Strategic Brand

Management Report

Assessment of UBERs
Marketing Programs in Dhaka

Group: EverWing
Assessment of UBERs Marketing Programs
in Dhaka

Prepared For

Dr. Mohammad Baktiar Rana

Associate Officer
Course Instructor
Consumer Behavior
MKT- 401

Prepared By
Shajidur Rashid Sajid (ID- 1793)
Najmul Islam Joy (ID-1800)
Mohaiminul Islam (ID-1807)
Aqib Rafi (ID-1811)
. Md. Sajedul Karim (ID- 2454)

Date of submission: August 5, 2017

Institute of Business Administration

Jahangirnagar University
 Table of Contents
Executive Summary ...................................................................................................................... 4
Chapter - 1 ..................................................................................................................................... 1
Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 1
1.1 Background of the Report ..................................................................................................... 1
1.2 Objectives .............................................................................................................................. 1
1.3 Methodology ......................................................................................................................... 1
1.4 Limitations ............................................................................................................................ 1
Chapter - 2 ..................................................................................................................................... 2
Brand Planning Assessment ......................................................................................................... 2
2.1 Brand Positioning .................................................................................................................. 2
2.2 Opportunities of Enhancing Positioning: .............................................................................. 7
Chapter - 3 ..................................................................................................................................... 9
Brand Building Assessment ......................................................................................................... 9
3.1 Brand Resonance ................................................................................................................... 9
3.2 Successful Resonance Achieving Marketing Activities: .................................................... 10
3.3 Improving UBER’s brand building activities...................................................................... 14
 Executive Summary

UBER Technology Inc. is an American company, which provides transportation service. It has
been widely popular in The United States and has recently been launched in Bangladesh. UBER
in Bangladesh operates an UBER app through which customers can reach the UBER drivers to
receive transportation service with a pre-scheduled journey and at a predetermined calculation
based cost. UBER drivers register under the top company along with their particular vehicles to
provide the consumers with the service.

The objective of the study is to describe the service of UBER in Bangladesh in details. Besides,
this study aims to figure out the understand UBERs branding activities in Bangladesh and their
assessment. As this service has recently started in this country, this study might help the company
on improving their brand planning, brand building, product positioning which will help them in
enhancing the customer service in this region and lead them a mentionable brand growth.

UBER acts as an on-demand delivery service, and currently, the primary consumers of UBER are
young individuals of Bangladesh. UBER has launched the UBER app which is available on
smartphones which make it reasonable for the young people to get involved in this service. Though
some well growing local competitors are capturing its market share, UBERs growth opportunity
is estimated to be considered as the consumers view on it outside the country is firmly positive as
well as they are a pioneer in ‘branding’ this taxi shared service. Besides, catering in more cities
like Chittagong might be a possible expansion of the future growth of this company.

The service is currently being operated within the capital only. From the understandings of their
three target age groups of customer, it has been found that their promotional activities vary with
these three groups. They tend to concentrate on the young group of clients as they have found a
greater potential within that group. The cost is relatively reasonable compared to the quality of
service provided. The total cost is comprised of a based cost, per km cost and a waiting cost.

For socio economic structure, Bangladesh has a lot of possible customer of this type of shared taxi
service. So retaining its customer as well as growing it to the mass level, UBER needs some
modification in its service like OTP, which will them prevail over its competitors and satisfy its
customers with reasonable fare.
 Chapter - 1

Introduction
1.1 Background of the Report
This report is done on academic purpose to understand UBERs strategic brand activities as a
segment of course curriculum of Strategic Brand Management (MKT 404).

1.2 Objectives
The objective of the study on UBERs Taxi Service can be shortlisted in-

 Describing UBERs marketing programs according to CBBE.

 Assessment of UBERs brand planning, brand positioning, brand growth.
 How UBER can improve their product positioning, brand resonance process and how they
can enhance the consumer experience, which will influence consumer satisfaction and
improve CBBE.
1.3 Methodology
 The information necessary for this study has been retrieved various medium and
organizational news.
 The suggestions of further success is mainly collected from UBER customer via several
social media platforms, for example, Facebook and Blog...
 The outcomes of the study have been analyzed carefully and depicted in diagrams and
charts for the ease of understanding.
 The report is fully based on secondary data.
1.4 Limitations
There are some limitations in our study, and they are as follows:

 Most data were collected from online news media.

