A rebrand, the pandemic, a commitment to values, four wheels (and two).
The Rebrand: Technopop
By the end of the pandemic, we all needed a little bit of a pick-me-up. For Lyft, that meant giving our brand a glow up. We started by defining our purpose — what the Lyft brand stood for: “Good energy moves the world” and everything flowed from there. We tapped into our heritage of bold colors (pink!), fuzzy mustaches, and a clever wink in everything we did to set ourselves apart from the dark, somber competition.
But at Lyft, in addition to our signature wink, we differentiated ourselves with our values and showed the world we were different — and better — than the competition. We were indeed “the good guys.”
Yes, You Are a Bike Person.
Most people don’t realize that Lyft was the biggest bikeshare platform in the US — from CitiBike to BayWheels and dozens of systems in between. But when we wanted to bring in new customers, we tapped into the insight that riding a bike in a city was intimidating, particularly for women.
So we had to inspire people with what riding a bike could enable (use cases like errands and brunch) and get them over their concerns (fun fact, you can ride a bike in heels), even tapping into local insights In the end, we affirmed our citydwelling customers that “yes, they ARE bike people.”
Fun fact: I had never taken a bikeshare until I worked on this campaign (I was petrified) and now I take one several days a week, riding from Caltrain to my office.
How to Human. Again.
After the pandemic quarantined the world, Lyft needed people to start moving again. It had been a heavy few years and people needed to be reminded how to resume old habits, how to visit old places, and how to have a little fun. And, in some cases, they also needed to be reminded that some parts of being quarantined were pretty great too.
That launched the “How to Human. Again.” campaign, reminding people that taking rideshare was a lovely — and safe — way to get back out there.
And You Can’t Forget to Have Fun…
Great marketing isn’t just about advertising. It’s about telling stories, showing up as a part of culture (or helping to make culture), or taking action to demonstrate your values. From original content series like Undercover Lyft (with people like Alicia Keys), partnerships with LeBron James and the YMCA to give bikeshare access to teenagers in urban areas, or turning the iconic Weinermobile into the Lyft ride of a lifetime, we used activations to drive buzz, relevance, and excitement for the brand.