Uber and Tesco both running promotions where customers are judged
Uber staged a “Naughty or Nice booth” in Waterloo station to give rewards to its “nicest” riders and promote its “trains, now on Uber” app service. The jaw dropping photographic evidence is that customers were very happy to queue to see if they had been nice enough.
Created by agency Mother London, the booth was open from 15-17 December at midday, inviting commuters to show their rider rating on the Uber app.
The booth was part of an awareness campaign to promote the fact that it is now possible to book train travel through the Uber app. Also to highlight that 15 million people travelled by train over the Christmas period in 2022.
Scoring
Those who had a rider rating of 4.83 (the average rating in the UK) or above received a green Christmas bauble, with a code to redeem Uber credit to use for their train home for Christmas.
Those with a below-average rating were given a red bauble decorated with their rider rating.
Uber also revealed that Merseyside riders were at the top of the nice list in 2023 with a score of 4.9, followed by Cambridge and East Anglia (4.89) and Stoke (4.88).
London is on the naughty list with an average score of 4.72, followed by those in Birmingham who have an average score of 4.76.
“Train stations have always been a popular destination for riders, but now with ‘Trains on Uber’ we can help our customers with the next step of their journey,” Andrew Brem, general manager at Uber UK, said. “We’re so grateful for our top-rated riders, who make every journey fantastic for Uber drivers and we’re thrilled to be offering them credit towards a train home this Christmas.”
Customers receive 10% back in Uber credits for every ticket bought. These can be redeemed against Uber Trains, Rides and Eats.
Uber launched its train tie-in with some highly amusing advertising, reflecting accepted practice when using an Uber taxi. In one scene, a woman knocks on a train driver’s window. “Thanks for waiting,” she says, to his bemusement. She holds up her smartphone, which is displaying a London to Manchester ticket QR code, introducing herself as Gina, as she would for an Uber car driver. “Hi, Gina,” the driver says.
Tesco partners with Cineworld to offer Clubcard “some” customers free festive films
Tesco Rewards and Cineworld have launched an initiative to offer free festive films to loyalty program customers, but only some of them will get the offer.
The Tesco Christmas Movie Nights initiative focusses on giving customers and colleagues free cinema screenings over Christmas but the offer will be discretionary, and Tesco is not revealing how it is choosing those who will qualify. All we know is that the choices will be based on Clubcard data.
Tickets have been awarded to customers based on their Clubcard data and are eligible for festive favourites including The Holiday, The Polar Express and The Muppets Christmas Carol, as well as the new Wonka film.
The partnership was created and executed by EssenceMediacom with entertainment agency Elevenfiftyfive and will run throughout December.
The initiative is an experiential extension of the supermarket’s 2023 Christmas ad “Become more Christmas” by Bartle Bogle Hegarty.
Jonathan Robson, partner at EssenceMediacom, said: “To build on Tesco’s mission to help the nation ‘Become more Christmas’ and give something festive back to their best customers, we tried to bring the Christmas experience to life.
The experience is available in 98 Cineworld cinemas in the UK, which will feature Tesco branded food and drink products and decorations in theatres.
The “Become more Christmas” ad will also be shown on the big screen at each film viewing.
Expanding on the ad potential of the Tesco Clubcard, in November the supermarket announced it would be joining Channel 4’s retail media data-matching service.
About ITVX (also see story in News)
Launched in late 2022, ITVX is UK’s freshest streaming service, letting viewers stream new programme exclusives, with adverts, for free; ranging from premium dramas, documentaries, US series, comedy and reality shows to blockbuster films and much, much more.
ITVX is the first streaming service in the UK to offer viewers the flexibility to access free content with ads and ad-free paid subscription, all in one place.
Paying subscribers also have access to BritBox UK.
Clubcard data has also been available as part of ITV’s ad offering since the launch of ITVX in 2022.