 This study is done from customer perspective.
 Time constraint.
 Less information about UBERs marketing programs in Bangladesh.
 Feedback and customer views is changing rapidly as this service is not old enough.
Future research will focus on these points to gain deeper insight into the topic.
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 Chapter - 2

Brand Planning Assessment

A brand assessment provides an opportunity to evaluate the strength of a brand, to underscore the
value of the brand with customers, and to reposition the brand, if necessary, to reflect changes in
the marketplace. As a startup company, UBER has been very aggressive in their expansion. In
their early stage, they weren’t afraid to take risks and to stick on their plan to expand their market
and make their name known internationally. This strategy carries the purpose to attract more
customers and investors. UBER co – founder and Chief Executive Officer, Travis Kalanick, has
been one of the strong pillars of the company. With his confidence and strong personality, Travis
has defended and protected the tactics and objectives of UBER. He has pushed UBER to flourish
and grow in the city after city, despite the protests, opposition of other taxi companies and local
officials and cases or lawsuits regarding some of its drivers. But the strong – willed Kalanick never
let his guard down and give up from a challenge. Under his leadership, UBER has gotten bigger
and bigger. (Alboro, 2015)

Entrepreneurs should display tremendous energy and persistence to go along the way. Like
Kalanick, they should also have a vision for the company. A vision is something like what you
look forward to in the future. It’s the ability of every entrepreneur to see what the market needs
and come up with a product that addresses the needs. (Alboro, 2015)

UBER didn’t start right away with a valuation equivalent to other big and established tech firm
and companies. But they also believe that to win the top, everything must be taken one step at a
time. The company didn’t have smooth sailing experiences as well. They’ve been through a lot
and experienced failures along the way. But just like the common principle applied to every aspect
of life, they treated these trials as challenges and opportunities to learn and grow as a company.
What matters most is that they will face these blocks with courage and confidence to overcome
obstacles along the way. (Alboro, 2015)

2.1 Brand Positioning

Brand positioning could be called the heart of marketing strategy. It is the “act of designing the
company’s offer and image so that it occupies a distinct and valued place in the target customer’s

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minds.” (Keller, 2013) However, before designing the offer and the image of the brand, it is crucial
to understand for whom they are designing it. Understanding the psychology of the target customer
base is very important for every company. Similar to a regular taxi cab, UBER is targeting anybody
who doesn't own or is unable to operate a motor vehicle but needs to use the service of one.
However, in a developing country like Bangladesh where not everyone is educated or can use a
smartphone properly, UBER had to go through a segmentation process before targeting their ideal
customer and initiating their positioning strategy.

For the segmentation, UBER has used behavioral, demographic, psychographic and geographic
consumer segmentation base. In a developing country like Bangladesh, where most of its
population consists of the low-income group and middle-class people, UBER had to check the
affordability of the people before setting their target customer. As UBER is a tech based service,
they also needed to consider the tech using the ability of the population. In Bangladesh, there is a
noticeable generation gap when it comes to tech/smartphone usage ability. Therefore, UBER has
to segment the population by both income, occupation and age group. UBER targeted mainly
middle class and higher middle-class people who have enough money to use the service of UBER
but not enough to own a car. They also targeted the people from Gen-X because of their capacity
to use technologies like smartphone apps like UBER. Then they had to go for the behavioral
segmentation assessment where they determined the reason why people use rent-a-car or taxi
service, how often they use them and what characteristics they find most desirable while using
those services. Using these three segmentations as a basis, they segmented the country
geographically to figure out where most people who match those criteria lives and uses taxi or
rent-a-car service. They also had to consider the lifestyle, activities, and attitudes of the people
living those areas. Currently UBER is providing their service in Dhaka and Chittagong city, the
two biggest cities of Bangladesh.

Competitors

Ride-hailing service UBER is the talk of the town now in Bangladesh. Although this very concept
of 'UBERisation' is new in Bangladesh, UBER isn't the first or only ride-hailing service operating
in the country. In the last couple of years, we have seen a significant number of local startups
(some backed by foreign VCs) getting into the ride-hailing business. Some of these services are

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very good, providing premium ride quality and levels of service. Others are not so great, but get
the job done somewhat (Rahman, 2016). Here are some of the few that caught our attention.

CHALO

This is probably the most prominent UBER alternative out there.

Starting its journey on May 5, 2015, Chalo is considered as one
of the pioneers in the industry. Currently operating from Dhaka
and Chittagong, Chalo provides services in 20 districts. We got
to talk with its CEO, Dewan Shuvo. He informed us that Chalo
is now not only a ride-hailing service, but it has started to grow
into a lifestyle platform. In addition to ride-hailing, Chalo now
offers air tickets and parcel transportation. Chalo also has plans
to enter the food delivery business, according to Shuvo.

Fair Details:

Package ID: 2 Hours (Sedan Premium)

Full Dhaka City Tk. 990

Terms

Terms and Condition:

1. Travel as you like anywhere within Dhaka Metro.

2. 10 Hours Service.

