Title	BOXES
Brand	UBER APACX
Product/Service	UBER
Category	B02. Public Affairs & Lobbying
Entrant	FORSMAN & BODENFORS Gothenburg, SWEDEN
Idea Creation	FORSMAN & BODENFORS Gothenburg, SWEDEN
PR	FORSMAN & BODENFORS Gothenburg, SWEDEN
Production	INDIO Stockholm, SWEDEN
Production 2	SWISS INTERNATIONAL Stockholm, SWEDEN
Additional Company	OATH NORDICS Copenhagen, DENMARK
Additional Company 2	MANO, DENMARK

Name	Company	Position
John Bergdahl	Forsman & Bodenfors	Art Director
Jacob Nelson, Rikke Jacobsen	Forsman & Bodenfors	Copywriter
Alison Arnold	Forsman & Bodenfors	Account Director
Helen Johansson	Forsman & Bodenfors	Account Manager
Sanna Fagring	Forsman & Bodenfors	Account Supervisor
Bjarne Darwall	Forsman & Bodenfors	PR-strategist
Emelie Lindquist, Johan Fredriksson	Forsman & Bodenfors	Designer
Tobias Nordström, Leo Bovaller	Forsman & Bodenfors	Planner
Alexander Blidner	Forsman & Bodenfors	Agency Producer, film
Jenny Ring	Forsman & Bodenfors	Music Supervisor
Adam Berg	Indio	Director
Johan Lindström	Indio	Executive Producer
Ben Croker	Ben Croker	Producer
Kate Wynborne	Kate Wynborne	Production Manager
Mattias Rudh	Mattias Rudh	Director of Photography
Tony Fernandez	Tony Fernandez	First Assistant Director
Mark Gethin	MPC Los Angeles	Grade
Paul Hardcastle	TRIM	Editor
Leo Wilk	Swiss	Post Production Supervisor
Joakim Kristensen	Redpipe	Sound Design
Eshan Ponndurai	APACx	Marketing Director
Kunal Gupta	APACx	Lead, Rider Marketing

Why is this work relevant for PR?

Uber in Southeast Asia was having a hard time with bad publicity and negative conversations in social media. But through tailored and locally adapted messaging, Uber succeeded to once again have themselves portrayed in a positive context. With an engaging film, extensive research reports, PR outreaches and a series of seminars, local opinion about Uber improved, and their positive role in unlocking gridlocks became evident. In total, more than 500 articles and TV reports were published across Southeast Asia, with 31M USD in earned media. Public awareness and consideration increased, and relations with the cities strengthened thanks to the campaign.

Background

2017 wasn’t a very good year for Uber in the APAC region. Up till then, they were regarded the most successful start-up ever. However, the perception changed after a series of controversies, resulting in bad publicity, a general public that had forgotten about the benefits of ridesharing, and issues with city officials, which resulted in Uber being suspended in a number of Southeast Asian cities. People had simply forgotten what Uber was all about and they needed to regain trust from the general public along with policymakers and governments.

Describe the creative idea

Some of Southeast Asia’s cities have the world’s worst traffic and congestion affects millions of people daily life. As a way to open up a new conversation around Uber, we took advantage of the situation and showed people that Uber could be a part of solving congestion, by putting more people in fewer cars. Our creative solution was to dramatize the everyday traffic, by using boxes as a metaphor for cars and motorbikes and portraying the traffic behavior in a fun and local relatable way. The film was adapted for each market, with local messaging and data, supporting the overall campaign’s theme.

Describe the strategy

Following the turbulence, Uber needed to regain control of the conversation around its brand in the APAC region and earn media’s and the public’s trust in the brand, as well as re-establish positive relationships with government officials and policymakers. Uber had to explain how they, as a ridesharing company, could cooperate with the cities and be an important part of improving urban transportation. And they needed to do this in each major city in the region, with locally adapted and relevant messaging to the general public, media and policymakers. In order to gain the attention and credibility, Uber commissioned two separate studies. One by BCG, bringing new data on the actual number of cars our cities needed to fulfill its transportation need. The other, a consumer-oriented survey among 8.000 people in eight of South-East Asia’s biggest metropolises, revealing how much time people spend in traffic jams.

Describe the execution

Launching a seminar in Singapore, where the entire APAC region was in focus, invited key opinion leaders, city officials, and top media discussed the traffic situation, with results from Uber’s own, and BCG’s research as a foundation. Local results were communicated through similar seminars in Jakarta, Taipei, Hong Kong, and Hanoi. In all markets, local data from the research was adapted and turned into communication assets for OOH, social media, influencer activations, and PR outreaches. To fuel the conversation online, we partnered with influencers who primed for traffic-related conversations, aiming to raise awareness on traffic/parking related issues and introduce conversations connecting with consumers’ own experiences. To build momentum, we launched the film and started conversations about how traffic affects people's lives. Finally, we turned the concept of Boxes into a movement through user-generated content, which sustained the campaign and anchored it in the online consumer culture.

List the results

Once Uber was on the agenda in a positive context: As an expert on traffic and an enabler to ease the traffic situation in some of Asia’s biggest cities. In every city, Uber succeeded to drive conversations based on the local insights derived from the pan-Asian research. They received good publicity across a broad range of media verticals, making contact with influential media and created positive conversations across all social media channels. Ultimately, city officials and policymakers now turned to Uber to deepen the dialogue and form co-operations. • +46 % uplift in Brand Awareness (Top of Mind) • + 10 % Uplift in brand consideration • +500 articles and TV-reports, including live interview with CNBC. • +31 million USD in earned media • +115 million views and 1,6 million engagements • 50 + countries reached • “I agree that Uber contributes to solving my city’s traffic problems” o + 57 % Singapore o + 52 % Jakarta o + 48 % Ho Chi Minh o + 35 % Kuala Lumpur