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Uber opens Journey Ads inventory to programmatic buyers across 10 European markets

Uber expands programmatic Journey Ads access across Europe via Google DV360 and Trade Desk partnerships June 2025.

Luis Rijo

• 6 min read

Uber Advertising announced June 12, 2025 that its Journey Ads inventory can now be purchased programmatically across European markets through partnerships with Google's Display & Video 360 and The Trade Desk. The expansion covers 10 markets including the United Kingdom, Spain, France, Germany, Netherlands, Ireland, Sweden, Poland, Switzerland, and Portugal.

According to the company's announcement, brands will access Programmatic Guaranteed deals on the Uber Rides app through these demand-side platforms. European brands including e.l.f. Beauty and Kérastase are already utilizing the expanded programmatic capabilities, which extend access to premium inventory that was previously available only through direct sales channels.

Journey Ads reaches consumers during three distinct phases of their Uber ride experience with immersive display and video formats. Since launching in late 2022, the advertising product has delivered an average click-through rate exceeding 3% and average global view time surpassing 100 seconds. The format added video capabilities in 2024, expanding creative options for brands targeting attentive audiences during transit periods.

Summary

Who: Uber Advertising, in partnership with Google's Display & Video 360 and The Trade Desk, targeting European advertisers and brands including e.l.f. Beauty and Kérastase.

What: Expansion of Journey Ads programmatic buying capabilities across European markets, enabling automated purchase of premium in-app advertising inventory through Programmatic Guaranteed deals.

When: Announced June 12, 2025, with Display & Video 360 immediately available across 10 markets and Trade Desk expansion planned for second half 2025.

Where: Ten European markets including United Kingdom, Spain, France, Germany, Netherlands, Ireland, Sweden, Poland, Switzerland, and Portugal, with initial Trade Desk availability limited to UK.

Why: To increase accessibility of premium advertising inventory for programmatic buyers while maintaining platform advantages, addressing scale requirements and workflow efficiency demands from European advertisers seeking automated buying options for high-engagement mobile advertising placements.

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Technical implementation across platforms

Display & Video 360 availability spans all 10 European markets in the initial rollout. The Trade Desk integration launches initially in the United Kingdom, with expansion planned for additional European markets during the second half of 2025. The phased approach reflects technical integration requirements and market-specific considerations for programmatic infrastructure deployment.

Programmatic Guaranteed deals represent a specific type of automated advertising transaction where inventory and pricing terms are predetermined between buyers and sellers. This contrasts with real-time bidding environments where pricing fluctuates based on auction dynamics. The guaranteed structure provides advertisers with inventory certainty while maintaining programmatic efficiency benefits.

The partnerships enable advertisers to leverage existing demand-side platform workflows and targeting capabilities while accessing Uber's first-party audience data. According to Paul Wright, Head of EMEA Sales at Uber Advertising, the integration allows programmatic buyers to utilize their preferred buying methods without sacrificing platform advantages including scaled audience access and brand-safe inventory.

Performance metrics and market positioning

A recent study conducted by Uber Advertising and Lumen Research found that advertisements on the Uber platform generate nearly 7 times higher attentive seconds compared to online video, social in-feed, and mobile display formats. This engagement differential reflects the captive nature of the audience during ride experiences, where users have limited competing attention demands.

Patrick O'Keefe, Chief Integrated Marketing Officer at e.l.f. Beauty, described the programmatic approach as providing "a pathway to join the community in key moments of receptivity." The company's initial campaigns focused on Cloud Skin product messaging featuring Meghan Trainor, targeting travelers with content aligned to their journey context.

The 100% share of voice execution distinguishes Journey Ads from traditional programmatic environments where multiple advertisers often compete for attention within the same content experience. This exclusive placement model provides uninterrupted brand messaging during specific trip phases, from ride request through destination arrival.

Strategic implications for programmatic landscape

PPC Land has extensively covered how this development represents broader trends in programmatic advertising maturation. The introduction of Uber's premium inventory through established demand-side platforms reflects increasing convergence between direct sales and automated buying channels.

The announcement follows Uber Advertising's broader expansion strategy, which has seen the company target $1 billion in annual advertising revenue. The programmatic integration addresses scale requirements for advertisers who previously could not access Journey Ads due to direct sales minimum spending thresholds or resource constraints.

Industry observers note the timing coincides with increasing demand for contextual advertising solutions as third-party cookie deprecation accelerates. The ride-hailing context provides natural audience segmentation based on travel patterns, destinations, and timing without relying on tracking technologies facing regulatory scrutiny.

Market expansion and competitive dynamics

Uber's programmatic expansion occurs amid intensifying competition in mobility advertising. Lyft has recently enhanced its advertising offerings with video capabilities and improved targeting tools. The programmatic availability potentially strengthens Uber's competitive position by reducing friction for media buyers already utilizing Google and Trade Desk platforms for other inventory sources.

The European focus reflects regulatory considerations and market maturity factors. Privacy regulations including GDPR have shaped programmatic advertising practices in European markets, making first-party data solutions particularly valuable. Uber's user data from ride and delivery services provides targeting capabilities that comply with regional privacy requirements.

Display & Video 360's extensive market coverage enables consistent campaign management across multiple European countries through a single platform interface. This operational efficiency benefits multinational brands seeking standardized approaches to programmatic buying across diverse regulatory environments.

Technical architecture and data integration

The programmatic integration maintains Uber's existing audience insights and targeting capabilities while extending distribution through established advertising technology infrastructure. Advertisers can apply demographic and behavioral targeting based on historical patterns across both Uber and Uber Eats platforms.

Campaign measurement and optimization tools remain consistent with Uber's direct sales offerings. Performance metrics include standard programmatic indicators alongside platform-specific measurements such as trip-phase engagement and destination-based attribution modeling.

The implementation addresses technical challenges that have historically limited premium inventory availability through programmatic channels. Publishers often reserve highest-value placements for direct sales relationships, but Uber's approach enables programmatic access without compromising inventory quality or pricing structures.

Financial and operational considerations

While specific pricing details were not disclosed, Programmatic Guaranteed deals typically command premium rates compared to open auction inventory. The guaranteed nature provides budget predictability for advertisers while ensuring revenue certainty for publishers.

The expansion reduces operational overhead for media buyers who can now incorporate Journey Ads into existing programmatic workflows rather than managing separate direct sales relationships. This efficiency gain particularly benefits agencies managing multiple client campaigns across diverse inventory sources.

Budget allocation decisions become more flexible when premium inventory integrates with programmatic planning tools. Advertisers can adjust spending across different platforms and formats based on real-time performance data rather than being constrained by predetermined direct sales commitments.

Timeline

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