Uber launches in-app “journey ads” as unexpected players build major ad businesses with customer data

Budweiser ad en route to the bar… Your next Uber ride might be #sponsored. Last week the ride-hailer announced plans to let marketers target riders based on their destination with “journey ads.” It’s showing ads in the app as part of its new media division, and is also piloting in-car tablets (think: Expedia commercial on the way to JFK). It’s been doing ads for years, though most have been sponsored listings on Uber Eats.

• 5-star potential: Uber said its expanded ad biz could hit $1B in revenue by 2024, since ride-hail could pull in way more ad $$ than food delivery. Uber says riders will be able to click to buy a product without leaving the app.
• “Cars will become our next living rooms” — Uber’s GM of advertising might’ve missed the WFH memo, but he could be right about growth potential. He said Uber’s ad revenue jumped to $141M last year from $11M in 2020.
• Faster ETA: In August Lyft launched its advertising unit, Lyft Media, adding tablets that riders can interact with to some cars.

If there’s an eye, there’s an ad… the capitalist take on “if there’s a will, there’s a way.” When it comes to digital marketing dollars, the focus has always been on ad-reliant tech titans like Meta, Google, Twitter, and Snap. Now we’re seeing retailers building major ad businesses:

• All in the grocery cart: Kroger was one of the first retailers to expand its ad biz beyond its own properties, letting brands use its shoppers’ data to target them on third-party sites.
• Data in the digital cart: Amazon raked in $31B in ad revenue last year, giving it a bigger ad biz than Snap and Microsoft. It controls 78% of US retail media ad spend.
• US ad revenue is expected to surpass a record $300B this year, partly thanks to unexpected players jumping in, from Dollar General and Dick's to Petco and Ulta Beauty.