How Lyft Celebrated its Birthday with Style
A birthday celebration should always be special, and this is even truer for corporations than it is for individuals. Celebrations give companies the chance to pump up their branding in fun and memorable ways, and such opportunities should never be missed. This is why Lyft chose to create an unforgettable experience for its drivers in its home town of Los Angeles as a way to mark its fifth anniversary of operations. It also made sure that everyone else who came near the event site would see a very memorable ad for the company.
To make this happen, Lyft started by painting a historic car wash – La Cienega Car Wash & Oil Change – in a bright, light shade of pink. As expected, this brought immediate attention, but it was just the start. Inside, Lyft drivers can get car washes for just $1 and get discounts on services like oil changes. This display and deal will run for a total of 30 days. It opened on July 14.
The location was chosen based on several criteria. One was its iconic status in the immediate area. Changing it, especially in such a radical way, made it easy to get plenty of local press coverage. Another was the condition of the structure itself. It had to be solid enough to not only paint it, but return it to its original form once the event ended. Finally, it had to be able to handle the increase in traffic the event would bring.
It wasn't just the paint that was changed. The car wash's original sign was modified into a retro one that temporarily renames the venue as the Lyft Car Wash. All of the changes combined took seven days to do.
Since opening under the promotional name, about 100 Lyft drivers a day have taken advantage of the $1 car washes. Meanwhile, regular customers continue to use the facility at its standard rates. To speed things up and keep everyone properly sorted, Lyft drivers are directed into a special lane when they enter the lot.
The point of the Lyft makeover is to increase the company's branding and thank its drivers for their service rather than to make money from selling car washes. Therefore, all proceeds from this event are being donated to the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank. This both helps the community and increases goodwill from this socially-forward area.
Good planning like this is the key to holding a successful single-venue event. As Lyft's experience shows, choosing the venue is, in itself, a big part of making something like this work.
For an excellent venue in Miami, Florida, try Soho Studios. We have up to 70,000 square feet of indoor space and two outdoor areas that can be configured to meet your company's specific needs. We also have concierge services to help you find the perfect event firms to provide all of the equipment, planning, and execution services you need. This frees you to concentrate on essentials like your branding and marketing efforts and helps to ensure that your event will create wonderful memories for both your guests and your business.
