When Uber Eats entered the packed German delivery market in 2022, smartphones were already full of colorful delivery apps. And Germans were not exactly waiting for the next Silicon Valley brand. To still find a way into the hearts and stomachs of Germans, a deeper connection to the local eater needed to be established. Through a strong nationwide brand campaign, the Uber Eats delivery app should be introduced to a broad target group, while raising awareness and acceptance for the brand. With a strong impression in people’s minds Uber Eats wanted to step into the ring and take their chances against the strong competition in the German delivery game.

No matter what life throws at you, you can always eat - eat first (Erstmal Essen). A simple German saying used across all ages became the overarching message of a campaign, that was going to celebrate the countless great moments around food. Because food, it magically always makes things better. It comforts you when you messed up, it tastes twice as good when you succeeded. It gives you a mental break when you're stuck. It gives you the strength to push through when you want to get something done. It. Always. Works. And Uber Eats will bring you all kinds of delicious food for all kinds of moments. Whenever, wherever you need it. This way the Uber Eats brand was going to earn the attention and the sympathy of the German people.

In order to stand out in such a packed market, dropping facts about your great UX and reliable, fast service doesn’t get the job done. Even though it might be true – no one really cares. In 2022, an app that quickly delivers good food does no longer knock anyone out of their chairs. Especially in big cities. Instead, with Uber Eats we put the focus on the real star of the show – the food itself. Embracing and celebrating the positive power of food and present food as a solution in all situations of life. Erstmal Essen was meant to be a creative platform where the community could share their own ideas and motivations around food. Regardless of whether it is served in a restaurant, brought to your door, or prepared by your darlings. Uber Eats wanted to make their point on what food means to Germans. Not Apps.

The Erstmal Essen campaign was kicked off with a 2 minute "Erstmal Essen" music video featuring the up-and-coming Berlin hip hop/new German wave artist "Dilla". Catchy lyrics peppered with cultural insights to sing along to, got Dilla's community started in no time and catapulted the single into the most important German playlists. Shortly after, various 15's, 10's and 6's paid media ads followed, which ran up and down on Youtube and gradually penetrated deep into current pop culture and were picked up on social media. At about the same time, a large-scale and hard-to-ignore OOH campaign was launched exclusively in Berlin, based on the lyrics of the Erstmal Essen song, which amplified the campaign and gave the music video an additional boost. TikTok influencers were brought in to use the song for their own interpretations and inspire their communities with entertaining creations.

The Uber Eats campaign significantly increased the overall brand communication, brand equity of brand consideration, brand preference, and awareness of core messages. The campaign most successfully increased unaided brand awareness and affection among the target audience. Uber Eats' individual channels saw an awareness lift of 21%. Erstmal Essen reached #5 on the Spotify German Hip Hop New Playlist and #4 on the Spotify German Hip Hop Underground Playlist. It found mentions in music magazines and thus experienced great awareness, even as an unbranded work. Overall, the Erstmal Essen campaign led to a sales growth of 44% during its runtime. On social platforms such as TikTok and Instagram, Erstmal Essen found many imitators across different target groups and became a colorful playfield for the communities' entertaining creations.