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Uber Launches Ads Division to boost their Revenue

Uber, a ride-hailing service, has started its own ads division to connect customers with companies by playing video ads while they are in their cabs.

ads division
Image Source: techgh24.com

By playing video ads during the ride, Uber’s ads division hopes to connect customers with companies. The business introduced “Uber Journey Ads,” a fun way for companies to connect with their customers. To operate Journey Ads, Uber has already partnered with more than 40 well-known companies.

At first, these advertisements will only be shown in a few markets. Though some experts warn it could cause issues with user privacy, the company believes the new ad-targeting service has enormous potential for revenue growth.

Uber’s General Manager for the ads division, Mark Grether noted: “We have a global audience of valuable, purchase-minded consumers who, as part of our core business, tell us where they want to go and what they want to get.

While consumers are making purchase decisions and waiting for their destination or delivery, we can engage them with messages from brands relevant to their purchase journeys.

And with 1.87 billion trips last quarter, that means we can connect advertisers to consumers on average five times per month across rides and delivery.”

Uber also provides thorough data and analysis, which aids businesses in creating marketing initiatives that have a bigger effect on their target audience. The ride-hailing platform provides “Sponsored Listings” across Uber Eats to help brands stand out from the crowd and attract customers.

Uber’s “Homepage Billboards” provide sponsors the option to put advertisements on the Uber Eats homepage, and “Sponsored Emails” allow brands to push offers to Uber and Uber Eats customers by mail to their inboxes.

As per Uber, the new ad-targeting tool would enable brands to use information about riders’ previous travel patterns as well as their specific geographic locations to position ads. For example, a company might purchase ads targeted at that place if a user requests an Uber to go to a particular store, movie theatre, or airport.

Additionally, Uber will now permit a single brand to sponsor the entire journey, beginning with the initial request for the cab. These so-called “journey ads,” will be sold on a trip-by-trip basis rather than the typical pricing for digital advertising by consumer impression

This will allow brands to display a user different ads in three parts in the user’s trip: while waiting for a car, while driving, and once the user has arrived at the destination.

According to Mr. Grether, the rider can make purchases by clicking an ad without exiting the Uber app. Advertising on in-car tablets will also be included in separate pilot initiatives in the United States and India, he said.

Tech giants like Google and Meta, have been known to record users’ web activity to target them with ads. Retailers like Walmart and Kroger can keep track of your shopping habits to the advantage of the businesses that partner with them for advertising.

Uber has been developing its advertising business for several years, but the majority of its development to date has come from ads placed on the food delivery app Uber Eats.

The new division of Uber will face competition from rivals like Lyft, DoorDash, and Instacart Inc., all of which are fighting for an increasing share of the advertising budgets of companies looking to reach consumers online.

Uber, which joined the advertising market in 2019, has stated that it hopes to generate over $1 billion in revenue from ads by 2024.

Meanwhile, a recent U.S. proposal that could prevent gig workers from being classified as independent contractors will likely result in higher costs for businesses like Uber and Lyft.

Uber Finally Showcases the Internal Design of its Ride Sharing Air Taxi

Uber is excited for the launch of its another arm, i.e. Uber Air, and have been working to finalise the design for its air taxies. Finally, after going back and forth with various designs, Uber has teased a reference design for its air taxi, which is more like the design of a spacious helicopter.

Uber Air
Image Source: theverge

The company revealed the reference design at its third annual Elevate conference, an event based on flying taxies, going on in Washington DC, started on June 11th. The showcased design represents how the company envisions its aerial taxis’ internal design to look like.

The company has taken the initiative of offering air taxies to help in reducing the congestion and traffic on the roads and plans to kick off the service starting from 2023. Since there is a lot of time left for the launch of Uber Air, the company took the pains to build a simulated design of the air taxi, to showcase the details of its internal design.

For the design, the company has partnered with aircraft interior designer Safran Cabin. The air taxi has got four seats, arranged in pairs in two rows. Behind the backseat, the passengers will get the space to place their luggage. Since the taxi is for short rides, the company has not paid much of efforts in embedding luxuries to it. The aerial taxi has to comply with the eVTOL (electric vertical take-off and landing) standards, so the design has been kept sleek and simple.

“Together with Safran Cabin, we’ve designed for the first time in history, a bespoke aircraft cabin that is truly mission-driven for aerial ridesharing on Uber Air. Starting with the customer experience, it’s highly considered from the inside-out, yet extensible across different fuselage profiles, and carefully engineered with a path to certification.” Uber Elevate’s Head of Design, John Badalamenti, said in a statement.

Uber is making quite the efforts to become one supreme transportation company, and for its aerial taxies, it has even got companies, like Boeing, on board. Along with Boeing Uber has also partnered with Bell Helicopters and Jaunt.

At the event, the company also revealed the designs of the Skyports it will be building for the passengers to get a Uber Air. Uber even reported that it will be building its first non-US Skyport in Melbourne Australia, the city becoming the third official pilot city for Uber Air, after Dallas and Los Angeles.