Flywheel, Uber Advertising launch retail media partnership

Adam McCleery
By Adam McCleery | 4 June 2025
 

Uber’s advertising network claims reach across 10 million Australians annually. 

Flywheel Australia, the ecommerce arm of Omnicom, has partnered with Uber Advertising and Criteo through an API integration aimed at helping FMCG brands run targeted retail media campaigns across Uber Eats and affiliated grocery and alcohol retailers.

The partnership positions Flywheel as the first agency in Australia to offer native API integration for commerce campaigns across Uber’s network.

The collaboration is pitched at Australia's growing quick commerce sector and is designed to streamline campaign execution and measurement across platforms.

“This integration offers a market-first opportunity for FMCG brands in the rapidly growing quick commerce sector in Australia,” managing director at Flywheel Australia, Mohammad Heidari Far, told AdNews

“Our teams can now use Flywheel Commerce Cloud as a centralised platform to create, manage, optimise and scale campaigns.”

The API link with Criteo’s Commerce Max platform enables Flywheel to automate bid adjustments, day-parting and budget pacing.

“With Flywheel’s deep analytics and Criteo’s access to high-intent shoppers across retail media and the open web, brands and agencies gain a powerful, unified platform to drive commerce results at scale,” said Matthew Hurle, head of activation, APAC at Criteo.

Brands also gain access to Flywheel’s “Multi-Platform” report, offering near real-time, consolidated retail media performance data across networks.

We provide a fully managed service where Flywheel experts handle the day-to-day management of campaigns in Flywheel Commerce Cloud,” Heidari Far said.

“Our clients benefit from the platform’s advanced automation without needing deep technical knowledge.”

Uber’s advertising network claims reach across 10 million Australians annually. 

The head of Uber advertising sales ANZ, Michael Levine, said the platform now enables advertisers to target shoppers across a range of consumer occasions, such as weekly shops, top-ups and last-minute purchases.

“We’re seeing a shift from impulse-only purchases to more planned missions, especially during key seasonal moments,” Levine said. 

“Combining real-time behaviour, historic order patterns, and contextual signals, like heading to the airport, lets brands deliver messages at high-intent moments.”

The integration aims to address gaps in Australia’s fragmented retail media environment by incorporating Uber’s quick commerce channel as a distinct layer alongside marketplaces and retail media networks.

“It enables FMCG brands to engage consumers at key decision points and closes the loop between ad exposure and purchase,” Heidari Far said. 

He said this approach reflects increasing demand for transparency, immediacy and unified reporting across digital and retail platforms.

While still early, the system offers closed-loop attribution, including direct on-platform sales tracking for campaigns run on UberEats.

Brand lift tools are also available to measure awareness and purchase intent.

The partnership is designed for scalability beyond FMCG. Flywheel says its solution is already available for alcohol, pet supplies and pharmacy brands, with capacity to expand into new verticals as Uber adds inventory.

As for whether the model could draw spend away from platforms like Meta and Google, Heidari Far said a gradual shift is expected.

“Particularly for brands that don’t own the point of sale. But this is part of a broader diversification rather than a replacement,” he said. 

The partnership follows a broader strategic alignment between Uber Advertising and Omnicom Media Group Australia.

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