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Uber is launching a new Creative Studio for brands
Everyday, Uber books more than 30 million rides around the world. Each of these trips tells the company something about its customers. Where they’re going, what they’re doing, and when they are there. Then there are the tens of millions of Uber Eats orders processed each day, which clocks what people are buying, how often, and when. Combined, you have an incredibly valuable collection of data for other brands to use in order to get our attention. Now, Uber is officially launching its own in-house Creative Studio to help brands to do exactly that. The new division of Uber Advertising will be working with brands to create not only adds on its digital platform, but custom IRL experiences like special ride offers, giveaways, and more. Uber’s global head of sales Megan Ramm says that this is more about formalizing something brands have been asking for given how the company’s platform is such a natural bridge between our online and offline lives. “Uber is where we feel culture shows up in real life,” says Ramm. “When something big is happening in the world, we see it on Uber. If it’s an event or a product drop, a concert, or even coming home from the office, it’s all happening in real life. And we’re seeing that’s when and how brands want to connect with people that are using the platform.” The rapid rise of retail media networks in recent years is well-documented. Everything from store shelves to ecommerce apps have become media opportunities for advertising. Dentsu research has reported that 75% of US consumers are influenced by brands advertised in-store, and eMarketer reported that U.S. Retail Media Ad spending was up by $4 billion in 2024. This new offering from Uber makes perfect sense. The company has already long utilized the captive audience on its apps as a vehicle for brands to get our attention, now it’s expanding that to actually working to craft a wider variety of ways for brands to do just that. Custom creative Tech platforms like Google and Facebook, as well as media companies like The New York Times and The Atlantic have long had in-house creative teams helping brand clients connect with users on their platforms. Previously, brands could (and still can) buy ad space on Uber platforms directly or programmatically, with their own creative. What the Creative Studio offers is an expanded, more bespoke option of what those ads can be, and how those brands show up on the Uber platform and in users’ real-life Uber experience. “When you look at retail media, it’s really culture that converts,” says Ramm. “And that’s what’s happening online and offline. We’re launching this Creative Studio to help the premium brands we’re already working with, and others, to tap into that flow with experiences that feel organic to both the brands and Uber.” The new Creative Studio worked with Diageo in late 2024 on a holiday campaign that gave Uber Eats users the chance to order a caroler or Christmas tree directly to their doorstep. In May, La Mer partnered with Uber Advertising during Formula One’s Miami Grand Prix. The Creative Studio worked with the skincare brand to give Uber Premier riders the chance to ‘Go Home with La Mer’ in an ultra luxury vehicle, with surprise free gifts from La Mer inside the car. @livelikeria Late nights just got a glow-up. From May 2–4, @LA MER has teamed up with @Uber to bring beauty sleep straight to your backseat. Select an Uber Premier in Miami between 6PM–midnight and you might just end up in a La Mer luxury ride with deluxe samples waiting for you. #LaMerPartner ♬ original sound – Ria Michelle Ramm says that Uber Advertising has surpassed an annual revenue of $1.5 billion, growing 60% year over year. “Our audience is sophisticated, they like to see things in real-time, and engage with things in real-life,” she says. “We’ve seen that in our Gen Uber research. So this is about connecting the experiential with the customization of what you’re getting on the platform.”
Everyday, Uber books more than 30 million rides around the world. Each of these trips tells the company something about its customers. Where they’re going, what they’re doing, and when they are there. Then there are the tens of millions of Uber Eats orders processed each day, which clocks what people are buying, how often, and when. Combined, you have an incredibly valuable collection of data for other brands to use in order to get our attention.
Now, Uber is officially launching its own in-house Creative Studio to help brands to do exactly that. The new division of Uber Advertising will be working with brands to create not only adds on its digital platform, but custom IRL experiences like special ride offers, giveaways, and more.
Uber’s global head of sales Megan Ramm says that this is more about formalizing something brands have been asking for given how the company’s platform is such a natural bridge between our online and offline lives. “Uber is where we feel culture shows up in real life,” says Ramm. “When something big is happening in the world, we see it on Uber. If it’s an event or a product drop, a concert, or even coming home from the office, it’s all happening in real life. And we’re seeing that’s when and how brands want to connect with people that are using the platform.”
The rapid rise of retail media networks in recent years is well-documented. Everything from store shelves to ecommerce apps have become media opportunities for advertising. Dentsu research has reported that 75% of US consumers are influenced by brands advertised in-store, and eMarketer reported that U.S. Retail Media Ad spending was up by $4 billion in 2024. This new offering from Uber makes perfect sense. The company has already long utilized the captive audience on its apps as a vehicle for brands to get our attention, now it’s expanding that to actually working to craft a wider variety of ways for brands to do just that.
Custom creative
Tech platforms like Google and Facebook, as well as media companies like The New York Times and The Atlantic have long had in-house creative teams helping brand clients connect with users on their platforms. Previously, brands could (and still can) buy ad space on Uber platforms directly or programmatically, with their own creative. What the Creative Studio offers is an expanded, more bespoke option of what those ads can be, and how those brands show up on the Uber platform and in users’ real-life Uber experience.
“When you look at retail media, it’s really culture that converts,” says Ramm. “And that’s what’s happening online and offline. We’re launching this Creative Studio to help the premium brands we’re already working with, and others, to tap into that flow with experiences that feel organic to both the brands and Uber.”
The new Creative Studio worked with Diageo in late 2024 on a holiday campaign that gave Uber Eats users the chance to order a caroler or Christmas tree directly to their doorstep. In May, La Mer partnered with Uber Advertising during Formula One’s Miami Grand Prix. The Creative Studio worked with the skincare brand to give Uber Premier riders the chance to ‘Go Home with La Mer’ in an ultra luxury vehicle, with surprise free gifts from La Mer inside the car.
Ramm says that Uber Advertising has surpassed an annual revenue of $1.5 billion, growing 60% year over year. “Our audience is sophisticated, they like to see things in real-time, and engage with things in real-life,” she says. “We’ve seen that in our Gen Uber research. So this is about connecting the experiential with the customization of what you’re getting on the platform.”
