A ride-hailing company entered a new city with Rs 6 crore of outdoor advertising — hoardings, metro station branding and bus shelters — over eight weeks. Aided brand awareness rose from 11% to 58%. App installs in the city were 180,000. First rides taken were 41,000. Of those, 19% took a second ride within 30 days. Driver supply during the period averaged 900 against a planned 2,400. Median wait time was 14 minutes against the incumbent's 6. Cost per first ride was Rs 1,463.
Establish the objective, read the numbers, separate idea from execution, and say what you would have done with the same money.
100 points, 60% to pass.
The campaign did its job and the business could not receive it. Awareness nearly sextupled and 180,000 people installed, but driver supply landed at 37% of plan and wait times were more than double the incumbent's. That converts advertising into a demonstration of the weakness: 41,000 first rides from 180,000 installs, and 19% second rides, is what a 14-minute wait produces. The critique worth making is about sequencing, not creative — the money was spent creating demand before supply existed to serve it, and every rupee of awareness bought a worse first impression. The alternative is obvious once stated: spend on driver acquisition first and advertise into adequate supply.