Grab Vietnam, a ride-hailing company, created personalized user profiles using an AI-supported customer relationship management (CRM) system.
Grab Vietnam's goal was to become an indispensable part of community life in seaside towns in Vietnam.
The "Find Me Here" campaign, a strategic shift for Grab, focused on smaller, slower-paced seaside towns rather than urban areas.
During evenings and weekends, beaches are crowded, making it difficult for Grab users and drivers to find each other. Consequently, driver productivity drops, hourly incomes decline, and cancellation rates increase upwards of 25.08 percent (1 in 4 orders) at seaside locations.
In towns like Danang, Vung Tau, Khanh Hoa (Nha Trang), and Binh Dinh (Quy Nhon), the beach is where residents gather. In the evenings, and on weekends, thousands head to the seaside to stroll, swim, surf, and sometimes just hang out.
Grab Vietnam installed benches that acted as visual prompts and convenient waiting spots, encouraging users to order food and rides. The strategy adapted in real-time through app data, optimizing bench placements and service prompts based on usage patterns. This localized, real-world presence combined with digital convenience effectively reached and engaged the target audience.
On a typical month, thousands of Vietnamese make orders for rides or food from beaches or seaside locations. However, since there are no fixed landmarks for users to set accurate drop-off/pick-up locations, users are required to manually set an approximate Find Me Here pin for drivers. Grab's internal data shows that more than 80 percent of these manual pins are inaccurate, sometimes up to 50 feet, resulting in wasted time searching or order cancellations.
By building prominent, clearly numbered benches all along miles and miles of coastline, Grab solved the problem of drivers finding customers and created numbered landmarks that serve as easy meeting points for the local beach-going community.
These navigation points are unique to Grab, and not marked on Google Maps, Waze, Apple Maps, etc. Every numbered bench is also mapped into GrabMaps — allowing all customers and drivers of GrabFood, GrabCar and GrabBike to quickly meet at one fixed spot using Grab's app.
On each bench is a heart-shaped QR code which allowed Grab to run town-specific engagements. Through the QR code, Grab could suggest nearby attractions, events and small businesses, promote nearby famous restaurants available for GrabFood beach-side delivery, and also provide Grab's insider tips for out-of-town travelers visiting these beaches.
Grab's benches' media space is not available for purchase the way ambient media usually is, since beach locations are usually public parks or walkways administered by various town councils and local governments. Collaborating closely with local community leaders, Grab has already secured 250 benches along a 10 kilometer stretch of coastline.
Grab benches are permanently owned media that Grab jointly co-owns with local community councils. Using the same permanent QR code painted on each bench, Grab and local authorities can jointly promote new event listings, promote local tourism, and support local businesses.
Made of durable, weatherproof, sea-proof stone, the first 250 test benches were simple in design as they are built to last for up to 10 years. This maintenance-free durability was a key request from the local council in Hai Chau.
Grab Vietnam's campaign benches:
