Always in-demand

There are some things in life that will always be in-demand—essentials like food and water sure, but also the things that make us feel good. Like, well, puppies and ice cream.

Now just imagine, in some Utopian society, a service that delivers these feel-good activators in real time. Picture that instead of a coffee break, you go on a puppy break.

Uber did just this. Recently the transport and technology company partnered with BARC Animal Shelter and Adoptions in Houston to deliver puppies on demand. All users needed to do was slide over to ‘puppies’ to request 15 minutes of playtime, to the tune of 25 American Dollars.

This wasn’t the first—or the last—time the company has engineered such a tactile marketing activation. Kittens were also deployed on demand in a few capital cities across the globe. And while animal lovers can’t deny the good that a furry cuddle does, Uber does its own bit by channelling proceeds of the activation back into the animal shelter where the pets come from.

And, if life is like ice cream; you have to taste it before it melts. Uber tapped into the zeit-ice of childhood nostalgia using the favourite frozen treat. How does it work? You gather your friends on a hot summer’s day and order an Uber Ice Cream Truck, you very own ice cream truck. The inside scoop? This initiative went global, with 33 trucks in as many cities. And in true Uber style, there was no cash required as the ice creams were charged directly to the users’ accounts.

Are your tastes more silver screen than sweet? To promote film, Transformers: Age of Extinction, on the day of the promotion, Uber users could ride an 18-wheeler Optimus Prime replica. Launching themselves into the world of make-believe, with a simple tap of an app.

Though it’s not all fun and games. UberHEALTH is the house call of the modern age. By leveraging the efficiency of its platform, the savvy developers got together with Vaccine Finder to supply flu prevention packs and shots (administered by a registered nurse) to users in select cities. Once again, no cash traded hands, and in fact, there was no cost at all to the person (or people) ordering it.

In fact, for every call out, Uber donated $5 to the Red Cross to support vaccination efforts for children including its Measles & Rubella Initiative.

There have been many such activations—let’s not forget when the company delivered your Christmas trees—with plenty more in the pipeline. Take a moment to think how these marketing campaigns aren’t as superfluous as they initially seem, instead they’re driven by the spirit of giving back.