3. Tk. 300 per hour additional charge for extra Uses.

4. Standard Sedan Car: Toyota X Corolla, Toyota Allion, Toyota F Premio (A/C)

5. Fuel and Driver cost included.

Toma Taxi

Toma Taxi Service is the first of its kind in Bangladesh with unique features of comfort, safety
and reliability in taxi service. At present they have a fleet of 250 taxies. The fare rate for Toma
Taxi given by the government is:

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Tk. 85 for 1st 2 km.

Tk. 34 per subsequent km.

Tk. 8.50 for each 2 minutes waiting time.

Tk. 20 extra when booked by a phone call. (tomagroup.com.bd, 2015)

BDCABS

BDCABS, the pioneers of Bangladesh's taxi app

and launched during digital world fair in
February 2015 with 150 vehicles, is now
launching 200 CNGs in its app to be made
available from June 2015. The commuters can
download the apps free from app store or play store and book CNG from their smart phones. Now
available only in Dhaka, the service will soon available in Chittagong soon. The CNGs are fitted
with GPS-based android devices which can locate their positions and passengers can now hire the
nearest CNG from the comfort of their home. BDCABS is brought to one by Asian Information
Technology Ltd., an international company with local office in Dhaka, using patented technology
of Unicabi (UK) Ltd. AITL is managing similar successful apps in London and Hong Kong. Head
of Operations Asif Quazi explains, "We launched BDCABS trial version back in December, 2014,
as the first mobile taxi booking app in Bangladesh. In the last six (6) months we have brought
massive modifications to adapt with the unique Bangladesh market including making the apps
completely in Bengali Language version. The drivers are loving our app, and we are getting a very
positive response from the passengers. We are increasing our fleet every month." BDCABS lets
one book yellow cabs, CNGs and private hire vehicles from one single app. The company is in the
integration stages with Toma and other taxi companies for booking their taxis. Major international
Angel Investors and Venture Capitalist are backing BDCABS with funding and looking to put
more funds in the future.

And there are sources that say Indian ride-hailing company Ola is planning to enter Bangladesh
market as part of an international expansion plan.

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If they enter Dhaka’s ride-hailing space will get increasingly competitive. We have seen the recent
rise of Pathao and launch of a few other bike-hailing services. UBER launched its operation in
Dhaka in early last year and competes with a host of local players like Chalo.

POP: In the Japanese martial art jujutsu, a competitor looks for ways to use an opponent’s strength
against them rather than attacking them directly with their own force. This is essentially what a
point of parity is trying to do as well—deflect a competitor’s strength in order to create an
opportunity for your brand to make a strong counter move.

Points of parity are points of differences that competitors have over your brand that you need to
counteract. They are places where you need to show you are as good as your competitors (not
necessarily better) so that you can negate their advantage and refocus attention on your points of
difference.

1. Benefits for Customers: UBER is a problem solver for riders. It is a problem solver first
because the service provides a ride for those individuals who need taxi cab services at
reasonable prices.
2. Driver information: To ensure safe, reliable and convenient travel, there is a chance to see
the driver's name, pictures, vehicle type and registration number beforehand.
3. Your location: While traveling to UBER, passengers can turn on GPS tracking, and share the
details of the journey with people on their phone book, according to the option 'Share My
Status' option. As a result, those who receive messages through apps will be able to determine
which car is where at any time during the journey.
4. Driver evaluation or rating the driver: Apart from rating it after the end of a trip, the
passengers can express their experiences about the journey by going to the app's 'Past trip'
section. It also allows the driver to report the evaluation of the driver, if he is unfavorable.
App added 'Customer Support' option which will be available for 24 hours.

POD:

1. Emergency Number: UBER, the on-demand ridesharing company, has announced the
integration of the nationwide emergency number 999 in its app to enhance riders' safety in

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 Bangladesh. In a media release, it said that as part of company's commitment towards the
security of the passengers, UBER integrated the government’s helpline number in the app,
which would prompt riders to dial 999 in the case of an emergency.
2. Business Account: Along with the personal accounts, it has also recently opened a business
account. Through this the user can use two accounts at the same time. In this case, personal
and business travel both will be billed from the business account.
2.2 Opportunities of Enhancing Positioning:
UBER is trying to position themselves in the mind of the customers of Bangladesh as a convenient
mean of personal transportation. Their brand promise/marketing slogan is ‘everyone’s private
driver’. (Dean, 2017)Being first to market it has been a very successful positioning for them, and
they have become a brand synonymous with disruptive innovation by offering people a
transportation service around the world. In a developing country like Bangladesh where most
people do not own a car due to high price of car for the high tax on imported cars and high
maintenance cost of those cars, UBER has a huge growth potential. Also the government’s
discouragement to own personal cars to reduce traffic jam also plays a part in the creation of a
huge potential customer base for UBER. The positioning opportunities for UBER in Bangladesh
are:

