The Drum Awards Brand Strategy Awards Case Studies

How Delve helped Economy Car Rentals save €1m each quarter during the pandemic

By Awards Analyst, writer

December 7, 2022 | 5 min read

During the Covid-19 pandemic, Delve developed an AI model for Economy Car Rentals that helped the chain save €1m each quarter while competitors struggled. The technology won Most Effective First Party Data Strategy at The Drum Awards for Digital Industries 2022. Here's what went into this winning initiative.

Artificial intelligence developed by Delve helped EconomyCarRentals save millions of euros / Credit: EconomyCarRentals

The brief

Greece-based Economy Car Rentals provides rental vehicles in over 160 countries. However, as the Covid-19 pandemic spread across the globe, the company saw an uptick in cancelations. This impacted revenue and the chain's conversion marketing.

The company was in desperate need of a solution to alleviate these trends and save its ROI. That solution would come from Delve, a firm that innovates products across commercial, and consumer industries.

The idea

Delve would create an AI model that would predict cancelation probability by leveraging Economy Car Rentals' own first-party data. Thanks to more efficient targeting and minimizing ad spending, Delve predicted the technology could save its client upwards of €1m each quarter.

The results

Delve's prediction was correct, resulting in a boost to the company's bottom line during the pandemic while their competitors continued to struggle, according to a company statement shared with The Drum.

"By revealing that the volatility of cancelation rates was the real problem, not the cancelation rate itself, Delve helped ECR to bridge the gap between ad spend now and revenue a couple of months later," Delve's data science team lead Michal Wrabel said in a statement. "In the process, we restored the client's confidence in ad campaigns."

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This campaign won at The Drum Awards for the Digital Industries 2022. You can see all the winners here. The Drum Awards for Marketing are currently open for entry. Find out how you can enter now.