Postmates' New AOR Aims to Separate the Brand From 'Food Porn'

San Francisco-based Postmates has announced the selection of Mother Los Angeles as its creative agency of record. In conjunction, the brand and agency debuted their first work together: new out-of-home creative, which began being rolled out in key markets this week such as L.A., New York, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Miami and San Diego. Playing off of its earlier minimalistic OOH campaign, "We Get It," Postmates and Mother L.A. have tapped into consumer insights to deliver content on billboards, bus shelters and wall murals across the aforementioned key cities with the fresh new expression "Postmate it," an actual phrase the brand claims its more active users coined. The OOH is tailored to each location and is part of a larger national integrated campaign. Postmates said content will be released in other channels sometime later this spring. Examples of the posters read: "The best way to enjoy sushi is on a bed of bed. Postmate it." "Your sweatpants are calling and they want a burger. Postmate it." And "Because a second dinner is popular enough to make a billboard about it. Postmate it." [kickout id="1"] "So much of what we have done as a leading on-demand platform is build a brand that is a core part of pop culture," Eric Edge, Postmates senior vice president of brand and communications, told Adweek. "We wanted the beautifully designed product to translate over to the brand side. Mother L.A. just stood out." The selection of Mother L.A. as creative AOR stemmed from organic discussions between the agency and brand rather than a formal review process. Edge said what drew Postmates to the agency was its strong strategic and creative capabilities, plus its willingness to work in tandem with the company's in-house team rather than in silos. "We started talking a few months ago," Mother L.A. managing director Romain Naegelen told Adweek. "We have shared values. They're a creatively driven tech company, and we're a creatively driven agency." [kickout id="2"] Naegelen added that 2019 is expected to be a "massive" year for Postmates, as the brand founded in 2011 is entering "an important phase of their growth." According to Kantar Media, Postmates spent $1.3 million on measured media in the U.S. in 2017 and $1.5 million in 2018. Whether the company is looking to continue increasing its budget in 2019 is unclear. Mother L.A. executive creative director Joe Staples said the new work and "Postmate it" tagline itself reflects the evolution of the brand. "We made it about an action," Staples told Adweek. "'Postmate it' stands for who you eat with, why you chose the food you did [and] when you choose to stay in. It's about family and friends." Edge, who joined Postmates in September 2018, added that he never wanted the company's brand identity to be just about "food porn," criticizing his competitors. "We have a ton of content that's just beautiful food photography," Edge explained. "But the fact that Postmates has become [recognized] for delivering high-quality food on demand drove the core thinking of the campaign, which you see in the copy." Staples noted that the earlier "We Get It" phrase created by 180LA—representing that the brand both understands food and its customers' needs as well as physically delivers to them—was "not particularly understood by a broader audience." "It's about why you order something," Staples said. "Which nights are pasta nights? Which nights are ice cream nights? Does a TV premiere call for a certain kind of food?" That's what the brand is leaning into "as opposed to 'we will get you dinner.'"

AdFreak

Postmates' New AOR Aims to Separate the Brand From 'Food Porn'

Mother L.A.'s maiden work focuses on the 'why' of food orders

Lindsay Rittenhouse

About

Subscriptions

Events

Publications

WORK SMARTER - LEARN, GROW AND BE INSPIRED.

Subscribe today!

Lindsay Rittenhouse