliver. The company was widely mocked by social media users for the failure.
Lynn acknowledged that Uber as a brand has some work to do, even though millennials customers love its convenience.
“People love to Uber it, but not our brand Uber… we are hoping, and we really believe that it should be a left and right brain decision,” she said.
Uber is evolving toward a purpose-driven strategy in the region, where endless regulatory issues and fierce competition from the likes of Grab have been challenging.
“We are, as an organisation aligning towards a purpose. We are streamlining our content against that purpose to ensure that we become known for something, and that we can build an audience that is as eager to see what we are going to publish,” Lynn said.
As content marketing becomes increasingly important for the company, Lynn thinks that Uber is well placed as far as storytelling is concerned. “"We have some really great stories to tell. We play an important role in cities, and we connect a community within the cities. Those are fantastic seeds to tell stories with.”
For Uber, the key will be creating an enduring story that cuts through the mass of white noise from brands.
“We want to continue to collect these stories, because we believe they are resonant with the community... it ensures that we are creating content that is based in the reality of the role that we play in cities across Asia,” Lynn said.
Margery Lynn, Head of Social & Content Marketing in APAC for ride-hailing behemoth Uber, is the first to acknowledge that the company’s marketing hasn't been without some “epic fails” in Asia. (For more details, read WARC’s report: Uber learns from its mistakes in new brand purpose drive.)
In Malaysia last year, for example, Uber partnered with Starbucks to bring frappuccinos directly to users’ doorsteps in six Malaysian cities for one day only.
“We were only able to deliver about 1% of that demand,” said Lynn at the Content Marketing Summit in Singapore recently, acknowledging that customers were annoyed and frustrated at Uber’s failure to deliver. The company was widely mocked by social media users for the failure.
Lynn acknowledged that Uber as a brand has some work to do, even though millennials customers love its convenience.
“People love to Uber it, but not our brand Uber… we are hoping, and we really believe that it should be a left and right brain decision,” she said.
Uber is evolving toward a purpose-driven strategy in the region, where endless regulatory issues and fierce competition from the likes of Grab have been challenging.
“We are, as an organisation aligning towards a purpose. We are streamlining our content against that purpose to ensure that we become known for something, and that we can build an audience that is as eager to see what we are going to publish,” Lynn said.
As content marketing becomes increasingly important for the company, Lynn thinks that Uber is well placed as far as storytelling is concerned. “"We have some really great stories to tell. We play an important role in cities, and we connect a community within the cities. Those are fantastic seeds to tell stories with.”
For Uber, the key will be creating an enduring story that cuts through the mass of white noise from brands.
“We want to continue to collect these stories, because we believe they are resonant with the community... it ensures that we are creating content that is based in the reality of the role that we play in cities across Asia,” Lynn said.
Sourced from WARC
