Didi unleashes surreal ad to challenge Uber

Rideshare brand DiDi has launched a provocative advertising campaign as it aims to take on Uber and grow its share of the market.

Rideshare brand DiDi has launched a bold new campaign to take on Uber dominance in the category.

Rideshare brand DiDi has unleashed a surreal advertising campaign to boost brand awareness and propel growth for consumers’ second-choice ride share company.

The Chinese-owned brand, which averages between 20-30 per cent market share locally, depending on the city, is hoping a bold advertising offensive targeting young, price-conscious consumers will help the business steal market share from dominant rival, Uber.

The provocative campaign centres around an online film featuring a trio of twenty-somethings who are led on an adventurous night out by a mischievous, flute-playing character called Nudgy.

Clad in the brand’s signature orange, Nudgy lures the trio from location to location through a string of DiDi rides.

The campaign, which was created by independent agency Sunday Gravy and directed by acclaimed UK filmmaker Jim Hosking, is unapologetically targeting young people with ads to run across out-of-home, social and radio media in addition to branded partnerships and activations.

“We are trying to build out mental availability for DiDi in a category where the verb is to Uber,” DiDi head of brand marketing Tim Farmer told The Australian. “We’re lucky as a challenger brand, because we have the benefit of identifying the part of the market where our product is strong and where our offering makes real sense and that means we can very single-mindedly target that audience.”

The challenge for DiDi is significant, with Uber claiming up to 80 per cent share of the rideshare market in some areas of the country, however, Mr Farmer believes the challenge is purely a marketing issue, rather than a product or service problem.

“We are everyone’s fallback option, we’re not the first choice of the majority of rideshare users. So that’s our challenge, and to do that, we have to be different.”

DiDi's provocative ad campaign aims to steal share from Uber

While Uber has reframed the ride experience by creating a more premium experience, DiDi is focused on cost savings. “Nine times out of ten, if not more, (the ride is) cheaper with a DiDi,” said Mr Farmer.

The brand’s strategy is not to focus on the journey but the destination, or more precisely, how DiDi can enhance your destinations by saving you money.

“I think they’ve done a really great job of making the experience, with the mints and the water bottles, and reframing the taxi category into a more premium efficient service,” Mr Farmer said.

“(Uber) are very much focused on the ride from a product perspective, however, as a Didi user myself, I would rather have more money to spend at my destination than on the car itself.

“I would rather have, say, a nicer seat at the concert or the expensive wagyu at the restaurant or whatever it is you’re going to do. There is a value equation for DiDi and we weren’t telling that story very well.”

While the campaign is certain to garner attention – it’s hypnotic flute music is already trending on Spotify – Mr Farmer insists the business is not worried about alienating customers who may not understand the campaign. Instead, DiDi is focused on ensuring it connects with the target audience of “young at heart” people who will relate to the message and be entertained.

Rideshare brand DiDi has launched a bold new campaign to take on Uber dominance in the category.

“The essence of the ad is just to remind people of how much fun it is to go out and spend time and have those random nights, which I think we’ve all had at points in our lives,” said Mr Farmer.

“I think my mum and dad will hate it. And there’s a certain generation or type of mindset it might not connect with, but that’s OK because they’re not our customer and it’s OK if not everyone likes you. I feel really comfortable that the ad is for the people that we are targeting and they will like it.”

The campaign strategy is built with data and insights that show how the cost of living pressures are impacting consumers and how people’s habits are changing, such as going out less and seeking out cost savings, which is why DiDi is focused on targeting “a mindset, rather than a demographic”.

“We were trying to make an ad that people want to watch, rather than think about how do we optimise the reach or force brand attribution in the first five seconds,” he said. “It shouldn’t be a sales pitch. I think people are intelligent enough to figure out the ad is for a rideshare brand. We want to build a brand that people actually enjoy and look out for and that means making good advertising that people want to watch and being really clear who the audience is.”

DiDi has released the wild flute track from its new ad on Spotify where it is "going nuts".

Mr Farmer denies the campaign is brave, pointing to the strength of the strategy and arguing that, as the smaller challenger brand, the only option is being memorably creative to cut through the noise.

“Uber are great for us. They are continuing to grow the category and push the boundaries of what ride share can do. They’re making the market bigger, which is awesome. But, we’re trying to be distinct and memorable,” he said.

“We have a big giant to take on so we have to take risks but if you ground the risks in solid strategy, then they are more calculated.”