For my family summer brings cookouts, movies & travel. This past weekend I was one of the thousands to see the latest entry in the Transformers movie franchise. I have been a fan of the series since it’s debut in 1984. Seeing the dinobot Grimlock on the big screen was something I was VERY excited to see!
This past week also had my family in NYC for summer vacation. We had decided that each of our children, once they turned 12, could pick any city in the US and we would take a trip with just them. So my oldest son Gavin chose NYC.
Now you might be asking… why are you telling us about what movie you just saw and your recent trip to NYC? Both topics have something in common and that connection is UBER. When I travel to a major city and I need a car service my go to is UBER. This past week in NYC was no exception.
Last year we (The Marketing Arm/Fanscape) partnered with UBER and Callaway Golf to create the #MyCallawayDriver experience. This was tied to last years US Open and was all about providing utility to attendees by providing free UBER service during the event.
UBER and Callaway were great partners and I have since seen other partnerships with UBER. Google, with their recent integration with Google Maps, as well as an OEM relationship with AT&T where UBER and AT&T will partner together by having the UBER app installed on all AT&T Android Phones with AT&T then becoming UBER’s primary wireless provider in their 60 city expansion.
Google and AT&T are great partnerships, but the UBER partnership I was the most excited to see roll through Dallas recently was the Transformers 4 film integration with UBER where you had the opportunity to Roll Out with Optimus Prime.
When you opened the app you were prompted with the intro to the program that details the potential of a 15 minute experience.
A new “Autobots” selection option became available complete with the autobot insignia on the slider.
Then you were able to finalize the location and make the call for Optimus.
Unfortunately all autobots were “on a mission” when I made the call, but here is a shot of Optimus in the wild in downtown Dallas.
When creating partnerships with technology providers and brands I always look for a natural extension of the technology that will create value for all parties. What I like about the recent Transformers 4 integration is the local relevance and attention to detail when integrating the storyline into the application. It was a well executed integration and I look forward to future programs with the UBER team.
Follow Tom Edwards @BlackFin360
