Dive Brief:

• DoorDash and Marvel Entertainment partnered to create a custom comic book that celebrates the delivery service’s employees, or “Dashers,” according to a press release. The effort was announced at this year’s New York Comic Con, where the brand created the fictitious city of Dashville.
• “The Dashers” 26-page comic book positions Dashers as everyday heroes on a mission to save the fictitious city of Dashville. In addition to the book, Marvel will release a motion comic series in five parts with the first chapter to debut Oct. 12.
• DoorDash simultaneously will also launch a new campaign, “Activate Super You,” to recruit new Dashers using digital out-of-home (OOH) and social media activations, including a superhero-themed Snapchat Lens.

Dive Insight:

As anticipation builds for the Marvel franchise’s upcoming release, “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” several brands are getting into the spirit with superhero-themed efforts, with DoorDash being the latest to join. Behind it is Sprite and Lexus, each who channeled characters of the new movie for their own activations. 

“The Dashers” comic book owns the ethos that not all superheros wear capes and positions the company’s delivery drivers as protectors of the community. Four DoorDash drivers are highlighted: Ernesto, who values the opportunity to explore the city; Julia appreciates flexibility while taking care of her family; Remi dashes to support her cooking passions; and Andrew uses the role to help pay for college fees. Each of them has Dasher-specific super powers such as “Omnireplication,” which helps them be in multiple places at the same time, and “supernatural elasticity” to help them navigate the city faster. 

The comic book follows an Economic Impact Report released by DoorDash earlier this year that found 88% of Dasher respondents had other income sources and responsibilities, including those who have a full-time or part-time job, are self-employed, retired, stay-at-home caregivers or students. “The Dashers” comic is intended to highlight the myriad ways Dashing benefits individuals, families and their communities and rides on another recent campaign by DoorDash highlighting its essential nature to local economies and small businesses.

Along with the comic book, DoorDash created the fictitious city of Dashville at New York Comic Con in an experiential activation that showcased the comic book and challenged viewers to “test their Dasher super powers.” Marvel will also release a five-part motion comic series via its social channels and on Marvel.com. Along with the comic book, DoorDash also launched its “Activate Super You” multichannel campaign that is centered around “The Dashers” in an effort to bring new Dashers to the platform. The campaign will utilize custom content on social media, including a Snapchat activation, and see additional OOH elements. 

DoorDash is currently riding on a high, having grown its total number of delivery orders by 23% year-over-year to an all-time high of 426 million, per its second quarter earnings report. Revenue for the company also grew 30% YoY, which it attributed in part to an increase in monthly active users. DoorDash executives said during an earnings call that the company predicts a decrease in consumer spending in the second half of this year, which could explain a greater marketing push as it looks to maintain momentum.