Regular users of taxi sharing scheme, Didi, may have noticed the usually plain white cars have had a sprucing up this spring. Flowing with the season, the app-based platform has given drivers incentives with a collection of free giveaways for passengers.
These Didi “ambassadors” have been given a whole bunch of freebies to offer, such as bottles of water and, interestingly, flower seeds. The Nanjinger’s very own Didi ambassador handed over an envelope that contained a packet of seeds.
“These are for you. Flower seeds for you to grow and make your home beautiful”, ambassador Yun Yang stated. “Just look at mine, look how beautiful my car is”.
“I was the first Didi ambassador to be chosen for Nanjing, I’ve grown many and now my car is the most beautiful”.
Looking around the car, it certainly did have a garden feel to it. My feet were resting on fake grass, while I realised bunches of pink flowers had been strategically placed around the car. Fluffy dolls decorated the dashboard and pink flowers stuck to the outside of the car really finished off the look.
Didi’s marketing team has partnered with Hedgehog & Roses envelopes, Fairy Flowers seeds, and local beverage and artificial grass companies. A savvy PR department is once again upping its game in efforts to attract back a potentially lost market.
As proud as he is to be selected ambassador to the Didi empire, is Yun happy with the work itself? “I’ve been doing this job now for 2 years; I don’t like it, because I’m so tired everyday. After 16 hours of continuous work, I usually get around 6 hours of sleep.”
“But in 1 day, I can make ¥700 yuan and in 1 month, I can make ¥10,000, but I have to work 15 hours in 1 day… I think I’ll do this job for another 2 years; I need to save money”, he said.
The Nanjing government has recently announced a cap on the number of ride sharing drivers on the roads. As Didi’s marketing team sets about luring its customers back, perhaps incentives for existing drivers to keep soldiering on should be in the pipeline too.
