The CPG Guys Podcast
Episode: Mobile Commerce Media with Uber Advertising’s Kristi Argyilan
Date: November 26, 2025
Host: Peter V.S. Bond (Sri Rajagopalan absent this episode)
Guest: Kristi Argyilan, Global Head of Advertising at Uber
Episode Overview
This episode dives into how Uber’s advertising platform is transforming mobile commerce and the retail media landscape. Host Peter V.S. Bond interviews Kristi Argyilan, focusing on Uber’s unique value proposition as a commerce media platform, real-time contextual targeting opportunities, successes for CPG brands, and the evolution of campaign measurement and audience segmentation. Kristi highlights Uber’s blend of mobility and delivery and reveals how brands can capitalize on contextual, high-intent consumer moments in ways traditional retail media cannot.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
1. Kristi’s Role and Uber Advertising’s Place in the Ecosystem
[08:12]
- Kristi’s Background: Leads Uber’s global advertising business, spanning both rides and delivery (Uber Eats, grocery, retail).
- Uber Ads’ Mission: Leverage Uber’s mobility and delivery data to serve highly contextual, real-time ads.
- Unique Positioning: Uber is a “platform of people doing things” (rides, orders, errands), able to insert brands at real moments of consumer action.
“We are not a platform of intent. We are a platform of people doing things… we can insert a brand in the moment… creating really powerful outcomes.”
— Kristi Argyilan, [09:14]
2. Uber’s Differentiation in Commerce Media vs. Traditional Retail Media
[13:09]
- Coexistence with Retailers and Publishers: Uber complements, rather than competes directly, with retailers and streaming platforms. Retailers use Uber as a last-mile solution.
- Real-time Signals: Retail media typically works with historical purchase data; Uber’s data is “very fresh,” capturing what consumers are about to do or buy.
- Contextual-First Model: Brands can reach consumers in-the-moment, making messages highly relevant (e.g., suggesting add-ons when ordering food).
“The difference with the data that we have… it’s very contextual, it’s very in the moment… signals are so much sharper in terms of being able to influence.”
— Kristi Argyilan, [13:55]
3. Food Delivery Sector: High-Intent, Blurring of Retail Lines
[15:57]
- Add-to-order Success: CPGs with add-to-order potential (snacks, drinks) benefit most.
- Cross-vertical Growth: Not just food—grocery and personal care have seen “tripling” YoY ad growth.
- Moments-based Targeting: Uber can surround major life or pop-culture events (like the Super Bowl) across “mobility, delivery, and grocery,” surfacing relevant offers at the right time.
“We know who’s getting in a car to go to the Super Bowl… [or] who ran out of Doritos and needs more delivered.”
— Kristi Argyilan, [17:06]
4. Balancing Needs of Big Brands and Small Advertisers
[19:42]
- Self-Serve Sponsored Listings: Technology enables even “one restaurant or 5,000” to run ads.
- Full-Funnel Support: Larger advertisers get global sales support and advanced measurement.
- Broad Sales Outreach: Uber has teams dedicated to ensuring both large and small partners leverage ads to grow.
“The revenue does come from a small restaurant all the way up to some of the largest global brands… we have a product group that… built sponsored listings that are self-service.”
— Kristi Argyilan, [20:02]
5. Success Stories & Creative Execution
[22:08]
- Gen Uber: Uber users expect effortless digital-to-physical transitions—buying on-the-fly, quick fulfillment.
- Experiential Campaigns:
- Lemaire (Luxury Skincare): Booking an Uber Premier late at night in Miami gave riders a Lemaire goodie bag.
- Ulta Beauty + Swifties: Ulta surprise samples for concert-goers on branded Uber shuttles.
- Diageo (Holiday): Diageo drink orders could be delivered with a Christmas tree or a caroler.
- Shareable Social Extensions: These moments drive engagement well beyond the app.
“We did this… Take Luxury to a New Heights program… you would go home with Lemaire [products]… after you’re out at the bars… There’s this beautiful goodie bag in the car…”
— Kristi Argyilan, [23:12]
6. Data, Segmentation & Performance
[26:38]
- Real-Time Audiences: Audience segments are created from immediate, contextual signals—targeting moments, not just broad demos.
- Off-Platform Opportunities: Uber can target users even after they leave the app (e.g., on TikTok, YouTube) within the trip window.
- Future of Campaigns: Rethinking the “4-week campaign”—instead, focusing on millions of real-time moments.
