Lyft, an on-demand ridesharing application, was featured on the Conan O’Brien Show alongside actor and comedian Ice Cube and Kevin Hart. In the show, O’Brien, Cube, and Hart tested out the application by sharing a ride with a young man named Anthony. During this hilarious, exciting adventure around Hollywood, they rapped, picked up snacks and drinks at local convenient store, interacted with some fans, grabbed “toasted bread asiago chicken ranch” from Wendy’s, and eventually, paid the driver. This endorsement was definitely a mega brand booster for Lyft as it increased its brand recognition immensely in the last few days. According to App Annie, an app ranking, analytics, and market intelligence website, Lyft was ranked 728 in the United States on Tuesday, the day before the Lyft video was launched. Right now, it’s ranked 156, just 2 days after the release. You can also find similar stats on Google Trends. According to Google Trends, Lyft is rated 90 compared to 77 on Tuesday. Moreover, the video has already reached over 1.7 million views as of right now. Undoubtedly, the humorous, yet demonstrative video has enhanced brand awareness massively and rapidly and will surely help Lyft encourage more users to give its service a try the next time they want to commute to places.

 

In addition to boosting Lyft’s brand recognition, the video has also improved Lyft’s brand position. By featuring “cool”, “hip” celebrities such as Ice Cube and Kevin Hart, the video has most likely altered how consumers perceive Lyft and other ridesharing services. Instead of seeing it as a service designed for environmentalists or price-conscious people, the video has shown that anyone regardless of their income or social status can use this convenient service to get to places. This will most definitely help Lyft induce young consumers who see Ice Cube, Kevin Hart, and Brian O’Brien as reference groups to give the application a go.

 

Aside from boosting brand recognition and position, the video has helped Lyft respond to one of its largest challenges: safety issues. If you were to go to the very bottom of Lyft’s website, you can see a specific section dedicated to address all safety concerns. This indicates the vitality and abundance of safety issues consumers have. After all, users most likely see safety as a major concern when they decide if they want to use a ridesharing service. Thankfully for leveraging and associating its product attributeswith O’Brien’s friendliness and humor, Lyft was able to successfully show that its ridesharing service is fun, social, and exciting. This will definitely help Lyft remove some of the impediments Lyft faces when they promote their service to potential customers.

 

Though we’re currently in the digital age, traditional marketing tactics such as celebrity endorsement is still highly effective. By leveraging celebrities, companies such as Lyft can boost brand awareness quickly and significantly, sway consumers’ decisions, and ultimately increase sales. Lyft has certainly captured the essence of celebrity endorsement by featuring Conan O’Brien, Ice Cube, and Kevin Hart to create a demonstrative, hilarious viral video. This will surely help Lyft brand its service in consumers’ minds and encourage them to use their platform the next time they need commute to their destinations.