Uber Black Relaunch
Breathing life into the forgotten ride option
The problem
It was 2019 and Uber X was reigning supreme, but that wasn’t always the case. When Uber first came on the scene, the only option available was Uber Black, an exclusive and luxurious on-demand ride the world hadn’t experienced before. As the company expanded to make Uber accessible to a wider range of budgets, Uber X stepped into the spotlight, overshadowing its predecessor. We needed to make Uber Black relevant again.
The solution
In an effort to revive Uber Black, the company updated the rider experience with new research-backed features intended to increase adoption and retention. The creative team worked in alongside the marketing and product teams to create a multi-email campaign that introduces the new experience, defines product language, and names new features.
Intro email
Nudge email
Welcome email
Negative trip email
A deep dive into the strategy behind the intro email’s hero module
The strategy described here is used throughout all emails in the campaign flow
Headline
Put the most important information up top. Consider what we need the user to know upfront. Since this is the first touchpoint for the Uber Black relaunch, it should be immediately clear why they’re here and what Uber Black can do for them.
Body
In the hero body content there’s a delicate strategic balance to both connect to the headline and summarize the information the user will see in the supporting modules “below the fold”, all with limited space.
Button
The button should clearly indicate where the user is going. Marketing copywriting allows the writer to use “fun” buttons in some instances. This instance, however, called for a straightforward approach, which takes the user to an informational page about Uber Black.
A deep dive into the strategy behind the intro email’s supporting modules
Similar to the hero deep-dive above, the strategy described here is used throughout all emails in the campaign flow
Strategy
In the modules we’re delivering on our promise to expand upon the information we’ve baited them with. This is our opportunity to detail what we have to offer the user and how it can benefit them.
Nuances in style and language
Each module headline follows a distinct language pattern by beginning with a verb. To pique user interest and infuse a conversational tone, the body copy for each module starts with an engaging question, followed by information about the highlighted feature.
Project retrospective
What worked
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My designer and I made structural decisions together, designing the email with information hierarchy in mind. We regularly presented our work to stakeholders and managed feedback together.
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The marketing manager in charge of this project was one of my favorites on the team. For this project we had the uncommon and added benefit of getting to work with the product marketing manager, allowing us a deeper look into the product strategy, straight from the source.
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The dream! This email campaign saw a statistically significant lift in Uber Black trips booked by both previous Uber Black riders and new Uber Black riders who had yet to use the product. Additionally, the campaign created brand awareness, putting the Uber Black relaunch on the radar for riders, whether or not they chose to immediately book an Uber Black trip.
What challenged us
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This campaign was unique for our team in that we started from scratch. Typically by the time an email campaign reached our team either the product team or the brand team had done some work with the product we were marketing. In this instance, the Uber Black relaunch came to us raw and it was up to us to create the product language that would span across product and brand.
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We experienced differences in opinion around some industry-standard language used in this campaign. In short, the PMM wanted to use a jaron-y term, the creative team pushed against jargon, in favor of a more widely understood term. Marathon meetings took place around this one word. Ultimately we nixed the jargon word but this would have been a great opportunity to user test the language and inform a more definitive approach.
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This was a common problem faced by the CRM team. And while we were used to it, it always caused some friction in our ability to visually communicate in (what our team thought was) the strongest way. We’d begin with big dreams and push for them to be actualized, then eventually succumb to our limited-asset reality and get extra creative in our visual communication approach.
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Partners and stakeholders
Product marketing manager
Marketing manager
Project manager
Designer
Editing / proofreading
Legal
Development
Deployment