Uber Says It Will Make More Than $1B in Ad Revenue This Year

Uber expects to be ahead of its goal to make advertising a billion-dollar business this year. Uber Advertising's annual revenue run rate—a metric that estimates how much it will make this year based on results so far—surpassed $1 billion, the company announced today during its quarterly earnings call. Uber has long aimed to make $1 billion from advertising, and it had a $650 million revenue run rate last year. The company—which was founded as a ride-hailing business in 2009 and expanded into food delivery in 2014 with Uber Eats—sells ads across both applications. In June, Uber began selling Journey Ads—the in-app ads that run during a user's rideshare—programmatically through partnerships with Google, The Trade Desk and Yahoo. The company also partnered with T-Mobile on a deal to sell ads on digital screens inside rideshare vehicles via JourneyTV, which plays on a tablet (usually hanging from the vehicle's headrest) during a ride. Independent retail media analyst Andrew Lipsman attributed Uber Advertising's growth to its global scale. That's unique among most retail media networks—except for Amazon, of course. "We can talk to brands on a multimarket basis very effectively, which they like," Paul Wright, head of international markets for Uber Advertising, told ADWEEK. "[We also have] a very strong identifiable audience, which is consistent in most markets." Uber Eats in particular has seen strong momentum, particularly among large consumer packaged goods brands interested in multimarket campaigns, he added. Uber Eats launched sponsored listing and display ads in partnership with Criteo one year ago. One media buyer described DoorDash and Gopuff as platforms "ahead of the game" for CPG advertisers in the U.S. They're planning on reassessing Uber's ad platform at the end of the year because of the investments Uber has put into advertising. Restaurants generally represent local advertisers that only buy ads in the markets they operate and deliver within. Uber is also attracting non-endemic advertisers that fall into categories like financial services, social networks, tech, entertainment and luxury, Wright explained. "[Journey Ads] appeal to brands that really want to get some long-term engagement and aren't chasing a performance-based, programmatic, lower-funnel-type approach," Wright said. "The ad unit is only one ad per journey, so you're not competing with anyone else." In one case study that Uber shared with ADWEEK, L'Oréal ran an ad campaign for a new perfume, targeting riders headed to London's Heathrow and Gatwick airports. To encourage travelers to stop by duty-free shops, the ad offered a free sample to anyone who clicked on it. L'Oréal's campaign had a 342-second average view time compared to a benchmark of 90 to 100 seconds; a 7.68% swipe rate versus a 2.5% to 3% benchmark; and a 4.76% click-through rate versus a 2.5% to 3% benchmark, the company said.

Retail Media Networks

Uber Says It Will Make More Than $1B in Ad Revenue This Year

The company broke out its ad revenue in quarterly earnings today and based the estimate on 2024 results to date

Kathryn Lundstrom

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Kathryn Lundstrom