Lyft's New Creative Lead Joins at 'Incredible' Brand Moment

Through her creative journey, Karin Onsager-Birch has touched a wide range of brands, including several automakers. A stint at Goodby Silverstein & Partners had a healthy dose of automotive work for brands like Chevy, GM, Hyundai, Isuzu and Porsche. But it was three years working solely on Ford at WPP's Blue Hive (renamed GTB in 2016) in Europe that sparked an observation. "I got so much deeper with the brand and the company," Onsager-Birch said. "That gives one a profound influence across everything and the ability to implement things everywhere. That was very satisfying." Armed with this experience and knowledge is one reason Onsager-Birch became vice president of creative at Lyft, effective today. She left her post as CCO and co-president at FCB West to take the role at the rideshare app. "As the world begins to move again in 2021, there’s never been a more important time for us to reinvest in our brand," said Heather Freeland, Lyft's vp of marketing. "We want to bring back the sense of joy, community and optimism that has always helped us differentiate ourselves. When I first connected with Karin, she exemplified all the characteristics we were looking for—someone committed to bold brand thinking and action, a brilliant storyteller and an inspiring leader." A wide range of experience narrows to one brand According to Onsager-Birch, the idea of owning and influencing a single brand was too enticing to pass up. As a bonus, she arrives at a time when possibilities and optimism have a place again in society, all at a company that places a premium on fun, friendliness and whimsy. "Coming out of this awful and lonely year, I think we all have pent up yearning to get out there and do things, see friends, go to restaurants and stay out late," said Onsager-Birch, who touched a wide range of brands like Adobe, Banana Republic, Clorox, eBay, Levi's, Netflix and Nike during her agency tenure. "Lyft will enable that very thing people want, and it's incredible to be at this confluence of things coming together and sit at the very front of that." Like other companies of its ilk, Lyft is thinking about where its path leads outside of simply ride-sharing. Last fall, the brand provided free and discounted rides to voting sites in select cities including Atlanta, Detroit and Milwaukee. Now, in partnership with Anthem, JPMorgan Chase and United Way, Lyft is leaning into its purpose and scale for a universal vaccine access campaign. The goal is to provide 60 million rides to and from vaccination sites for at-risk, low income and uninsured communities. “This is an opportunity to use our collective strength to mobilize on a massive scale and serve our communities," Lyft co-founder and president John Zimmer said in a statement in December. "We cannot let lack of transportation be a factor in determining whether people have access to healthcare.” Onsager-Birch believes that mission-critical programs like this can help "shape the narrative going forward for Lyft, with all the people that they're touching." "[The vaccine program] is well thought through," she noted. "And for Lyft to provide a service, for one of the most important things in the nation now, is exciting to be a part of." Though primarily operating in the United States, Onsager-Birch also boasts an international perspective, mainly through her time working for Ford in Europe. She believes that perspective can funnel down nicely to a wide range of cultures in America, citing examples like "what turns on the Texas Mexican-American community or the Caribbean community" as a chance to connect more meaningfully with Lyft's audience. "I'm interested in people who have a different experience," Onsager-Birch. "There's an opportunity to bring that to Lyft and be a much more diverse and brand that's fluent in lots of people with different backgrounds."