Newcastle Cabbie Black Ale
Newcastle Cabbie Black Ale comes with a $5 cab fare credit for Taxi Magic app users

We hope you have a very merry holiday season, and a happy new year.  And if you happen to have one (or several) drinks too many, not to worry: several major alcohol brands are working with mobile taxi apps to help pay for your ride home. Brands including MillerCoors, Heineken, Ciroc Vodka and Patron Spirits are collaborating with transportation apps (Hailo, Taxi Magic, Uber) to offer discounts on your ride home (AdAge).

Here are a few examples:

  • MillerCoors wants you to “celebrate safe” and is giving away $3 million in cab rides in Chicago, Boston and NY from December 2 – January 5 through Hailo; by entering a code found at select bars, consumers get $10 off a ride from Hailo, which connects them to available cabs
  • Patron Spirits is offering $10 discounts on rides from Uber to members of its online fan site, the Patron Social Club, throughout the holiday season
  • Diageo’s Ciroc vodka is giving new Uber users $25 coupons, from January 1 to March 1 — but only if the brand gets 10,000 pledges from fans (on Facebook and Twitter) to never drink and drive, using #CIROCthenewyear

And our favorite: Heineken’s Newcastle Brown Ale produced a limited edition “Newcastle Cabbie Black Ale” (that just sounds delicious) to promote its partnership with the Taxi Magic app; when consumers purchase the ale, displays will feature a promo code offering a $5 cab fare credit for Taxi Magic users.

It’s a win-win situation: users get a discount on their (safe) ride home, and brands encourage consumers to engage with them digitally.  So enjoy, and stay safe this holiday season!