Get marketing news you'll actually want to read
Marketing Brew informs marketing pros of the latest on brand strategy, social media, and ad tech via our weekday newsletter, virtual events, marketing conferences, and digital guides.
It’s a feeling we can all relate to: You’re stranded, you’re tired, you’ve called an Uber, and you’re waiting. No, that experience won’t improve much, but now you can distract yourself with ads!
Uber told Marketing Brew it started testing in-app advertising last week, an update first reported by Business Insider. Ads show up after a rider has requested a trip, meaning they’ll only be seen every time a traveler is checking their driver's location or their own ride’s progress.
- The inventory will first be visible to a random, small percentage of riders in the US, Uber told us (BI said 25% of users will see ads).
- Marriott is the first brand to work with Uber on the product, and other brands are lining up.
- The rideshare company said it will test how people interact with the ads.
Related, unrelated: How rideshare cars are becoming speeding billboards.
In-app advertising isn’t foreign to Uber’s other brands—Postmates and Uber Eats offer inventory to restaurants on their platforms—but it is a change of heart for the main brand. Uber’s cofounder and previous CEO,Travis Kalanick, was against the idea of in-app advertising, fearing that pop-up ads would “sully the user experience,” a former Uber employee told BI.
But time is money, and Uber riders have the time.—RB