#UberPuppies: Puppies delivered to your workplace!

This morning started pretty much like any other Thursday morning waking up in my Sydney apartment. My girlfriend needed a ride into the city and I suggest for her to book an Uber taxi. But as I opened the app something was different, very different indeed!

UberPuppies! What exactly is UberPuppies? You’ve guessed it, puppies on demand delivered straight to your workplace.

Source: https://newsroom.uber.com/australia/uberpuppies-au/

Between 12-4pm today anybody with an Uber account can order puppies to be delivered to their workplace for 15 minutes for fun for a $40 fee. Teaming up with the Purina Pets At Work mission to deliver puppies to spread the love across eight cities in Australia for a limited time only.

It has been scientifically proven that our furry friends are shown to decrease stress and increase productivity in the work place. Many pet friendly initiatives have been adopted in offices across Australia making it less uncommon to work alongside animals. Of course, almost everyone is smiling when dogs are around which can bring a sense of calm to an often-stressful and busy working environment. 

Source: https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com

The goal of the initiative is to encourage the adoption of pets and help to raise funds for local animal shelters. In fact, all the puppies taking part in the UberPuppies initiative are up for adoption and in need of a new home. The proceeds of the special delivery will be donated to shelters in Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra, The Gold Coast, Melbourne, Perth, The Sunshine Coast and Sydney.

Of course, if you are worried about the puppies welfare fear not. This is a limited time initiative with successful requesters being subjected to screening to ensure the puppies safety is a priority. The biggest danger however may be just how many people fall in love with their new fury friends!

I think this is a fantastic piece of marketing from Uber and a great way to raise the profile of their taxi service along by helping a great cause. It comes off the back of a similar campaign last year, UberKittens, which saw friendly felines sharing their love in the workplace. Of course, before requesting one of the Uberpuppies, you may first have to check that is OK with your boss to have an animal in the office for 15 minutes of fun.

Robert Brunning
Current student in the Master of Marketing program at the University of Sydney Business School