Uber Advertising unveils new formats, Fan Experience packages at 2026 Upfronts

Uber Advertising has launched a suite of new and expanded advertising formats, including branded cars, sponsored ride upgrades, product sampling and real-time vouchers, alongside new Fan Experience packages and a forthcoming measurement partnership with Circana.

The announcements were made at the Uber Advertising 2026 Upfronts on 9 September 2026. Uber also revealed simplified programmatic buying options and expanded audience and measurement integrations.

Lara Brownlow, acting head of agency sales, Australia and New Zealand at Uber Advertising, said the update was designed to move advertisers beyond passive reach. 

“Great advertising is not about passive reach, it’s about creating action and forming connections with your current and future customers. Our enhanced suite of solutions turn advertising dollars into experiences people notice, value and act on,” Brownlow said.

Brownlow said Uber and Uber Eats reach more than 10 million Australian adults every month, with first-party signals generated from what users do in-app rather than inferred or third-party data. 

“In today's marketing environment advertisers need this kind of robust, privacy-conscious and unique first party data to connect with customers,” she said.

Research presented at the Upfront found 76% of weekly Uber users had taken a real-world action because of an ad on Uber.

New formats target attention and action

Uber Advertising introduced several new offerings aimed at driving both brand attention and measurable outcomes:

- Homepage: a high-impact placement appearing when customers first open the Uber app.
- Redirect: lets customers change their drop-off location to travel directly to an advertiser’s store or venue, with real-time vouchers able to be served to customers near a storefront.
- Curated Private Marketplace (PMP) deals: bundles Uber’s highest-attention video surfaces to simplify setup for programmatic buyers.
- Circana measurement: launching before the end of 2026, giving CPG, alcohol and retail advertisers an independent view of how Uber campaigns affect in-store sales.

“Advertisers want access to strong signals, but they also need simplicity and accountability,” Brownlow said. 

“We are making Uber Advertising easier to buy and strengthening the connection between audience insight, creative execution and measurement.”

The Uber Advertising 2026 Upfronts. Image: Uber

Creative Studio expands bespoke brand experiences

Uber Advertising also highlighted the continued growth of its Creative Studio, which combines the company’s audience insights, media, mobility and delivery capabilities to build custom brand experiences under the proposition “Bring us the brief, not the format.”

Among the formats now being scaled is Test Rides, which lets automotive brands integrate vehicles into the Uber app so riders can experience them directly. 

The format launched with BMW, using Uber’s audience signals to identify prospective electric-vehicle customers and offer selected users a ride in a BMW iX1. 

The campaign won at the 2026 Mumbrella Awards and has been shortlisted for the MFA Award for Innovation, Behaviour Change and Best Use of Events and Experiential.

Erin Holt, head of strategic verticals at Uber Advertising ANZ, said the format demonstrated the value of media as product experience.

 “Test Rides shows what can happen when media becomes a product experience. What was a new beta concept last year is now an award-winning format we can make more widely available to automotive brands,” Holt said.

Other formats available or expanding include Journey Takeovers (capped at four per country annually), pick-up and drop-off activations, Branded Cars, Sponsored Upgrades, Sampling, Destination Offers and Brand Takeovers.

Fan Experience packages bundle formats around major events

Uber Advertising’s new Fan Experience packages combine its formats around major sporting and cultural moments, offering tiered options for share of voice alongside bespoke activations spanning journey takeovers, branded vehicles, sampling, offers and pick-up and drop-off activations.

Holt said the packages were designed to connect with fans across the full event journey — from planning and traveling to a venue through to ordering during the event and traveling home. 

“The combination of people, place and moment is incredibly powerful. Our Fan Experience packages give brands the opportunity to become part of the whole occasion, rather than limiting their involvement to a media placement around it,” Holt said.