Grab on #Grabtitude campaign: ‘We think we rose to the challenge’

Following the comment from a customer that its OOH ad was useless, Grab pushed out an entire “Grabtitude” campaign last month, stocking its cars with complimentary bottles of water.In a conversation with Marketing, Grab said, “Putting our ears to the ground and listening to our audience [the likes of @Kris_tan12 who first called out Grab’s ad], inspired us to create something useful, and we think we rose to the challenge.” This led the brand to release bottles of water as a small token of appreciation as well as to say thanks to customers for the support. Grab also rewarded customers with SG$50 worth of ride vouchers for those who could form the word “THANKS” with all six paper bottles.A month into the campaign, Grab believes the campaign was a “huge hit” as it recorded over 9000 drivers around the island collected the bottles, with over half a million bottles being distributed to passengers. The ride-hailing company also saw 45 winners collect all six bottles spelling out “THANKS”.  Moreover, Singaporeans are also seen collecting and exchanging the bottles on Carousell to form the word “THANKS”.To ensure the bottles are not being sold in marketplaces, the Grab team printed ‘NOT FOR SALE’ on the bottles and on all owned channels. In addition, the spokesperson also said user engagement on Grab’s social platform has doubled, with an influx of heart-warming words of appreciation by passengers to their driver-partners. Currently Grab is currently considering keeping the “Grabtitude” campaign going past the third quarter of 2019.And while some conversation did come up on the sustainability factor of the bottles, according to Grab, the paper bottles were made from renewable materials that were ethically sourced and recyclable. The company worked with TSLA for the campaign and TSLA Design led the bottles’ packaging design and production developing six collectable designs. Hanyi Lee, chief creative officer at TSLA said advertising typically gets in the way but with “this was a thoughtful gesture of gratitude from Grab to Singapore,” the campaign was “designed to complement the journey”.“Grab was incredibly sporting and moved at lightning speed to make this a reality,” she added. She explained that a total of three practices at TSLA were deployed across all phases of the campaign, mainly TSLA, TSLA Design and PPURPOSE. TSLA Design led the bottles’ packaging design and production developing six unique, collectable designs on specially sourced, earth-friendly bottles.“To produce bottles at this scale responsibly meant doing due diligence to ensure we used paper bottles that were made from renewable materials that were ethically sourced and recyclable as well,” added Lee. The bottles’ packaging are made from paper that are FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certified.“We are thrilled by the overwhelming response to the #Grabtitude campaign. Singaporeans can get incredibly busy, with little downtime even during their commute. We want to appreciate our passengers in a thoughtful manner by focusing on their well-being where they can recharge and hydrate during their ride. Our driver-partners also found it a meaningful opportunity to engage with their passengers,” said Gillian Ang, head of marketing for Grab Singapore.