“How about if you run 7 million moments over an extended period of time where you have the opportunity to add more Coca Cola to the order… starts to shift traditional ways of thinking.”
— Kristi Argyilan, [27:54]
7. Measurement, KPIs & Brand Outcomes
[31:17]
- Massive Data Scale: 30 million predictions every second; over a million trips per hour.
- Key KPIs:
- ROAS, iROAS, incrementality (both for big brands and local merchants).
- Importance of relevance/favorability—brands showing up at the right moment get more engagement and positive affinity.
- Full Funnel Measurement: From API integrations for large brands’ marketing mix models down to incremental sales for local businesses.
“We still are ROAS, iROAS, incrementality… from a global brand perspective down to local franchisee… very much leaned in on incrementality.”
— Kristi Argyilan, [31:40]
8. Local vs. National Campaign Development
[36:40]
- Customization at Scale: Uber’s platform is personal and local by nature.
- Movie Partnerships: National studio launches are localized—e.g., Jurassic Park vehicle wraps in cities with premier showings.
- Favorite Local Merchants: Elevating the visibility of top local restaurants (e.g., “Acre Pizza”) as part of the user experience.
“We can go really big and have fun, and we also go to which restaurants are giving our customers the best dining experience and make sure that’s prominent…”
— Kristi Argyilan, [38:33]
9. Brand Advice: Getting Started with Uber Advertising
[40:12]
- Reframe Approach: Brands should consider what real-time, contextual, mobility-based media means for their marketing—not just “another digital channel.”
- Experimental Mindset: Don’t just test once; iterate and evolve campaigns to learn what works.
- Consumers Expect Fluidity: The boundary between digital and physical is ever more seamless—a caroler at your door 30 minutes after you tap your phone is the new normal, especially for “Gen Uber.”
“Lean into experimentation; don’t do a quick ‘it worked, it didn’t work’—why didn’t it work this time, how should we evolve…”
— Kristi Argyilan, [42:37]
Memorable Quotes
-
“We are not a platform of intent. We are a platform of people doing things… The idea of action and context and scale is really unique in the marketplace.”
— Kristi Argyilan, [09:14] -
“The difference with the data that we have from an Uber perspective is it’s very contextual, it’s very in the moment... Very fresh, very fresh.”
— Kristi Argyilan, [13:55] -
“A lot of the work that we're doing out of our newly kind of stood up or codified creative studio… is designed specifically to bring these kinds of experiences to life.”
— Kristi Argyilan, [25:14] -
“We're selling performance, not an ad placement… If we've got all of this real time contextual data… you can start to see how we can change what is traditional thinking in terms of ‘I need to run a four week campaign.’”
— Kristi Argyilan, [26:46] -
“This layer of real time contextual is just incredibly rich. I think we're going to have more and more opportunities like this come up in the marketplace.”
— Kristi Argyilan, [42:09]
Notable Moments
- Uber’s Creative Studio: Launching memorable collaborations like Ulta x Swifties and Lemaire luxury rides ([23:12], [24:08]).
- Real-time Add-to-Order Discovery: Eggo waffles and syrup surfaced for a host planning ahead while ordering dinner, showing the synergy of food + retail experiences ([18:15]).
- Personalization in Ride Ads: In-car interactive displays offer personalized offers, bridging ride and commerce experiences ([11:12]).
Timestamps for Key Segments
- [08:12] — Kristi’s role and Uber Ads overview
- [13:09] — Uber data and unique real-time value
- [15:57] — Food delivery, order add-ons & crossover with retail
- [19:42] — Small vs. large brand advertiser experience
- [22:08] — Case studies: Lemaire, Ulta, Diageo
- [26:38] — Data segmentation & real-time campaign targeting
- [31:17] — Key performance metrics and measurement philosophy
- [36:40] — Local vs. national campaign strategy
- [40:12] — Advice to brands entering Uber commerce media
Conclusion & Takeaways
- Uber enables CPGs and retailers to reach consumers at the precise moment of action—be it travel, shopping, or eating—powered by real-time contextual data at a global scale.
- Their evolving measurement, creative deployments, and balance between local and national strategy create a flexible, future-facing tool for brands of any size.
- Brands must adopt an experimental, adaptive mindset to unlock Uber’s powerful, context-rich audience moments.
For More
Links to Kristi’s LinkedIn, Uber Ads, and more resources are in the episode show notes.