Uber and Uber Eats are my go-to apps for rides and food delivery. Uber’s Global Social Media Lead N’Yaisha (ny-zhuh) Aziz is based in New York and I’m excited to share her marketing insights. From Toronto to New York, I rely on it everywhere I go!
When you consider all the factors that make someone ride with Uber, what influences their choice the most?
I’m fortunate I’m a part of a brand that’s already deeply embedded in culture. Uber was founded in 2009 [and] I started in 2021. Uber has been mentioned repeatedly in songs, shows, and movies (like “Uber Everywhere” or “The Challengers” for example) within and beyond that window of time.
Factors like weather and timing played bigger roles back then than they do now. In 2024, our efforts keep Uber AND Uber Eats top of mind and intrinsically woven into culture through social media posts that drive consideration.
Tell us about your recurring content series #SignsAs based on astrology. Why do you keep recreating those posts and how are they driving impact?
This series is actually the brainchild of the YouTube strategist on my team. Shout out to the brilliant Ceceli Da Rosa! This was a mini passion project of hers. The first couple of iterations really took off for both Uber and Uber Eats. And that’s not only in terms of engagement, but also sentiment, which is a focus for both brands.
What I love about #SignsAs is that it’s evergreen content that we can fold into any campaign across both lines of business. We’ve done evergreen versions, like “signs as weather” for Uber and “signs as appetizers” for Uber Eats. And we’ve done “signs as lost items” for Uber’s annual Lost & Found Index campaign.
It’s also a great way to remind people of Uber’s products and offerings. Like “signs as dogs” for Uber Pet and “signs as school supplies” for Uber Eats, where you can order more than just food, and do so in a super social and conversational way.
What was your favourite partnership that you’ve worked on at Uber and why?
We recently partnered with Jamaican singer and songwriter Shenseea to launch a new series on Uber Eats. It’s tentatively called “What’s In Your Bag?” and creators show us their Uber Eats grocery order and cook a recipe with those ingredients.
Shenseea creates cooking videos on TikTok, so having her cook a dish using ingredients she ordered through Uber Eats was amazing synergy. It’s also an authentic and subtle way to highlight grocery on Uber Eats, which is a priority for the brand. The video racked up 1.4M views on Reels and exceeded our benchmarks for shares and saves by 3,870% and 1,237% respectively.
Generally, I love the content collabs I’ve led and supported from talent as big as Mariah Carey to creators like Matt Peterson and Slice N Rice. It’s a win for me whenever I can bring Uber products to the forefront without spoon-feeding the community.
I love your interview series “One Minute With” featuring some of the hottest stars in the backseat of an Uber. Can you share some behind the scenes insights about how they get made?
It’s as simple as you’d imagine: we order a ride, get in, and start chatting. The hardest part is coordinating dates and times for filming. That makes “One Minute With” one of my favourite examples of how simple good content can and should be.
How do you decide who to feature on camera across Uber social?
Relevance is always a driver, especially for “One Minute With” and partnerships, but relatability is most important to me. You’ve heard the saying “People don’t subscribe to brands, they subscribe to people.” I like to say people subscribe to personalities; not just any person, but specific personalities that align with their own. When choosing people to feature on our socials, I consider all characters from the social butterflies to the quirky girls/guys/enbys to the introverts. That way we’re driving connection and relatability. As my grandma says, “There’s a top for every pot.” I like to think my job is to highlight your match.
How do you plan for events like holidays and the Super Bowl while leaving room for spontaneity on social?
If we can plan for it, we will, but the way culture moves… It’s easier to plan for moments like the Super Bowl because everything is closely tied to the ad, so we’re able to outline what we’re doing to support it and leave room for anything of the moment. It involved plenty of on-the-ground content this year. Lots of “Run here, get that—now, what can we do with this?”. But in previous years, we’ve followed conversations and did more reactive work.
I can’t share a strategy because it’s simply being on *it* and that may be one of my favourite things about social media. You can do all the planning in the world and it may not even matter, so how prepared are you to pivot?