DoorDash emphasises community, convenience with first Aussie brand campaign

General manager of on-demand delivery platform provider shares the business motivations for the first local brand campaign

A solid product offering, national footprint and desire to recognise community have all fed into DoorDash’s first Australian brand campaign.

The online delivery platform provider took the wrappers off the campaign, ‘We DoorDash’, in October. The focus of creative is on how the platform provides everyday convenient delivery across a growing array of verticals including food, groceries, pharmaceuticals, pet products and haircare. The campaign was created in partnership with Cummins&Partners and is going out as TVCs, via out-of-home and as digital creative.

Having been in Australia for two years, DoorDash GM, Rebecca Burrows, told CMO the time was right to lift the business’ branding game locally. Until this point, the focus had been on getting the fundamentals right in the market from a product perspective, she said. This has included making sure the group has enough breadth and restaurants on the platform, ‘Dashers’ delivery staff, and a clear multi-vertical strategy in play.

“It was about having the best product we can have in the market and building scale before we started shouting about the brand,” Burrows said. “Today, we have coverage across about 85 per cent of the Australian population as we have been very focused on building both city and regional presence. We also have lots of Dashers coming through and 26,000 restaurants on the marketplace.

“The business is there, and product is there for people to learn more about us. So now is the right time for this campaign.”

A second big motivator for ‘We DoorDash’ was community, Burrows said. “All of us are craving that connection with community. The campaign is a way for us to say thanks to our merchants, plus our Dashers, for being part of our community,” she said.

“Any investment we put into building our brand is also an investment into our merchants because it generates demand and interest in us and by extension, them. So it’s demonstrating loyalty to our audiences but also our partners and staff.”

It was this community spirit that also prompted DoorDash to go ahead with the brand campaign now rather than in the New Year.

“We did weigh up whether to do the campaign now coming out of the busy times and going into summer, which is a less busy time for our industry, versus waiting to next year. But we want to make the contribution back to these audiences who have shown they’re very loyal to us,” Burrows said.  

Burrows said there were plenty of insights to be had showing how busy Australians are today as consumers – something DoorDash hopes to directly address. She also pointed to the unique insight that Australia boasts of being the most burnt-out nation off the back of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Building that sense of community and positivity was important. That goes a lot to the broader proposition of ‘life in order’ as our brand narrative, plus our broader proposition around convenience,” Burrows continued.  

“A lot of people think about us for food delivery, which is a lot of what we do, but also we’re about reimagining convenience. That could be for our merchant partners and making their business operations easier, demand generation via our marketplace, or via white-label services where we deliver under a business’ own channels. Or it could be making the consumers lives easier as they get out more and make life easier for them.

“For our Dashers, it may have been a tough time for them, and we do have include people who were laid off from other jobs, or students who didn’t have a lot of other support. It’s that sentiment of building connection, plus getting more control and ease back after what has been a really challenging time globally as well as uniquely in Australia with the kind of burnout we’re feeling.”

DoorDash entered the Australian market in September 2019 and predominantly a merchant-focused business. For example, with its white-label product, B2B customers can choose to tap into just fleet management or delivery services, demand generation assistance or the marketplace.

DoorDash B2B customers include KFC, Chemist Warehouse, Grill’d and Coles. It has also partnered with delivery platform, Shippit, and provides on-demand delivery for retailers such as Cotton On, Target and Big W.

While the ‘We DoorDash’ creative is arguably “of the moment” and picks up on current sentiment around community, Burrows could see it offering a brand platform for years to come.

“I’d love to see how it goes; I could see it becoming a movement within each of our audiences,” she said.  

“But ‘Life in order’ is the more enduring platform we will look to work off. Not only does it pick on today’s burnout, reimaging convenience and those things, but as we move into other verticals it is about anything you need where and when you need it. That can extend very broadly and have longevity for us in terms of our business strategy.”

In addition to the new brand campaign, DoorDash has struck major sponsorship agreements with the NRL, The Brisbane Royal Show and e-sports tournament group, ESL Australia. .

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