Uber Rolls Out New Features With Help From Ilana Glazer

For a while now, Uber has been doing more than just taking people to airports and transporting meals to homes. Its latest Super Bowl commercial, for example, shows how the app can get diapers, dish soap and paper towels delivered to consumers' front doors. Today, the San Francisco-based tech company is unveiling even more services during its annual Go/Get event. It's not, however, a conventional conference. There are no executives on stage introducing new products while clicking through a PowerPoint presentation. Instead, Uber has condensed the announcement into a 10-minute narrative starring comedian, actor and producer Ilana Glazer, who demonstrates how the latest features work on a trip from New York to Los Angeles. "We wanted to avoid the two-hour talking head event and showcase something quick, snappy and snackable," said Chris Polychronopoulos, Uber's global creative director, who added consumers are more likely to watch an information-heavy clip if it's entertaining. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-A1AO0kP3wI Chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi and other senior leaders at Uber appear throughout the video to explain how the various innovations assist Glazer on her journey. Users can now order items through Google Assistant, pick up food at select sports stadiums, reserve a bus for group travel, book rides for different stages of a trip and request premium electric vehicles. Last October, Uber announced a partnership with Hertz that will let U.S. drivers rent one of 50,000 Teslas by 2023. The underlying theme of the presentation, Polychronopoulos noted, is to illustrate how Uber has evolved alongside the changing demands of everyday life. "The world is in your hands, and we're with you every step of the way," he said. Uber, which took a similar approach to revealing additional services last year, plans to promote the Go/Get film through its own website and social media channels. Pulling back on marketing Uber's Go/Get event comes at a challenging time for the company. During the first quarter of 2022, Uber Technologies reported $6.85 billion in revenue, beating analysts' expectations, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence. Despite the 136% year-over-year gain as travel returns, the company also disclosed a $5.9 billion net loss, largely due to investments in the self-driving technology company Aurora and Southeast Asian food delivery and financial services app Grab. With Uber's stock down more than 40% since the beginning of this year, Khosrowshahi has promised to reduce costs related to hiring and marketing, according to an email sent to staff earlier this month obtained by CNBC. "The least efficient marketing and incentive spend will be pulled back," Khosrowshahi wrote. Last year, Uber spent $1.7 billion on advertising, up from $1 billion in 2020. In January, Uber’s chief marketing officer Thomas Ranese left the company after two-and-a-half years in the role. David Mogensen, who joined Uber in 2020 as senior director and head of marketing for EMEA, took over Ranese's duties as vp of marketing.