Uber’s marketing boss on making ads that appeal to policymakers and the public

Jill Hazelbaker is Uber’s chief marketing officer and senior vice-president of communications and public policy. The Drum catches up with her ahead of the ride-hailing and food delivery app’s Q2 earnings, where the business reported a 16% year-on-year revenue boost to $10.7bn and adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (Ebitda) of $1.6bn, up 71% YoY.

She tells The Drum: “How people feel about us really does have an outsized impact on our ability to launch new products to grow our business and sometimes even operate in particular countries around the world.”

Hazelbaker knows how to speak the language of policymakers, having had an illustrious career in politics, previously serving as press secretary for New York Mayor Micheal Bloomberg and chief spokesperson for John McCain’s 2008 presidential campaign.

At Uber, she says that the business “welcomes” regulation, knowing it needs it to operate and grow. “Our relationship with policymakers is really important to us.”

Her strategy is to demonstrate Uber’s societal impact on both a local and global level. Each month, 7 million people work for Uber and 25 million people use its apps each day in 70 countries. “The task is how you boil that down into a 60-second spot.”

Uber’s recently launched ‘On Our Way’ campaign attempts to do just that by showing the impact Uber has on its customers’ lives. The 60-second spot, produced in-house, starts by drawing attention to the issue of loneliness and how Uber can help connect people. It then shows the joy of ordering a takeaway when working late and a girl being reunited with a lost toy.

“That sentiment of knowing that someone is showing up for you is really what inspired the campaign.”

Uber has the legitimacy to tell this story, she says, because helping customers ‘show up’ for the people in their lives is what it does each day. “Consumers and policymakers are smart; if you are not authentic in how you are trying to market, they can sniff that out from a mile away.”

While Uber doesn’t start every marketing campaign with policymakers in mind, ads do need to have a “common thread” for the press, policymakers, drivers and customers.

The ‘On Our Way’ campaign, which debuted at the Paris Olympics, is pitched as Uber’s “first stab” at investing in brand marketing. Uber’s marketing to date has been product-led, telling customers they can now book trains through Uber, for example, or how they can get non-essential groceries delivered.

“This campaign has a markedly different feel. It is celebrating all the different parts of Uber and instead of raising awareness about a certain product, this reminds people of Uber’s impact around the world and how people feel when using Uber.”

Pivoting investment into big impact ads and away from product ads is a risk, she says, but something she learned from her political campaigning background is taking risks to innovate. “I’m very used to working in environments that change very quickly. I’ve learned over time that it is important to take calculated risks and not stop investing in your reputation or your brand.”

Centralizing Uber’s marketing team

When Hazelbaker took over Uber’s marketing in 2015, the function was “highly decentralized” with marketers reporting in to different product teams. Under her leadership, Uber centralized its marketing into one department that combined marketing, communications and policy. (E-commerce site Etsy recently rolled out a similar restructure, with its chief brand officer Brad Minor speaking to The Drum about its benefits last month.)

The restructuring was a major change from how Uber previously operated, Hazelbaker admits, but she adds: “It was really important in terms of getting consistency on the look and feel and how the brand actually shows up and is activated around the world.”

Uber also develops and creates the majority of its advertising in-house, which Hazelbaker credits with maintaining consistency across its comms. “We run a really tight organization where people are really clear on the business objectives and what the business needs from us in terms of growth.”

Rebuilding reputation

Uber has had some major reputational issues since launching 15 years ago, including rider safety concerns, workers’ rights and false advertising claims. In 2022, one of its chief lobbyists, Mark MacGann, leaked what became dubbed as the ‘Uber files’, revealing how the company had duped police, bribed governments and flouted the law.

Hazelbaker believes there has since been a “sea change” at Uber. “We’ve done an enormous amount of work on safety, for example, which is obviously a key component.” Features such as pin verifcation, sharing location with friends and a ride check that alerts if the journey goes off track have all been introduced. She also references sustainablity improvements and a closer working relationship with cities as ways Uber has improved its reputation.

“I’m really proud of how Uber has come out on the other side and how we now lead the industry on issues such as sustainability, safety and trading hours.”