DoorDash and Marvel turn delivery people into superheroes

DoorDash is entering Marvel's world with a new campaign that transforms four ordinary DoorDash delivery people into comic book superheroes. The food delivery company announced today that it’s partnering with Marvel Entertainment on the “Activate Super You” campaign that likens the work of DoorDash’s delivery people, or “Dashers,” to acts of everyday heroism. Marvel collaborated with DoorDash’s in-house creative team to create a comic book titled “The Dashers” for the campaign. It tells the story of four delivery people with powers related to delivering food, like the ability to exist in multiple places at once, and their efforts to save the city of “Dashville.” DoorDash is kicking off the campaign with an activation at New York Comic Con, which begins today and runs through Sunday. At the convention, attendees can visit a small replica of Dashville and participate in different challenges to “test their Dasher super powers,” including a quiz about superheroes and a game that measures how effectively participants can deliver items to the correct recipients. Copies of “The Dashers” comic will also be distributed at the convention. The campaign’s name, “Activate Super You,” is a call to action for people who may need the additional income that delivering food for DoorDash provides to support themselves and their future goals, Emma Glazer, the company’s head of Dasher marketing, said in an interview. Brands on the rise A look at up-and-coming brands disrupting their categories Read more here “As you work toward your goals, there are so many obstacles to get through—whether it’s priorities, a demanding boss or bills—that are preventing Dashers and workers and all of us from feeling like their most ‘super’ selves,” she said. “With this [campaign], it really is our invitation to Dashers to ‘activate super you’ to get earnings that help support and empower their passions.” DoorDash last year experienced a shortage of delivery drivers but the company on its most recent quarterly call reported better retention rates. As part of the campaign, Marvel has also converted “The Dashers” into a five-part video series of digital motion comics, with the first episode available to watch on the DoorDash website. In the coming weeks, Marvel will share new episodes of the series across its social channels and website. Marvel also created a trailer for the series, akin to those it produces to promote its blockbuster superhero films, that will air in movie theaters throughout the fall. DoorDash also partnered with marketing agency Tag to develop social media content for the campaign, including a superhero-themed AR Snap filter. “The pandemic highlighted the vital role Dashers play in their communities, helping businesses grow sales and connecting consumers with essential products,” David Bornoff, DoorDash’s head of brand marketing, said in a press release. This partnership with Marvel, the “authority on superheroes,” aims to recognize the ongoing contributions of the company’s delivery people, he said. Ad Age Next: CMO Get your tickets for the Dec. 7 event in New York Register here Along with acknowledging the impact that DoorDash’s delivery people had in the early months of the pandemic, the campaign also spotlights the fact that, in a 2021 report from DoorDash, 88% of Dashers reported that their work for DoorDash is a side gig in addition to their other responsibilities, like a full-time job. The comic’s four main characters are inspired by these real-life Dashers with other ambitions, similar to the way that many of Marvel’s characters have alternate lives and careers when they’re not busy saving the city, Glazer said. This campaign comes on the heels of a larger marketing push from DoorDash in August focusing on DoorDash’s impact on the economies of communities around the world. The 2021 report, which DoorDash conducted with Oxford Economics, revealed that over 6.3 million people globally deliver food for DoorDash, and these Dashers completed almost 1.4 billion deliveries in 2021 alone.

DoorDash and Marvel turn delivery people into superheroes

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