Uber Eats, Zomato, Swiggy plan  ₹300 crore ad blitz this year

Uber Eats’s new television campaign featuring Bollywood actor Alia Bhatt underlines a consumption trend, showing young Indians to be ditching home-cooked food for online food. Bhatt is the only celebrity face to endorse an online food delivery platform in India, which gives Uber Eats an edge over rivals Zomato and Swiggy.

Together, these platforms are expected to spend ₹300 crore on advertising in 2019, according to media buyers estimate.

“We are likely to see 50% to 60% jump in the overall media spends of online food delivery platforms. The category is poised for huge growth in one to two years,” said Navin Khemka, chief executive, Mediacom South Asia. “The advertising and marketing promotions are driving quick adoption of these platforms among consumers as they are fulfilling a latent need of convenience.”

With increasing numbers of restaurants partnering online food delivery platforms, consumers are getting to explore different kinds of cuisines, literally at the click of a button.

Launched in 2017, Uber Eats targets millennial users across 37 cities in India. Its recent ‘Everyday Moments’ campaign featuring Bhatt is being aggressively promoted across television and digital, hinting at the company’s ambitions.

“Ordering food at work or home is the new constant way of life now for the Indian youth. Our first campaign is designed around consumers’ ordering behaviour that goes beyond the basic functional reasons of speed and affordability. In Alia, India’s youth icon, Uber Eats has a partner who shares the spirit of the brand and manifests it through her engaging, aspirational and youthful connect,” said Namita Katre, head of brand, strategy and campaigns, Uber Eats India.

For deeper penetration, Swiggy has gone beyond young users and targeted mothers in one of its campaigns trying to break into the under-penetrated household segment which usually shies away from ordering food online. It broke its first television ad last year showcasing everyday moments when users turn to Swiggy, followed by IPL-themed ads and, most recently, emphasising its quick delivery promise.

“All these television ads are true to Swiggy’s style of short but impactful commercials. The 25 to 30 second videos are replete with subtle humour and relatable moments exploring every day scenarios in consumers’ lives,” said a spokesperson from Swiggy.

Swiggy claims to have the largest 125,000-strong active delivery fleet which delivers from close to 60, 000 restaurants across 70 cities in the country. Meanwhile, Alibaba backed food ordering platform Zomato has also stepped up its game, moving beyond its quirky digital and social media promotions.

The company is currently leveraging television, radio and outdoor mediums to talk about ‘No Cooking January’ campaign urging consumers to order online.

“Because these platforms are penetrating deep in the country, television will be leveraged heavily to create top of mind recall and driving consideration. There will also be multiple on-ground tie-ups and digital media push,” noted Mediacom’s Khemka.

“Deeply funded, the food ordering platforms are focusing on geographical expansion to tier II and III towns which will drive their next phase of growth. Zomato and Swiggy are also counting on cloud kitchens along with leveraging private labels which will add to this growth. Acquisitions in hyperlocal space including concierge services will also bring more efficiency and additional revenues,” said Ankur Pahwa, partner and national leader, e-commerce and consumer internet, EY India.