• by Laurie Sullivan , Yesterday

Uber Advertising on Monday announced a connected set of advertising formats that for the first time extend its managed first-party ad and data signals beyond its own apps including Uber Eats across Meta and Google Shopping.

While much of commerce media remains focused on online digital, the ride-hailing and food-delivery company continues to build connections between brands and consumers based on daily life experiences including rides, meals, errands, events and destinations.

Uber is extending beyond its own apps and network to take a new approach to advertising.

Google, Molson Coors Beverage Company, Shake Shack and others have reached out to Uber for its advertising services

Google Gemini, for example, used a "Homescreen Ride Offer" -- a sponsored ride incentive that introduces the product at the start of the Uber journey -- to pair with Gemini messaging.

The ad integrates the brand into the experience by building awareness and a favorable brand perception. 

Molson Coors has been an early partner in testing "Ride Offers" on its Journey ad network across major sporting and cultural moments throughout its portfolio.

"From Miller Lite football activations to Blue Moon baseball campaigns, we've seen how Ride Offers on Journey can help brands show up in moments that are both culturally relevant and highly engaging,” stated Kelly Ellefson, senior media manager at Molson Coors Beverage Company.

She believes the format creates a valuable exchange for consumers while helping brands build stronger connections during the journey.

In a Miller Lite campaign, the offer-based creative generated a click-through rate nearly 45% higher than comparable non-offer creative.

By pairing brand messaging with a tangible consumer benefit, the ad unit allowed Miller Lite to create interactions that were perceived as useful, relevant and rewarding, according to the brand, with 77% of riders saying they would interact with a brand mid-ride in exchange for value.

Sixty-five percent of Uber riders say discounts grab their attention, and 64% say they make them feel more positive about a brand.

Uber described how restaurants, or CPG brands in partnership with a restaurant, can feature new, seasonal, popular, or priority menu items in a fully brand-owned interactive carousel designed to drive discovery.

A custom image can establish a campaign, while featured items can be added directly to the cart from the carousel itself.

The result is a path from discovery to purchase, with showcased items resulting in a double-digit percentage of what is included in orders placed after viewing the ad, according to Uber Advertising.

During the company's latest earnings call, Uber announced it had surpassed $2 billion in annual revenue in advertising.

“We are now operating at a 15 billion annual trip run-rate, more than 40 million trips per day, more than 22% year-over-year (YoY), with 202 million monthly active users, up more than 18% YoY), our largest and most engaged customer base ever, Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said during a February earnings call.