Getir CTO discusses marketing strategies for US expansion

Food delivery services became all the rage when the pandemic hit two years ago. Getir an “ultrafast delivery provider,” established in Turkey in 2015, finally hit the United States last fall in Chicago and is using an out-of-home ad campaign to attract consumers to the service.

Elif Çar - Chief Transformation Officer at Getir

Food delivery services became all the rage when the pandemic hit two years ago. Getir an "ultrafast delivery provider," established in Turkey in 2015, finally hit the United States last fall in Chicago and is using an out-of-home ad campaign to attract consumers to the service.

Getir also recently launched in major hubs such as Boston and New York. Getir Chief Transformation Officer Elif Car filled us in on how the platform hopes to jump into bigger expansion in 2022 with the help of OOH in this email interview with Digital Signage Today.

Q: Can you share some background on Getir? How long has the service been in business?

A: Getir is a grocery delivery company based in Europe.

In 2012, our founder Nazım Salur recognized the smartphone revolution and launched his first tech startup, BiTaksi. The venture quickly became Turkey's leading taxi-hailing app. BiTaksi brought taxis to the people in three minutes, causing Nazım to ask himself: "Why not bring people their groceries in around 10 minutes?" This thought led to his second startup, Getir. Launched in 2015, Getir has revolutionized last-mile grocery delivery with its 10-minute grocery delivery proposition. Getir delivers approximately 2,000 grocery items within minutes.

Since November 2021, Getir has been operating in the U.S. and is currently present in three cities: Chicago, New York, and Boston. The company also has operations in eight other countries, including Turkey, UK, the Netherlands, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, and Portugal.

Q: Can you provide a little background about yourself? How long have you been in your current role? What do you enjoy most about it?

A: It has been nine months since I joined Getir as the chief transformation officer. Starting from my first day, I have been involved in international expansion. I had the opportunity to lead Spain, Italy and Portugal launches, as well as the U.S. Now my only focus is to grow our business in the U.S. market.

We were greeted with great interest in the American market when we launched a couple months ago. Following this interest, we initiated our first OOH campaign as a part of our larger expansion communications plan. It is a great joy to see people sharing photos of Getir from outdoors all around Chicago. Seeing it all come to life is one of the most enjoyable parts of the job. I'm excited to see how this will evolve when we continue to expand to new cities.

Q: Why did Getir decide to roll out the OOH campaign in Chicago?

A: We have been investing in OOH campaigns in Turkey for a very long time, given it was the first country in which we launched Getir. We see the power of OOH marketing campaigns, and as such, we activate them in all the countries where Getir operates. We believe in our extensive knowledge on how to make them successful.

We decided to roll out our first OOH campaign in the U.S. in Chicago as a way of integrating Getir into the local community and their way of life. We are not only looking to gain familiarity in the area and tell its story through each piece of the campaign, but also wanted to show Getir's intention of being a part of Chicago residents' everyday lives, now and in the long-term.

Q: What made the previous roll outs successful?

A: Getir found success with previous campaigns abroad by showing up where our target customers are living, working, and going about day-to-day life. While tourists are a part of that customer base, it always comes back to connecting with the local community. This past January, Getir launched an OOH campaign in Spain, which marked the largest advertising campaign in the history of urban transport by number of buses and duration in Madrid and Barcelona. Buses, trams, metro, and other public transport spots in the cities will spot Getir's signature purple and yellow through April. We also have OOH campaigns in all the countries Getir operates in – including Turkey, the U.K., the Netherlands, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Portugal and now, the U.S.

Q: What do you think are the most important aspects in having a successful OOH campaign?

A: In addition to showing up where our customers are, an important aspect of a successful OOH campaign is that it catches passerby's attention and speaks directly to their needs. It's hard to miss Getir's signature purple and yellow color scheme among the signage, trains, buses around River North, for example. The campaign also features our messaging, so potential customers know how Getir can positively impact their everyday lives.

Q: What is the major goal of the campaign?

A: The overarching goal of the campaign is to raise awareness of Getir among Chicago residents, while driving home the reliability of the brand's offerings. Customers can always count on receiving groceries to their doors within minutes, and this kind of value proposition is difficult to pass up. We want to make sure Chicago knows we're here, and here to stay. As our first OOH campaign in the U.S., we see it as a major milestone in Getir's journey and look forward to further expansion stateside in 2022.