OLA vs UBER: It’s a Social War!

If you thought the war of the wheels was restricted only to the roads, you are highly mistaken. Every company which becomes successful within a short period of time turns out to be the talk of the town. Precisely why, Ola became the rising star in no time! What also kept the ball rolling was the competition it struck with an international player Uber.

Uber on the other hand was just about trying to secure its position in the Indian market and incidents like rape by their driver crept in, which tarnished their reputation to a huge extent. The story went viral easily considering the sensitivity of the issue in question and “India”. This also worked greatly in favour of Ola as the comparison game began almost immediately.
Just recently, Simplify360 conducted a social media analysis on the two cab service giants and the results they found were actually quite predictable. Also after Ola took over TaxiForSure, the fan following has increased substantially. Thanks to the reputation it had maintained over the past years. Although both continue to operate as separate entities, the outbreak of the big news did steer up the market substantially.
According to the aforementioned report, for the period between 1 June and 15 June 2015, we observed Ola as the clear leader when it came to social media presence and activities. While the others strived to be in the limelight, Ola’s hashtag campaign, #AccessToArmin generated immense buzz and eventually led to increased brand awareness. People participated, won passes to the concert and travelled by OLA! Clean strategy!
If we look at the bigger picture, there are several reasons behind the popularity of Ola, such as it is an Indian brand and is active only in India, with no plans of extending abroad. Uber on the other hand is an international brand and “patriotism” plays a great role here! When we compared the fan following of both the brands, on Twitter Ola led the battle with staggering 26.3K followers. Uber on the other hand has maintained separate handles for each city with the highest number of followers for Uber Kolkata, i.e. 13.3K. This strategy has allowed Uber to reach a larger audience, however has it helped them in increasing their sales is still a question mark.
Although it might sound a little strange but yes, Uber beats Ola in number of facebook fans by a huge margin. This might be a result of its international presence and a single profile. While Ola garners fans amounting to 267K, Uber stands out with an astounding 1.9M.

Some of the Offline reasons why Ola is still a stunner in the minds of Indian audience:
1. It has a highly user friendly app, which is not just easy to use but also quick. Keeping their requirements from the customer to minimum, they have managed to win the hearts of many.
2. They are known for their record of reaching on time! People love punctuality, especially when it does not involve them being at the gunpoint. (no pun intended)
3. Ola carries interesting hashtag campaigns, both contests related and even otherwise. Remember #ChaloNiklo? What a hit!
4. Ola offers comfort to their customers; multiple payment options including cash, is a bet played well. However, Uber is yet to provide this service to their customers.
5. Their variety of cars and pricing to cater to various genres of audience has also allowed them to reach a greater spread. This facility is provided by Uber as well.
With the support Ola receives from the masses, and the increasing growth it has observed over the past, it is a brand which is here to stay.