Careem has launched a ‘no batching’ campaign, “Room for Your Order Only” in Abu Dhabi and Al Ain, spotlighting a delivery model where captains carry one order at a time, offering customers a dedicated journey from restaurant to door.
The idea stems from a familiar frustration in food delivery people have with food delivery, receiving cold and delayed deliveries. When customers order food, they’re not just hungry; they’re on a clock. And while ‘on-time delivery’ is a common claim across the category, many customers experience longer waits and poorer food quality when multiple orders are delivered at the same time.
To tease the campaign, the team have rolled out some really fun custom-designed delivery boxes that are playfully styled to represent a single order. Think: one pizza box, one burger, one pack of fries.
“In Abu Dhabi, we identified a clear opportunity and competitive advantage: our delivery model that goes straight from the restaurant to the customer, without making any other deliveries along the way,” says Tom Sword, Global Head of Brand & Creative at Careem.
Rather than relying on explanation, the team chose to show the idea physically. Custom-designed delivery boxes – each styled to represent a single order, from a lone pizza to one burger and fries – were created as part of an on-ground activation across the city.
The result was Room for Your Order Only, a campaign that turns the concept of unbatched deliveries into a clear, visible message.
“It was clear to us that customers don’t really think about the delivery process. They care about how their food shows up. And if it’s cold, soggy or feels mishandled, the experience is already broken. This insight pushed us towards highlighting a delivery journey that treats food with care. We made bespoke delivery boxes that became a physical expression of that idea, making no batching instantly understood and impossible to ignore,” says Sword.
The Careem boxes became a tangible expression of that journey, making the idea of no batching ‘instantly understood and impossible to ignore’. For customers, the visual served as reassurance that their order gets its own ride, with no additional pick-ups or drop-offs along the way. The activation saw Careem captains take over the streets of Abu Dhabi with the custom boxes, using one of the brand’s most recognisable assets, the delivery box.
“This gave our customers in Abu Dhabi a clear, visual reassurance that their food gets its own ride with Careem. With no other pickups or delivery along the way. The result is food that arrives hot, fresh and on time. A delivery experience people enjoy and can rely on,” says Sword.
The campaign launched with a strong on-ground activation with Careem Captains taking over the streets of Abu Dhabi replacing the iconic Careem delivery boxes with the custom-made boxes – sparking curiosity and conversation.
“We built on that familiarity by using our most recognisable real estate to carry the message far and wide. By redesigning a box for this campaign that fits one order only, the idea came to life in a way that stopped people in their tracks. The message was clear: One order. One Captain. One delivery,” says Sword.
In a market like the UAE, where expectations are high and details matter, the execution was designed to feel intentional and considered. The idea was meant to appear naturally in everyday life, turning routine deliveries into talking points; whether in traffic, outside restaurants, alongside competitors, or at the customer’s door.
The campaign was developed and executed entirely by Careem’s in-house agency, Creative Studio, which led the work from initial insight through to online and offline executions as part of a broader 360 rollout. The custom boxes were produced in collaboration with The Fibreglass Factory Ltd, helping the work show up exactly as intended on the streets.
“We’ve received millions of views on a range of UGC content. We backed this impact with outdoor ads that carried a single, clear message: Room for your order only,” says Sword. “It was a real team effort, bringing together strong strategy, copy, design, and hands-on use of AI tools to move quickly and stay close to the idea.”
The concept extended across paid media, social, CRM touchpoints and the in-app journey, with the same message carried consistently across every customer interaction.
The on-ground presence has sparked a lot of engagement, and early social chatter suggests the idea is already landing with people.
Credits:
Global Head of Brand & Creative – Tom Sword
Creative Director – Habiba Alam
Creative Director – Rodrigo Scapolan
Creative Manager, Copy – Munira Rampurawala, Zain Barodawalla, Madhurima Ray
Creative Manager, Design – Kalpit Bothra, Fabio Koriyama, Daniele Chiarantini
Motion Design Manager – Marcio Rodrigues
Brand Managers – Hugh Phillips, Omnia Abdelhalim
Director of Social Media – Ahmad Dghaim
Social Media Content Manager – Willy Yuen
Senior Social Media Executive – Sara Alamuddin
Marketing Director – Mohammed Amer
Associate Director of Marketing – Anas El Hout
Senior Marketing Executive- Leila Choueri