 Easy to use: Some problems have come to the light after launching UBER in Bangladesh.
One of them is the problem with the potential customers not being able to use or willing to
UBER app. For that, UBER can develop further user friendly app and intense online
marketing to reach out to all of their potential customers.
 Value for money: In Bangladesh, it is tough to get a CNG and Taxi when needed in a lot of
places even in the big cities. Due to the scarcity of them, CNG and Taxi drivers ask for extra
money than the bill shown in the meter, and it has become a common practice in Bangladesh.
However, with UBER’s policy to charge a fixed amount from their passengers for traveling a
fixed distance has made it very appealing in the mind of the customers. UBER uses GPS to
determine the distance crossed by the customer. As UBER is largely depending on the word
of mouth of their customer for their marketing in Bangladesh, they should solve the GPS
related problem that the customers and UBER drivers are facing as soon as possible before
losing their position as a reliable brand that values for money.

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 Personal driver: Due to the rapid detrition of the public transportation system in big cities of
Bangladesh like Dhaka and Chittagong, more people are looking for alternative transportation
options. There are many people who can afford private cars but still not buying them for the
high maintenance cost, lack of parking space etc. UBER can position themselves as an
alternative to the public transportation system and personal car. They can make regular
customers by positioning themselves in the mind of the customers as a substitute of personal
cars. They can offer a family package that would allow a customer to use UBER for regular
transportation for their family like going to office, sending their children to educational
institutions etc. This will help UBER to get a steady regular customer base. In that case UBER
has to be extremely careful about maintaining the time schedule.
 Safe ride: UBER needs to convince their customer about the safety of their ride. The safety
issues include both safe driving and safety from mugging or misbehavior with the female
customers. UBER needs to do a thorough background check of their drivers to prevent any
crime from occurring by their drivers, like in India because it may soil UBER’s reputation
and question its safety. While CNG and Taxi mugging and harassment in the public
transportations with the women have become a common issue the cities of Bangladesh, UBER
can come forward as a safe alternative to those transports.
 Reliable and Consistent: UBER can position themselves as a reliable company which is
consistent with its service in the mind of their customers by regularly monitoring customer
feedbacks, solving the issues related to their service and communicating with the customers
about the solutions. For this purpose, UBER needs to make strong customer service channels.
Recently, some complaints like ghost charging from the credit cards, GPS malfunctioning and
different fare price for travelling the same distances due to the malfunction, misbehavior of
the drivers are surfacing. UBER should solve these problems carefully and communicate with
their customers who faced these problem to retain their trust. Also UBER needs to shorten the
lag in their customer complaint response time.
 Friend in rainy days: A lot of people who generally uses public transports like bus, rickshaw
etc. looks for CNG or Taxi when they have to travel with sick people, elderly people and
expecting mothers. UBER can also position themselves as a friend of the customers in those
situations by offering express service. They can offer the customers with an option which they
may use in case of emergency, where they cannot afford to wait long for the drivers to accept

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 the request. Upon using this express system, the nearby available UBER driver will have to
except the request without any option of declining it. As an incentive, the express option user
will have to pay some extra bill for it. This system may help customers to feel connected with
the UBER service emotionally.

Chapter - 3

Brand Building Assessment

Putting together a brand identity campaign requires hours—even years—of dedicated work.
Accomplishing a celebrated brand identity is the fruit of tireless inquisition into a brand’s mission,
values and target audience. It requires an encyclopedic understanding of everything the company
represents and the needs of the audience. (Boyd, 2015)

3.1 Brand Resonance

We live in a world filled with technology-empowered consumers who have access to more
information on brands than ever before. By this types of information, they are acknowledge the
brands where, when, and how they want to engage. Now, brand resonance is mainly a strong
connection between the consumer and the brand. Brands with strong resonance benefit create
customer loyalty and minimized vulnerability to competitive marketing actions. The main brand
resonance of UBER among Bangladeshi was the ban of UBER by government which creates the
popularity. Some online activist, Electric and print media took a stand in favour of UBER and
wrote why UBER is important for city dwellers. That WOM marketing policy created a positive
impression among all which helped UBER for their enrichment.
TRUE Brand Compass Framework:

