Uberpreneurs: The Next Wave of DR Marketing?

Smart and savvy Uber drivers, known as Uberpreneurs, have stumbled upon a rather enticing opportunity for growing their mini-enterprises. A novel concept, targeted in-car advertising has been slowly gaining appeal among drivers looking to boost annual income. Equally smart and savvy direct response marketers will respond to this trend by partnering with advertisers as the floodgates for Uber drivers to showcase products with video to their clients open.

In April, there were over 160,000 Uber drivers worldwide who were responsible for commuting a whooping one million riders per day – a number that is only expected to grow rapidly over time. In fact, Uber has even begun to test TV spots in local markets and are expecting to move to national network advertising in the near future.

Unlike traditional in-car advertising, Viewswagen, a targeted in-car advertising platform, display ads in real time that are catered to the rider and the destination they are travelling to via algorithms that scan environmental signals to determine a rider's trip intent. With this, ads become personal, which in turn increases the chance that a connection will be made between the product and the rider. Drivers are expected to charge $100-120 CPM (cost per thousand views) for displaying ads, and prices will differ depending on the level of targeting and where the ads are being served.

Direct response marketing can lend its expert hand to startups looking to leverage video as a means of engaging consumer and building market share with advertisers. As a leader of visual product demonstration to drive customer interest, DR marketing combined with targeted in-car advertising can help businesses maximize ROI through careful analysis and monitoring. Enhancing measurement and analyzing insights into how spots perform can ensure future media buying decisions are accurate and the experience is personal and enjoyable for the customer along for the ride.