"Uber is cheaper than owning a car": Shailesh Sawlani, GM, Uber Mumbai

On the eve of World Earth Day on April 22, Uber launched its new digital campaign #DitchYourKeys. The campaign, conceptualised by Uber Mumbai, is aimed at discouraging people to buy a car or even stop using their own cars in order to save money.

The ongoing digital campaign has an interface where a user can insert details like the number of trips he/she makes during a month by car, equated monthly instalment (EMI), driver's cost, car maintenance, and insurance. Once these details are entered, Uber calculates how much a passenger ends up saving in a month.

Commenting on the digital campaign, Shailesh Sawlani, general manager, Uber Mumbai, says, "Through this campaign we encourage people to ditch their keys. Why drive when you can use an Uber? The deeper philosophy here is that it is actually cheaper than owning a car. A single ride, even if you take it alone, is cheaper than owning a car. That also helps in saving natural resources through a network like Uber."

We asked the digital experts about the execution of the campaign.

Rajiv Dingra, founder and CEO, WATConsult, says, "The idea is interesting though the execution could be more interesting and thought through. While awareness is created, the engagement is limited to a pledge. I feel more activities beyond just a pledge could have been done and stories of how people have ditched their keys and are happy with Uber can also be shared. I'm assuming as the campaign scales, more aspects would be added."

Sudhir Nair, managing director - digital, OmnicomMediaGroup, says, "I believe this is a global campaign of Uber, now extended to India. It will be interesting to see how it makes it worthwhile for people to ditch the keys. The ownership angle of a car versus Uber is not new. It has been doing the rounds for a while. But, that's not the only reason people use an Uber. Secondly, how does it connect to Earth Day? It would have been interesting to have some other metrics which explain what it means to have so many less cars on the road. Or, any other metric that defines sharing. Will there be no surge pricing the whole day?"

Dingra adds, "Yes, it does seem to target two different audiences. I feel the Uber strategy is smarter as it's more focussed on cost-saving."

According to Nair, two different groups are being targetted, and even the premise is different. Ola Micro is based on affordability. However, at an overall level, Ola and Uber are talking to car owners in general. Affordability, convenience, and service all comes into play."