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On this aspects true and brand compass framework can gives us an overview that can create
marketers to succeed in building a strong brand resonance. To do research and advanced analytics
on brand resonance, there are four key steps that each significantly influence brand resonance.
These four steps are: trusted,
remarkable, unmistakable,
and essential. By focusing on
these four dimensions ensures
success in three key
performance metrics that are
necessary to securing brand
resonance in this consumer-
empowered world: brand
preference, brand referral, and brand pricing premium.
UBER is completely changing the way getting private transportation is done. First, their
smartphone app is integrated with Google maps so that we can see how far away the nearest cars
are, set up a meeting point, and confirmed a car to meet us there. This creates a strong brand
preference to the potential customer. We can even see your driver’s information (including ratings)
as we watch the car get closer to our location. UBER drivers call or text to confirm that they’re on
the way, giving us the peace of mind that our order was received and that creates a brand referral
to the customers. UBER is a lower cost version of the service and this attracts the customer by
giving this effective price premium.

3.2 Successful Resonance Achieving Marketing Activities:

In 2016, UBER has re-launched its brand, with a new logo, identity, app icons, and site designs.
One of the most well-known startups in the world, and not always for the right reasons—with
allegations ranging from unfair business practices, to assaults on customers—it’s essential for the
company that it establishes a positive brand message.

UBER’s growth over the last few years has been extraordinary, and to maintain that growth they
need new customers. Moving from luxury service, to affordable luxury, to just affordable, they
have been able to expand their target demographic substantially. However the original branding

10
hadn’t evolved with the business model, so this update is intended to more accurately represent
how UBER perceives itself.

All of this sounds like a positive approach to a growing company. However, the UBER rebrand
misses the spot when it comes to implementation; as part of its redesign, UBER has two new app
icons; one for ‘riders’, and one for ‘partners’. Both of which look like something from a sci-fi
reboot of Pac-Man. The abstract street elements add a touch of interest, but both marks are very
corporate, and more than a little aggressive.

UBER’S Marketing Activities

UBER’S marketing strategy is multi-pronged and innovative. Which is given below:

1. Use word-of-mouth marketing

UBER primarily being popular by their expertise in word-of-mouth marketing. About 84

percent of customers make essential purchasing decisions based on the recommendations of
friends and their known persons, which make this a very powerful influence for UBER’S
campaign. Between a service that saves people time by making transportation easier and cost-
effective and their powerful referral system, UBER spread like conflagration.

Word-of-mouth marketing can be an incredible benefit to any organization that hopes to promote
its reputation. UBER used its network of social media and the tech community of Bangladesh to
share the word about the whole service, then made sure the firm could live up to the praise spread
by friends and family with persistent, quality service.

2. Catering to customers

One thing UBER invented that is the need for useful services over products. The company invented
something customers truly needed and it had to give the customers exactly what they are wished
for. What’s more, UBER offers plenty of different choices for customers. When drivers log in,
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they can choose the hours they work as well as the customer they drive. Consumers can also choose
the type of vehicles and refuse a driver for any reason.

Customization and a strong focus on customers are also evidenced in UBER’S digital marketing.
Every situation shown on the company’s site as well as in advertisements shows a happy customer
or driver, who’s obviously pleased with the service.

The company also uses slogans such as “Moving people” and “Drive when you want, make what
you need,” to emphasize its focus on personalization, customer-centric services. UBER markets
itself as a community of people who are all after similar goals, which is a powerful motivator for
potential customers.

3. Creative social marketing

UBER is using creative social marketing for their promotion. They use Shakib Al Hasan as a role
model on social marketing by taking the first ride on its launching programme. This start-up has
also partnered with the leading telecom operator Grameen phone. The service received good
feedback from users before getting banned in third days of its launch in Dhaka. They also give
discount to the first time user of this app. This type of marketing strategy they are generally
following.

4. Solves Problems for Riders

UBER provides a solution to a problem that impacts millions of people. UBER set out to change
the entire experience to make it seamless and enjoyable across the board. They didn’t fix one
aspect of the system they took rather the whole experience from mobile hailing, seamless
payments, better cars, to no tips and driver ratings.

5. Early Adopter Advocacy

UBER is creating early adopter advocacy by event sponsorship. UBER was highly active at local-
area tech and venture capital events and provided free rides to attendees. UBER knew that these
attendees were well connected and highly likely to share their experiences with friends, tech press,
and social media audiences after trying UBER and they would become new users after their first
UBER experience. Leading to a growing network of passionate customers.

Improving brand building activities:

12
Opportunities for UBER:

Not only does UBER transform the experience for riders, but it’s also good for drivers. There are
a lot of drivers in this city who are out of work. UBER doesn’t employ drivers. Instead, the service
acts as a liaison between people who need rides to drivers who are in the area. Like any good
service, it’s a win-win for all parties involved, and this is certainly another factor contributing to
UBER’S brand building activities.

