‘Uber Play’ and ‘Soothers Ultimate Comfort’
Product Innovation Concept | Uber (Miami Ad School)
The Challenge
During COVID-19, brands defaulted to messages of “togetherness.” How could Uber respond in a way that was culturally relevant — and materially valuable — while rides declined globally?
Uber’s core user base (16–24) was experiencing peak digital fatigue and social isolation during lockdowns. Their primary need wasn’t transport — it was entertainment and connection.
The Strategy
Concepted a product extension within the Uber app: Uber Play — a geographically realistic racing game powered by Uber’s existing GPS and mapping technology.
Key strategic principles:
Leverage existing infrastructure (GPS + maps) to minimise build friction
Extend brand equity from “movement” to “connection”
Incentivise engagement through integrated Uber Eats rewards
Users could compete in virtual races mapped to real-world locations, maintaining a sense of movement and social interaction while physically isolated.
Strategic Outcome
The concept repositioned Uber from a transport utility to an entertainment platform during a period when mobility was restricted — maintaining brand relevance and app engagement despite service decline.
‘Soothers Ultimate Comfort’
The Challenge
Sell more Soothers during the winter flu season, and build trust around the product during Covid-19.
The Insight
People buy non-essential “comforting” products like throat lozenges when they’re caring for others who are sick, but not for themselves.
The Strategy
To overcome the belief that buying Soothers is unnecessary, we emphasized Soothers’ comforting properties as opposed to its medicinal properties, by positioning it as the most thoughtful product for people caring for others who are sick.
We designed new product packaging that allowed Soothers to be shared easily, and sanitarily, as lozenges are contained within individual wrappers. On the inside of each wrapper a “Happy Fact” is displayed. These Happy Facts were also used in our OOH advertisements, to inspire joy and perk up those feeling unwell.
‘Cadbury Christmas’
The Challenge
Sell more Cadbury across Australia in the lead up to Christmas.
The Insight
People gift chocolate when they don't know what else to give someone, but still want to show that they're thinking of them.
The Strategy
We will get Australians to buy more Cadbury in the lead up to Christmas by positioning it as the go-to, simple gift of gratitude. We’ll encourage Australians to buy Cadbury for the people in their life who they might not buy an extravagant gift, but still want to remember. To do so, we leveraged out-of-home media spaces, particularly in shopping centres.
We also created a product extension, by including Cadbury “Thank You” Cards which are included with purchases of select Cadbury products.
‘Cov-Stellar’
The Challenge
How do you share Covid-19 safety information with the younger demographic?
The Insight
Teenagers aren't tuning into traditional news networks anymore, instead they receive their news updates through various forms of social media.
The Strategy
We decided to combine important Covid updates with astrology horoscopes, through the witty, informative app 'Cov-Stellar'.
Once users have downloaded the app, they’ll enter their location and birthdate to receive Covid- informed, yet individualised daily horoscopes and updates.