‘Win in culture’: How Ebay is getting customers ‘fired up’

Marking its 30th anniversary this month, Ebay is on a mission to modernise for a new generation and differentiate its proposition as the competition heats up. 

Taking on newer entrants like Vinted and Depop, Ebay is upping its investment in global brand as it looks to meet the needs of the next generation.

Global head of brand and media, Emily O’Hara, explains over the past three years, the company has been “pulling together” all its global brand and marketing functions “to get all of the foundations right”.

This includes “everything” about how the brand “shows up”, which last year led to the creation of Ebay’s first global brand platform since 2017, ‘Things. People. Love.’

“As any large company, you need the foundations right before you can go out and communicate in a way that is consistent and sharp, and really bringing the brand to life in the way that you want to,” says O’Hara.

“What we’ve done over the past three years is really get back down to what we’ve been about from the start, which is this amazing dynamic marketplace that is global.”

We knew value was a place that we needed to play and to communicate why Ebay can serve a lot of purposes.

Emily O’Hara, Ebay

The community is what brings the platform to life, she states. Over time, Ebay has changed from solely being an auction platform to introducing ‘buy it now’ options and acting as a home for small, independent businesses.

For O’Hara, the core value of the offering hasn’t changed, which is that you can find something that is “one of one” and an “unexpected win”, as well as buy something new.

“People have a very singular view and we’re a 30-year-old company, so there are deep perceptions of ‘You’re just a place where I can bid’. Well, you can do that and that’s a lot of fun, but you can also buy items now,” she says.

The brand’s latest global campaign ‘Ebay Stories’ looks at consumers’ personal relationships with the platform, which O’Hara says is based on “the thrill of the find” and real user case studies. The campaign aims to “drive consideration for the brand” alongside changing perceptions.

“People really do love Ebay, but they don’t consider us first,” admits O’Hara.

“It’s not an awareness and an understanding problem, as much as making sure people know that we have modernised and we are a place for all of that magic that you loved 30 years ago, but in a way that is more convenient and way more magical than it was back then.”

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Rolled out across the UK, US and Germany, the Ebay Stories campaign spans TV, digital, out-of-home and social, and has a goal of bringing to life the value proposition, but in a way that feels locally relevant.

“We have a strong foothold in these passionate communities. We have a really healthy foundation from our marketplace, but for us to be able to continue to be a healthy platform, we’ve got to get out there for women, for Gen Z and beyond” says O’Hara.

She adds that Ebay has an “important role to play” as a pre-loved marketplace in creating economic opportunity in the circular economy.

To make sure the brand isn’t alienating its long-standing customer base while attracting Gen Z shoppers, the product marketing and CRM teams are focusing on nurturing relationships, opting for “very different strategies” for existing versus new customers.

Global value perceptions

Lots of learning went into the launch of the latest global brand platform. Although she acknowledges global campaigns aren’t always necessary, O’Hara explains now was the right time due to changing consumer views around “value”.

“We knew value was a place that we needed to play and to communicate why Ebay can serve a lot of purposes for you, whether or not you need to sell so that you can make some more money, or if it’s a place where you can buy the thing that you want, but maybe a few years older, but it’s still of high quality,” says O’Hara.

“It’s a good time in terms of ramping into a period where people are leaning in to shop more, but it is a campaign with longevity. This is not a holiday moment. We’re going to continue the stories talking about spectrum value all through next year.”

The stories of sellers will be Ebay’s next focus, which it sees as an “untapped” area of the marketplace. She explains the brand is “so much more than the marketing” and is about how people are “feeling the value through the end-to-end experience”, which is set to be enhanced through Ebay live shopping.

Using social media as a tool, the business wants to reach its desired communities with an ambition to “win in culture”.

“We don’t need to make community, we’re not a social platform. But what we want to do is empower the communities to have great connectivity,” says O’Hara.

In the eight plus years I’ve been here, I don’t think I’ve ever been more excited about the moment that we’re in as a brand.

Emily O’Hara, Ebay

Physical events and an influencer strategy are the prefers modes of connection. Ebay’s group of influencers is called The Cast, “authentic” users with “shared values” who tell stories about their use of the platform and encouraged their followers to share stories.

“The whole point is that it organically needs to feel that the person who’s speaking about the brand, it’s their preference, not us paying them for their preference,” says O’Hara.

The marketer believes Ebay’s point of differentiation is around “making more space” for things that really get people “fired up”, particularly when the market is a “sea of sameness”.

Brand and marketing is “critical” to O’Hara in ensuring Ebay stands out, particularly at a time where AI is changing shopping journeys.

“The funnel has collapsed in the way in which people are finding brands. So, it’s going to be a massive learning year, but we’re looking to set ourselves up to be agile, to meet that moment. The way in which brands are showing up is going to change and we need to make sure that we’re able to change quickly with it,” says O’Hara.

“Us making sure that it is very clear why people should come to Ebay, for them to have a relationship, for them to see the value and benefit from being on the platform or off the platform, is really critical.”

She admits “competitors are coming left, right and centre”, accelerating in “meaningful ways”, but explains Ebay is “still the largest” and “most diverse” in terms of inventory and scale.

“We have a really great position for us to scale and there is continued commitment to invest in brands from the company, which I’m really grateful for because it’s really important for us to pave the future,” she adds.

“In the eight plus years I’ve been here, I don’t think I’ve ever been more excited about the moment that we’re in as a brand.”