Uber launched in 2009, is valued at about $50 billion, and is unquestionably the giant of the car-service app field. Lyft grew out of Zimride in 2012, is work about $2.5 billion, and is the leading the pack of Uber competitors.
Both companies provide the exact same service, so much of their market differentiation comes in the form of branding. How does each compare to the other?
Original Branding
Uber launched with the tagline “Everyone’s Private Driver,” while Lyft started with “Your Friend with a Car.” You can see the distinction: Uber aimed for a classy experience (“Wow, my own private limo!”) while Lyft promised fun (“Hey, a cool person is giving me a ride!”). Uber’s logo was a sleek black and silver “U,” with its name in all caps. Lyft used a groovy, curvy font, all in lower case, and made pink its trademark color. The two brands were almost polar opposites.
Current Branding
But both brands have done some maneuvering since then. If you visit Uber’s website today, you’ll see the tagline “Your Ride, On Demand.” Lyft’s new positioning is “Rides In Minutes.” It looks to me like Uber is trying to emphasize choice, particularly by replacing “everyone’s” with “your.” Lyft may be taking a shot at Uber’s longer wait time (whether accurate or not) by using the word “minutes.”
Experience
When this very question came up on Quora, the responses uncovered a difference. Uber was more classy, more professional. Its drivers wore suits and opened the door for you. Most importantly, riders tended to sit in the back, like they would for a taxi or limo. Lyft was described as more casual and fun. Lyft cars once sported three-foot long fuzzy mustaches in their grills, and riders were encouraged to fist-bump their drivers, sit in the front, and have a chat.
Lately, Lyft has changed course. In 2014, the company told customers it was all right to sit in the back. Fist-bumping was also made optional. And the giant mustaches didn’t do well in bad weather, so Lyft changed them to small, glowing, plastic decorations on the dashboard.
Social Media
Uber is on Facebook (2.8 million likes), Twitter (388,000 followers), and Instagram (118,000 followers). The company’s content features videos, contests, info about driving for Uber, and articles about how the company has positively impacted communities through ride-sharing. The company responds quickly to comments and questions on Facebook — one post took Uber just seven minutes to reply.
Lyft is on Facebook (318,363 likes), Twitter (138,000 followers), and Instagram (21,400 followers. Like Uber, its social media features fun videos, contests, and research about how Lyft helps workers and is good for the environment (by reducing the amount of cars on the road). The company also responds quickly to comments and questions on Facebook; one fan mentioned on Instagram that her query took just 45 minutes to get an answer. While Uber’s Instagram photos are very artistic and look professional, Lyft’s pics look more like the average person’s account.
In many ways, the brand’s social efforts are the same — but Uber, the industry leader, has at least triple the amount of followers on each social platform.
Employer Branding
The two companies are in a heated race for drivers, with Uber even allegedly trying to recruit Lyft drivers with passengers who make sales pitches while in the car. How does each brand market itself to potential employees?
Uber’s pitch: “Earn money with Uber — There’s never been a better time to drive with Uber. Signing up is easy and you’ll be earning money in no time.” The site then shows the three easy steps to employment: “Get started. Get the app. Start driving.” There’s an approval process between steps one and two.
Lyft: “Make up to $35/hr driving your car.” The rest of the page is a sign-up form. After that, there’s a cool calculator, “See how much you can make,” where you can enter how many hours you plan to drive per week, and what city you’re in.
In the Quora conversation, a former Uber driver said, “When I interviewed with Lyft, it took about an hour, and it seemed they were trying to get to know me more than the interview with Uber, which included a PowerPoint presentation and an orientation.”
The driver application pages on Uber’s website keeps the site’s white print on a black background, and looks both authoritative and slick. Lyft opts for a very light blue background, with gray text and highlights of its trademark pink. Taken together, the employer branding reinforces Uber’s classy, professional style and Lyft’s fun, casual attitude.
The Difference
Each company offers almost the exact same services. Uber added a carpool option called UberX; Lyft has LyftLine. Uber offers “surge pricing” for high-demand times, while Lyft has “Prime Time.” The difference comes down to branding. In some ways, Uber is like Microsoft in the 1980s and Lyft is the insurgent Apple. New York Magazine tried another analogy: Uber is Hertz of the 1960s, while Lyft is Avis. In both cases, the second-place company innovated, differentiated, and just plain tried harder, and ended up equal to or greater than its competitor.
With such a high valuation, and an appearance in the national language (many startups bills themselves as “Uber for _____”), I don’t think Uber is going anywhere. But Lyft’s more welcoming personality should do well in a service industry. Each company is using the right branding. And each provides a valuable lesson for other organizations on how to differentiate in the marketplace.
Jody Ordioni is President of Brandemix.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jody Ordioni is the author of “The Talent Brand.” In her role as Founder and Chief Brand Officer of Brandemix, she leads the firm in creating brand-aligned talent communications that connect employees to cultures, companies, and business goals. She engages with HR professionals and corporate teams on how to build and promote talent brands, and implement best-practice talent acquisition and engagement strategies across all media and platforms. She has been named a "recruitment thought leader to follow" and her mission is to integrate marketing, human resources, internal communications, and social media to foster a seamless brand experience through the employee lifecycle.
