Catching a Ride with Uber: The Brand's Evolution into the Advertising Space with Mark Grether, Vice President, General Manager at Uber Advertising

Uber not only revolutionized the concept of ride-sharing, but also turned it into a flourishing business venture. Given its profound and consistent interaction with customers, it was no shock when Uber made the leap into the realm of advertising.

Today, we are honored to sit down with Mark Grether, vp and general manager at Uber Advertising, to delve into the brand’s ascension as a powerhouse in the retail media network. Grether sits down Matt Britton for a deep dive into the world of Uber Advertising and its transformation into a dominant retail media network. Grether reveals how Uber Advertising harnesses first-party data to engage consumers, measure ROI and offers exciting advertising opportunities on both the delivery and mobility sides.

Grether is an exceptional professional, embodying the roles of manager, advisor, mentor and speaker while boasting an impressive array of accomplishments. Some of his previous roles include the director of Amazon Advertising, CEO of SizmekSizmek, as well as co-founder and global chief operating officer at Xaxis.

As a venerable expert in the field of data and a catalyst for digital disruption, Grether extends his invaluable assistance to companies operating in various sectors such as automotive, retail, FMCG, telco and travel. His expertise lies in facilitating their digital transformation journeys and guiding them to conceptualize, construct and launch new ventures supported by robust big data strategies.

In addition to his role at Uber, Grether actively engages as an investor and serves on the advisory boards of distinguished organizations, including Zeotap, Eulerity, ShowHeroes, AppLift, Roq.ad and LocalBlox.

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Key takeaways:

• 02:36 – 04:27 – Revolutionizing advertising through audience-centric approach and data-driven innovation – When most advertisers still focused on booking web page content to indirectly reach their audience, Grether co-founded Xaxis to challenge that approach by directly targeting advertisers’ audiences. The goal was to reach individuals and their interests across the web at scale. This gave birth to audience data and the concept of building audience profiles to deeply understand the target consumer. Xaxis aimed to reach and engage audiences no matter where they were on the web while building a media network fueled by audience data. Additionally, Xaxis stood out by having avatar agencies invest in their own technology and implementing a unique business model centered around audiences, data and agency technology.

• 06:11 – 08:59 – Nurturing and growing talent – As an entrepreneur, identifying, retaining and growing talent requires actively sharing the vision and passion with the team. It is crucial to empower individuals to make their own decisions, ensuring they take responsibility for the outcomes. While everyone on the team can make independent decisions, leaders bear the responsibility for collective ones. This approach highlights empowerment while providing a safety net when necessary, fostering an environment that avoids micromanagement and promotes growth.

• 09:45 – 12:10 – unlocking advertising opportunities – Uber Advertising leverages two different options and opportunities: the delivery side and the mobility side. On the delivery side, Uber Advertising has a tremendous amount of first-party data that allows them to engage consumers when they make a purchase decision and measure their return on investment. On the mobility side, Uber offers three main surfaces: the mobility app, the in-car tablet business and Cartop Ads. With these, they can provide a captive audience that can be treated to personalized content.