ABOUT

Grab is Southeast Asia’s leading super app.

Amongst the many services offered within the app is GrabShare, a carpool service allowing users heading in similar directions to share a ride for lower fares.

GrabShare was first introduced in 2016 but had to be suspended for nearly 3 years due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

In January 2023, Grab decided to relaunch it making some improvements to its offering. While previously new bookings could be allocated into an ongoing trip that was in progress, in its newer version GrabShare matched all shared riders with the driver before their ride commenced.

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THE OBJECTIVE

Grab wanted to successfully relaunch GrabShare in Singapore generating awareness of its convenience, increasing bookings and reducing pre-booking cancellations.

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THE CHALLENGE

The main challenge of this campaign lied in convincing users of the advantages of GrabShare’s new offering, changing their previous perception.

Amongst the key USPs of GrabShare were

1. Reliability

2. The service’s ability to cut travel time for commuters

Through GWI Insights, we discovered how Public Transport Commuters showed the lowest satisfaction scores for time related factors and how their perception of public transport’s reliability slipped by 2% from 2021.

Hence, the decision to target them with Time and Reliability based messaging addressing their key pain points when commuting on public transport.

Ads were designed to be fun, relatable and convey a sense of discomfort showing people squeezed on public transport, taking shelter from the rain or seeking defence from the sun with GrabShare.

To amplify campaign reach, Grab leveraged the popularity of influencer Annette Lee, who writes and directs some of Asia's most-loved viral comedy videos. Annette recorded a series of short videos taking users through fun scenarios and why they should book their GrabShare ride.

Social platforms being the go to entertainment channels that users would interact with while on the go, played a key role in our strategy with Meta being at the core of it.

Meta’s effective reach capabilities enabled us to drive cost-effective mass awareness at the lowest CPM compared to every other digital channel, reaching 40% of mass audiences located in Singapore. In this campaign, Meta achieved a cost effective CP1KR 33% lower than the 2nd best performing Reach channel, and at a 37% lower CPM than overall campaign average.

We ran the campaign’s core creatives placing increased focus on Annette Lee’s short videos which would look like organic content on social platforms. The influencer’s video campaign drove 2X higher CTR than campaign average, solidifying Meta’s value as a core Reach and Engagement driver.

In support of Meta, we also leveraged TikTok, local publishers, audio, OOH and DOOH placements.

A launch is a big event which requires a big reach to be successful.

Based on past tests we conducted for Grab on Meta in the occasion of their GrabUnlimited launch in Singapore, we identified the ability of Meta’s In-stream Standalone placements to drive higher volume of video view completions, improved ad recall and favorability.

We therefore leveraged this placement and combined it with Meta's Advantage+ to retarget custom audiences appealing to people who were already familiar with the brand and likely to make a booking, for example GrabTransport Churned Users who did not make a booking in the previous 28 days.

The strategy on Meta and other social channels was strengthened by a strategic approach across audio placements, particularly relevant for people on the go, YouTube and impactful OOH placements located within Singapore’s CBD area to ensure maximum exposure amongst office workers and commuters.

The relaunch of GrabShare in Singapore was a success.

Leveraging Meta in combination with other social media, entertainment channels, key audio, OOH, DOOH, the campaign managed to drive a 3X increase in GrabShare bookings and a 20% decrease in pre-cancellation bookings.

The campaign had an impressive reach of 38% reach of all Singapore audiences on Meta. Meta achieved a cost effective CP1KR 33% lower than the second best performing Reach channel, and at a 37% lower CPM than overall campaign average.

The influencer’s video campaign drove 2X higher CTR than campaign average, solidifying Meta’s value as a core Reach and Engagement driver.

Through audio, we reached 1M listeners.

Thanks to Unruly’s Brand Lift Studies, we were able to prove a 45% increase in brand favorability with 77% of viewers being favourable towards GrabShare. The campaign also drove a 51% increase in booking intent.