Brief:
- Aveeno, the Johnson & Johnson skincare brand, is collaborating with in-car vending platform Cargo to offer free products to Uber customers as the ride-hailing company expands to Boston and Washington, D.C. Aveeno is offering complimentary Clear Complexion Purely Matte Peel Off Masks to riders starting today, according to an announcement shared with Mobile Marketer.
- Boston is the sixth major market where Cargo and Uber have collaborated to speed up the placement of Cargo product boxes in ride-hailing cars. To order the Aveeno mask and other products, passengers can scan a QR code with a smartphone during their ride or enter a unique code on Cargo's mobile website.
- Drivers in Boston can visit the Uber Greenlight Hub to pick up a Cargo box to put into their cars. Aveeno last week worked with Cargo to provide Uber customers in Miami with complimentary mask samples during spring break and after music festivals.
Insight:
Skincare products like Aveeno's peel-off beauty mask are popular items for ride-hailing passengers to sample while they're in transit or stuck in traffic, Cargo said. While the company originally sold only snacks, drinks and portable electronics to ride-share customers, it found that passengers were also willing to discover and sample a wider range of products while on the go in Uber vehicles. Passengers have sampled hundreds of thousands of units of beauty and wellness products, making them one of Cargo's top-performing product categories, the company said in the announcement.
Aveeno is among the brands that have worked with Cargo to distribute free product samples as part of their promotions. The in-car vending company has run several promotions with CPG giants including Coca-Cola, Red Bull, Mars and Kellogg's to get their products into more cars and into the hands of on-the-go consumers. Cargo reportedly completes a transaction every 5.39 seconds, while products reach 9 million passengers a month, Bloomberg reported, signaling that riders are receptive to the in-car vending model.
The expansion to Boston and D.C. is important for Cargo as the startup seeks to reach passengers in major urban areas where ride-hailing has become increasingly omnipresent.
Cargo has expanded its marketing partnerships with brands that want to reach the captive market of ride-hailing passengers who are freed up to do other activities during a drive, such as using smartphones. In January, the company teamed with ticket seller SeatGeek, to bring discounted ticket sales to riders as they explore a new city or during their regular commutes to work or home. Cargo struck a deal in November with mobile payment service Venmo to let passengers purchase goods on their smartphones in the familiar payment app, removing the friction of having to swipe a card, pay cash or download a separate payment app.
