Uber ≠ Food
Why uberFRESH is a branding mistake
What comes to mind when you think of Uber? Probably a fresh smelling, clean, newish car, that you can order from your phone and that will quickly take you where you need to go. Something like this:
Yes, industry analysts think of Uber as a general-purpose logistics and algorithms company, but in the consumer’s mind Uber is simply a better taxi, with a certain set of emotions and sensations attached to it.
While their infrastructure and audience is certainly a valuable asset to leverage when entering the on-demand food delivery market, their existing brand imagery is not.
Cars are not appetizing
People are in a very different mental space when they’re trying to decide what to have for lunch than when they want a ride across town. Just look at this photo they’re using in the announcement blog post. Does it make you very hungry?
No! The entire Uber brand image is carefully tied with the idea of a clean, slick new car and a frictionless transportation experience. If Uber keeps pushing the uberFRESH brand, they’ll have a huge hurdle to jump to catch up with competitors like Sprig and SpoonRocket.
Take a look at Sprig’s marketing. Isn’t this more appealing?
It’s not just surface-level, either. They are creating associations in your mind that link “the Sprig app” with “delicious food”, which makes you more likely to order from Sprig whenever you’re hungry. Branding is a sensory experience that helps build habits, not some inconsequential veneer on top of the “real product”.
What Uber should do instead
Consumer packaged goods companies like Proctor & Gamble have long understood the value of single-purpose brands, and the merits of this strategy have been proven in the market over the decades. Big tech companies like Amazon and Google have been historically pretty bad at resisting the line-extension trap, but there are signs it’s getting better — just look at the latest moves from Facebook and Foursquare.
If I were Uber, I’d keep food out of the main app, and launch a new app under a new brand. You can still cross-promote to your existing customers, but it needs to have a different personality. Otherwise, you end up with food that tastes like car. Nobody wants that ;)
Further Reading
If you’re interested in reading more about this stuff, I’d highly recommend the classic book by Al Ries, “The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding”. Also, I love geeking out about this stuff, so definitely tweet at me! I’m @nbashaw.
