UberEats

Getting closer to South Africans stomachs with a relatable character

UberEats is one of the top 3 most used food delivery brands in the world. With an exceptional, easy-to-use app, wide range of food choices and fast customer service, UberEats entered South Africa to revolutionise the food status quo, in a market that is not yet fully mature when it comes to ordering from home. But deep into the Corona pandemic in the country, UberEats challenged us to increase consideration through the use of social media, and become the go-to app for South Africans when it comes to ordering food.

The Challenge

With a lot of food delivery competition already, we had to make sure South Africans realised how much more reliable and convenient UberEats really is – an app that removes all the obstacles and provides every single food choice South Africans crave for.

We wanted to become part of the culture and set ourselves to be the most authentic food-delivery brand in the country, and after a handful of Covid-related lockdowns, in the midst of uncertainty and ongoing restrictions, South Africa was more than in desperate need of some comfort (food ;).

The Idea

To get closer to South Africans hearts – and stomachs -, we’ve created a covid-safe, social-first campaign only South Africans would get, because when it comes to food nobody gets it like we do.

We brought Gogo – which means grandma in Zulu – and her grandson Tebza from the TV campaign screen into the digital world. Together they illustrated at-home family and food moments South Africans could relate to. Quarantine life gave Gogo time to dive into the UberEats app, and beyond those wonderful, recognisable moments, people followed Gogo’s journey to becoming South Africa’s most digital savvy granny.

She schooled her friends, her grandson and everyone she came across with online on the wonders of the Uber Eats app, the tips and tricks and the huge amount of food options it features.

The Results

Our consideration objective was not only met but considerably surpassed, with the campaign scoring a tremendous consideration uplift 7 times higher than the Facebook EMEA benchmark. Ad recall (+13.4 pts), message agreement (+1.8 pts), number of orders and app installations (+3.4%) all increased significantly during the period of the campaign. Last but not least, Gogo became part of the online culture, with hundreds of memes, shoutouts and mentions throughout social media in the country.