We wrote and printed a real cookbook with a circulation of 30,000 via our network of drivers, and an online version promoted through influencer and online PR. Our stunt highlighted how important our delivery service guarantee is in a unique way that broke usual communication methods for food delivery aggregators - where campaigns normally focussed on tactical social campaigns and tv. Our book was the hook for a social and PR campaign, getting our audience to take notice of our message, and engage in a way that a regular campaign could not.

Deliveroo UAE prides itself on its commitment to delivery quality and training. And while the competition tended to market their apps and restaurant selection, Deliveroo offered their customers a delivery service pledge – guaranteeing how their dishes arrive. Both for retention and acquisition, they wanted to promote this pledge, so we doubled down on the importance of the delivery itself.

It’s a simple fact that a dish is only as good as its delivery. No matter how good the chef, the ingredients, or the restaurant, if a dish is delivered badly, it’s ruined. In-short, the delivery itself becomes an important ingredient to each dish and therefore is a crucial part of the recipe. We decided to highlight this in a novel tongue-in-cheek way.

We created The One-Star Cookbook — a tongue-in-cheek collection of dishes inspired by real online one-star reviews of delivery disasters. We scoured the internet for one-star reviews (of our competitors) and turned them into 36 unique dishes.

Bumped, smashed, spilt, late – there are dozens of ways to ruin a great dish in transit. And whether mixed in the bag, soaked by a drink, dropped down some stairs, what arrives is often a new magical creation — mixed, soggy, broken, or just cold. Every bad delivery technically makes a new unique dish.

Each dish became a vivid reminder of what Deliveroo is working tirelessly to avoid through its commitment to delivery quality and training.

In the UAE market specifically Deliveroo spends a lot of time and money making sure the delivery quality of a dish is a real selling point. And while the competition tended to market their apps and restaurant selection, Deliveroo offered their customers a delivery service pledge – guaranteeing how their dishes arrive.

Both for retention and acquisition, they wanted to promote this pledge, so we decided to double-down on the importance of the delivery itself in the resulting end dish.

Our audience are sticklers for quality food, given the UAE audience is used to high quality food, restaurants and service standards, with many high-end restaurants on the aggregator apps and a generally high standard of food service across the country.

We knew the focus on how the dish arrives was important and a key selling point for us over our competitors.

Instead of showcasing the dishes we deliver, we decided to show the ones we do our best to not deliver. We created The One-Star Cookbook — a tongue-in-cheek collection of dishes inspired by real online one-star reviews of delivery disasters. We scoured the internet for one-star reviews (of our competitors) and turned them into 36 unique dishes.

Reading each complaint, we imagined the backstory how the offending dish arrived that way. We wrote each dish with the delivery mistake central to the recipe and name. Then with high-end photography and delicate book design, we gave each disaster its own high-end culinary monument. Each dish provided a relatable and vivid reminder of what Deliveroo UAE works tirelessly to avoid.

A circulation of 30,000 via our network of drivers, and an online version promoted through influencer and online PR, got our message out there to the UAE audience.

>> Over 30,000 books ordered.

>> 64,000 website recipe views

>> 528K engagements

>> 17% organic reach (3x the industry average)

>> uplift in Brand Health Tracker on metrics such as ‘Reliability’ by +7pts

and “A Brand For Me” by +5pts.

The UAE market is saturated with food delivery apps, and whereas in some countries it is an occasional usage, in the UAE, customers regularly order their meals via apps.

As previously mentioned, there is a general high standard of food in the UAE, fast becoming a global culinary hotspot and customers have high standards. With a lot of the best restaurants and mid-tier restaurants on Deliveroo, the need to deliver high quality food in a high quality way was heightened.