Around 31 million Americans will use rideshare services like Lyft and Uber this year, according to estimates made by eMarketer. With 70 percent of millennials hailing a vehicle when they go out with friends, brands are partnering with these services to come along for the ride.
Taco Bell recently teamed up with Lyft to offer its passengers a food run with “Taco Mode.” The in-app option hails a taco-themed car that will take users on the “ultimate Taco Bell experience”—including a Taco Bell Lyft T-shirt and light-up Lyft glasses, an in-car menu viewable on a taco-themed iPad and one free Doritos Locos taco for each passenger in Taco Mode.
Taco Mode ran two tests in Orange County, California and plans to expand the partnerships into additional markets by the end of the year.
“We’re combining two of our passengers’ favorite activities—a night out with friends and enjoying Taco Bell—which means there is even more of the night to love,” Melissa Waters, Lyft’s head of marketing, said in a statement.
In April, AEG announced a partnership with Uber that will help expand transportation options for visitors headed to and from different venues worldwide.
With the NHL’s Los Angeles Kings being one of AEG’s most prized possessions, there will be an LA-specific leg to marketing activations in the city, including special offers and merchandise for fans during away games, a driver incentive program for Kings fans who sign up to be Uber drivers and a “King of the Month” promotion, which will honor specific Uber drivers on-ice and reward them with tickets and VIP experiences.
“I think through collaboration with powerful brands such as Uber, continued communication directly with our fans, and through feedback, we will keep looking down any avenue that enhances the game day or live event experience,” Nick Baker, senior vice president of global partnerships for AEG, told AListDaily.
Video game fans got a surprise during PAX East last year when a number of Overwatch-themed vehicles were spotted around Boston.
Dubbed UberWATCH, the partnership between Uber and Activision-Blizzard invited riders to order special Overwatch-stamped vehicles to drive them around the city. Riders could get one seat in a Lamborghini, a two-seater buggy or a large multi-passenger truck to bring them around. The vehicles could be seen all across Boston and worked alongside Blizzard’s show floor promotion.
Juniper Research estimates that the ride share market will reach $6.5 billion by the year 2020.
People always have somewhere to go, so rideshare partnerships can be beneficial for any brand with the right marketing strategy.