 Intensely Local, City-by-City Expansion

Because of the politics, regulations, and interests that make up each city, UBER needs to adapt
their launch plans to suit the unique topology of each new market. It’s this ability to go into a
market, understand who the suppliers are, who the special interests are, and account for those
dynamics that makes UBER successful right from the start in new cities. The effort of UBER to
support these city launches is massive and all encompassing, from local events, industry
partnerships, business development and more. UBER makes sure that their marketing and business
efforts are in full support of fuelling that word of mouth engine, driving local business building
activities.

 Huge Potential to Disrupt Transportation

A major factor contributing to UBER’S growth is its potential. Not only is the company changing
the way a lot of cities are hiring cars, but they’re doing so in a way that stands to transform car
ownership and transportation in general—taking an established infrastructure and utilizing it in a
totally new way. This potential is the primary reason that UBER has garnered so much attention
from investors. The economic, environmental, and everyday implications are huge. They are
changing the way that people think about transportation, making it less about everyone purchasing
his or her own car and more about purchasing rides as we need them.

 Controversy and Press

The company has done a masterful job of turning these dust ups into a platform to tell their pro-
consumer story. UBER has taken what could be seen as a massive business hurdle—litigation—
and turned it into an asset that drives growth. As UBER launches into market after market, these
controversies are played out in the court of public opinion, and the power of UBER advocates and

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the quality of the experience, create an outpouring of local public support for the company. This
support changes laws, helps pave the way for UBER in new cities, and the local and national press
coverage helps UBER reach more potential users who hear about an innovative new company
recreating a transportation experience that is nearly universally disliked by people everywhere.

 Low-Risk Trials

UBER knows that once we ride UBER, it’ll be our preferred mode of getting around from that
moment forward. That insight and confidence makes it easy to make the first ride a free trial. The
company routinely give first ride credits that let new users take a free UBER ride to try them out.
This incentive removes any barriers that new riders may have and after experiencing UBER they
are exceptionally likely to become a long-term customer.

3.3 Improving UBER’s brand building activities

There is no one definition that actually captures the essence of brand building in its entirety. Many
people think that brand building is all about communicating and exposing your brand. That is just
one side of it. The best way we can define it is that it is a process of creating value to consumers.
It encompasses all things that consumers know, feel, and experience about your business in its
entirety.

 Provide transparency on the algorithm used to set surge pricing. Provide data on number and
location of drivers and riders in real time. Doing a Netflix-style competition on finding the
optimal market-clearing model.

 Let the users put in for a reservation hours or days in advance, and let drivers commit to pick
up a reservation. One should have a time and price guarantee, UBER has a valuable signal in
advance on demand. And the driver gets predictability.

 UBER’s slogan “Everyone’s private driver” becomes more literally true if people can request
specific drivers in advance.

 Making the surge pricing a true live auction. Let the rider say how much they are willing to
pay, and UBER provides an estimate of how much of a wait that will give them, according to
how many higher-paying riders are ahead of them. In other words, give the rider a choice —

14
 wait for an available car, with a predicted queuing time. Or bid a surge price to jump the queue.
Then it is a true auction with transparency.

 Creating a system to regulate the number of Drivers they have in each market by 2017. The
other problem is that if too many drivers are logged on and the demand is low, the drivers don’t
make money. This is a situation of market saturation which UBER must avoid to keep their
Drivers happy. So if they have a system which tells Drivers, how many Drivers are needed in
a certain area at a certain time they could decide to work if there is still a need or otherwise do
something else if there are enough drivers online. This can be implemented with the forecasting
system.

 Reducing customer dissatisfaction by 20% by 2016. This can be achieved by creating an

obvious and explicit warning about Surge pricing on the website, app and registration process,
and sending emails to existing customers informing them about surge pricing.

Chapter - 4
Brand Growth Assessment

One of UBER’s defining features is its ease-of-use. Riders simply press a button in the mobile app,
and UBER matches the rider to the closest driver (and vice versa). A key derivative of UBER’s
mission statement is its core business strategy: “Reliability, convenience, & a little bit of magic”.
UBER strives to increase the reliability and convenience of its offerings to both drivers and
consumers. The company believes that the network effects of its business model hinge upon UBER
being the most reliable and convenient service to all its marketplace participants. Further, the
network effects between drivers, passengers, and information shared across trips, creates a direct
feedback loop into improving the value of the marketplace.

