CANNES — The ability to reach consumers at the precise moment they’re engaged in a specific activity is the holy grail for advertisers. For one rapidly growing commerce media platform, that moment happens millions of times daily during rides and deliveries.
Positioning itself as a “commerce media company” rather than strictly retail media, Uber Advertising is leveraging its unique position in consumers’ daily journeys to deliver contextually relevant advertising experiences that connect brands with users during meaningful “go and get” moments.
“You get in the car, you go somewhere,” Kristi Argyilan, global head of advertising at Uber Advertising, in this video interview with Beet.TV. “We know where you’re going and to be able to send relevant messaging in that car ride is a real important piece and a real interesting engagement that we have with our customers that not a lot of other media platforms can provide.”
Blending physical and digital
At the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, Uber announced its advertising Creative Studio, designed to create seamless experiences that bridge digital and physical worlds.
“We’ve learned that our customers want both a digital experience and a physical experience interchangeably,” Argyilan said. “This fluidity to move from one to the next… we’re pushing out more and more of these experiences that start on the app, perhaps move to the car ride, and then go to your final destination.”
The company has been strengthening its advertising infrastructure through strategic partnerships, including a collaboration last year with T-Mobile Advertising Solutions to expand Uber’s JourneyTV to over 50,000 vehicles across the U.S
Beyond retail media: the commerce advantage
U.S. retail media ad spending is projected to grow at a compound annual rate of 17.2% between 2024 and 2028, according to eMarketer’s latest forecast. The growth is fueled by advertisers seeking measurable outcomes and privacy-compliant data – both areas where Uber’s contextual approach offers advantages.
While retail media networks have exploded in popularity, Uber’s advertising approach extends beyond traditional shopping environments into the transportation and delivery ecosystem that surrounds commerce.
This positioning allows Uber to capitalize on both planned journeys and immediate needs. Argyilan, who joined Uber six months ago after leadership roles at Target and Albertsons, points to the platform’s ability to fulfill urgent shopping occasions.
“We’re not the big shopping trip, but we are the ‘I need it immediately’ shopping occasion,” Argyilan explained.
Multiplatform advertising ecosystem
Uber’s advertising offerings span both on-platform and off-platform opportunities.
On-platform options include sponsored listings for restaurants on Uber Eats, product listings for grocery and retail partners, and “journey ads” that appear during rides. The company recently expanded its journey ads to programmatic buyers across the Uber Rides app, partnering with demand-side platforms including Google’s Display & Video 360, The Trade Desk, and Yahoo DSP.
“We have Journey TV, which are like iPad screens in the car,” Argyilan said. “There we serve related messaging that ties to the destination that you’re going to, and it’s personalized based on what we know about you when you’re in the car.”
Perhaps most intriguing is Uber’s focus on what Argyilan calls “real-time contextual” targeting – moving beyond audience segments based on past behaviors toward addressing current activities and needs.
“We’re working on targeting what you’re doing now,” she emphasized. “So you are really reacting to the activity that’s in motion, insert a brand, and then drive a bigger business outcome as a result of it.”
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