4.1 UBER’s growth all over the world

Over the past six years, UBER has expanded to more than 300 cities across 60 countries, and its
growth has been staggering across all levels - in terms of execution, raising funds, competition,

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and legal troubles. Below we provide a brief history of key UBER corporate milestones (for legal
and management team related events, please refer to respective sections in this report). UBER
Technologies Inc. is an on-demand transportation service and a mobile app (or a technology
solution) that connects passengers to the UBER-registered drivers nearest to their pick-up location,
in real time, via their smartphones (Mulligan 2015).

It is an intermediary platform solution that facilitates P2P transactions, which allows them to
bypass regulatory requirements abided by traditional taxi companies without adding the fixed costs
of owning cars and having a manual middleman dispatch service MarketLine (2014). Its value
propositions are affordability, convenience, reliability, quality of service, and simplicity. UBER’s
ride-sharing idea was born in Paris 2008 when founders Kalanick and Camp could not get a cab
after returning from a conference. On August 2014, the firm announced that it has launched the
service in 45 countries (Gupta 2015). MarketLine (2014) discloses its 2014 pre-money valuation
of over $1.2bn was largely due to financial clout of Google and Goldman Sachs, which acts as a
war chest for any regulatory legal battles.

UBER turns two forms of underutilized assets into productive capital – the car that we use
to go out on weekend and the leisure activities as a potential source of profit (Becchis & Nada
2015). By doing so, it presents a form of competition with lower tariffs in a typical non-tradeable
and heavily regulated service sectors through the use of smartphones’ GPS technology. Among
the largest startup online platforms, the ride-sharing app is mentioned by Evans and
Schmalensee (2016) to disrupt the platform of “taxi and limousine companies”, such as Yellow
Cab or Beijing Taxi. UBER’s major efforts have been building a strong network of drivers (40,000
U.S. drivers in December 2014), and improving service for consumers (91% of UBERX rides
arrival in less than 10 minutes).

UBER’s Successful Timeline

Jun-2010 UBER launches in San Francisco
May-2011 UBER launches in New York City
Jun-2012 UBER launches in London, UK
Jan-2013 UBER launches in Melbourne, Australia and in Singapore (1st city in Asia)
Nov-2013 UBER launches in Tokyo, Japan
Dec-2013 UBER launches Paypal integration
Jan-2014 UBER launches UBERX

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 Jul-2014 UBER launches "UBER for Business"; Partners with Concur to handle
employee expenses
Aug-2014 UBER launches "UBER Pool"
Oct-2015 UBER launches an all new UBER Driver Partner App
Feb-2016 UBER rebrands its logo
Jun-2016 UBER introduces Schedules rides
Jun-2016 UBER introduces Upfront fares
Aug-2016 UBER acquires Otto with a mission to launch self-driving trucks
Sep-2016 UBER's self-driving cars arrive in Pittsburgh
Oct-2016 UBER Driver App on iOS
2017 Still growing

Another key noteworthy element of UBER’s story is its ongoing hyper-growth phase. UBER
launched in San Francisco in June 2010, and grew its presence steadily to about 20 cities in three
years. However, since Q3:2013, UBER has entered into a dramatic hyper-growth phase – both in
terms of geographic expansion and in terms of fund raising. Over the past three or so years, UBER
has raised roughly $12 billion in funds and expanded its geographic footprint more than ffteen-
fold. We summarize key publicly available data points in the charts below:

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4.2 Brand Architecture of UBER:
Brand Architecture is the structure of brands within and organisational identity.

It is the way in which the brands in a company portfolio are related to – or differentiated from –
one another. The architecture should define the hierarchies within an organisation: how the
‘parent’ or corporate brand works in synergy with the sub-brands; how they support or detract
from one another; how the sub-brands reflect or strengthen the strategic objectives of the corporate
brand to which they belong

Brand architecture has long been regarded as a static fixture, clearly categorized, with fairly low
priority given to proactive management despite the fact that the brand architecture of most
organizations is always a legacy of past and present, and can often provide an opportunity for
significant value creation if managed properly. In addition to this, organizations today navigate far
greater complexity in rapidly changing markets; because of this, brand architecture should be fluid
and reactive in order to continually leverage maximum value.

UBER adopts monolithic brand architecture. Monolithic brand architecture concept can be
understood by following:

Monolithic

 Single master brand which everything is unified

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 One name – one visual system
 Features/benefits of product or service are less important than brand promise
 Client trusts the brand
 Brand extensions built by descriptors

UBER

UBERX UBERXL UBERSELECT UBERBLACK UBERSUV UBERLUX UBERPOOL

4.3 UBER Brand Portfolio:

At present UBER only owns UBER and its Brand Portfolio only has line extensions. UBERs
current line extensions are UBERX, the low-cost option for everyday use, UBERTAXI, no
waiving or whistling and no cash needed, UBERBLACK, the original, your own private driver on
demand and in a high-end sedan, UBERVAN / SUV, fits up to 7 people in style and UBERLUX,
the finest cars with prices to match. UBER tailors these line extensions to the area it operates in,
as can be seen in the Paris, South Africa and Tokyo images. I would suggest another line extension
called UBERVANPLUS. This would be vehicles that can seat 12 or more people, and would be
aimed at the parents of school children, Night - Clubs and festivals. The parents can have their
children picked up from home, dropped off at school and brought home again. Night - Clubs and
festivals can advertise this service to their parents and get more people to attend their events.

4.4 UBER’s Expansion around the World

4.5 Judging growth strategy of UBER

 Brand Contact Inventory

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 UBERs customers come into contact with the brand via the app, website, advertisements and
promotions, the cars and drivers, news articles and other customers via word of mouth. These
contact points are what creates Brand Salience, which is the first step in K.L. Kellers’ ‘CBBE
(Customer Based Brand Equity)’ model. Brand Salience is the degree to which UBER is
thought about or noticed when a customer is in a situation where they need public transport.
Strong brands have high brand salience which is the first step toward building strong brand
equity.

 Brand contact audit:

Contact Management Vehicle:

To create and manage this vehicle a Brand Contact Council should be established. The members
of this council will be guided by the Brand Contact Audit and ensure that the key contact areas
identified such as the App and Cars and Drivers always deliver on the brand promise.

For example this council must be in constant contact with cellular coverage providers to ensure
that UBER and its customers always have access to a network so they can use the app. The
condition of vehicles must be inspected regularly and drivers must receive feedback on their
service and ways in which they can improve and maintain the expected level of service. This will
create value by ensuring that UBERs brand ethos is implemented in all places. It will increase
UBERs reputation and ensure that UBERs Brand Identity is actively managed.

The contact management vehicle that will also implement the second step in the CBBE model
which is Brand Performance and Brand Imagery. Brand Performance refers to how well UBER
meets customers functional needs and focuses on five aspects of product performance which are,

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1. Primary characteristics and secondary features 2. Product reliability, durability, and
serviceability 3. Service effectiveness, efficiency, and empathy 4. Style and design 5. Price.

Brand Imagery refers to how well UBER meets customer needs on a social and psychological level
and consists of four categories which are 1. User profiles 2. Purchase and usage situations 3.
Personality and values 4. History, heritage and experience

Implementation and Contact Integration:

During this phase the Brand Contact Council activates the Brand Contact Management Vehicle to
create an organization wide brand building philosophy. This vehicle should achieve brand contact
integration and ensure that the brand promise is delivered at every contact point.

This phase will also implement step 3 in the CBBE model which is Consumer Judgments and
Consumer Feelings. During this phase UBERs contact council needs to gauge what customers
think and feel about the brand. Consumer Judgments are the customers’ personal opinions about
UBER based on all the different performance & imagery associations and are measured using four
categories of judgment.

1. Quality: Customers judge a product or brand based on its actual and perceived quality.
2. Credibility. This refers to the organisation behind the UBER brand and consists of three
dimensions which are; Expertise and Innovation, Trustworthiness, and Likeability.
3. Consideration: Customers judge how relevant your product is to their unique needs.
4. Superiority: Customers assess how superior your brand is in comparison with your
competitors.

Consumer Feelings are the emotional responses and reactions to the UBER brand. There are
six positive brand feelings which are; warmth, fun, excitement, security, social approval, and
self-respect, which the brand contact council must aim to evoke with the contact management
vehicle. This will lead UBER towards the fourth and final step in the CBBE model which is
Brand Resonance. Brand Resonance is the most difficult and most desirable level of the brand
equity pyramid. When UBER achieves brand resonance its customers will feel a deep,
psychological bond with the brand. There are four categories that UBERs brand contact council
must achieve, constantly evaluate and maintain.

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 1. Behavioral loyalty: This leads to customers engaging in regular, repeat purchases of the
UBER product.

2. Attitudinal attachment: UBERs aim is to make customers love the brand and product, and
view it as a pleasurable purchase.

3. Sense of community: UBER must give customers a sense of community, kinship and
belonging with other customers and people associated with the brand, including company
representatives.

4. Active engagement: This is the highest level of brand loyalty. Customers are actively
engaged with the UBER brand, even when they are not taking a ride. Engagement could
include joining a club related to the UBER, participating in online chats, marketing events,
following your brand on social media and being an UBER evangelist and ambassador and
creating great word of mouth communication. This will create strong Brand Equity.

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