NEOMA Business School Bsc2

The new road of a Start-upMarket Survey BlaBlaCar in Sweden

Gabrielle AUVRAY

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Table of contentI. Presentation.....................................................................................................................4

A. BlaBlaCar......................................................................................................................4a. The concept.................................................................................................................................4b. Historic........................................................................................................................................4c. New settlements.........................................................................................................................5

B. The service....................................................................................................................7a. Innovative...................................................................................................................................7b. Economic.....................................................................................................................................7d. Useful..........................................................................................................................................7e. Ecologic.......................................................................................................................................7

II. Swedish consumer needs and comparative analysis.........................................................7A. Swedish consumer needs..............................................................................................7

a. Hofstede......................................................................................................................................7b. Market survey.............................................................................................................................9

B. The Swedish concurrent..............................................................................................11a. Other carpooling websites........................................................................................................11b. Trains.........................................................................................................................................11c. Bus............................................................................................................................................12d. Implantation..............................................................................................................................12

III. Modifications for the mobility market / Marketing plan.............................................14A. Targets. Who carpool?................................................................................................14B. Communication axis and positioning...........................................................................14C. Define the taxation policy...........................................................................................16D. Communication/ Advertising......................................................................................17

a. Traditional tools........................................................................................................................17b. Digital tools...............................................................................................................................17

E. Performance Targets...................................................................................................18

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Introduction

BlaBlaCar, one of the most promising start-ups of its decade fulfil perfectly the criteria of this

market survey. To contribute to the international business development strategy of BlaBlaCar I studied

the plans, the politics and the ambitions of this company in parallel with the behaviour and the

expectations of the Swedish mobility market. My goal is to find if the fact that this carpooling service is

the most intuitive and successful in the world gives it the edge to expends in Sweden. Does this French

internet actor got the skills to open the roads of Scandinavia?

I invite you to begin this report with a general presentation of this start-up and of the service of

carpooling. The comparative analysis and Swedish market study will follow and finally the necessary

modifications to adapt to the Swedish mobility market via a Marketing plan.

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I. PresentationA. BlaBlaCar

a. The concept BlaBlaCar is an innovative start-up on internet and a community platform of carpooling. Created by

Frederic Mazzella in 2006, company expended to become the leader of carpooling in more than 20

countries. The platform connects drivers and passengers wishing to share a ride and the fees. The drivers

can publish on the website their availability, the path they are willing to do, the price and some options.

The passengers just choose between those criteria and buy online. « Our members are having fun with a

smart, social and sustainable travel solution. » (Facebook page of BlaBlaCar). This young and dynamic

team are expending their project all over the years.

b. Historic i. Of the company

Launched in 2006, the idea of this start up went during the Christmas of 2003 when Frederic Mazzella

was about to join his family in the West of France. I didn’t found any place in the trains and his sister had

to pick him up at Paris the 24th of December.

This website was first called covoiturage.fr, implanting 2 years later the system of community

notification system, portraits, biographies and the application of carpooling. The start-up begin to raise

funds and in 2010 rich € 1.25 million from ISA, € 7.5 million from Accel Partners…. Spain in 2009, GB in

2010, and thanks to those partners, between July and November 2012, they launch BlaBlaCar in Italy,

Portugal, Poland, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Belgium. The same year they launch online

reservation service to get profit of the reservations they are dealing with. They take a percentage of each

journey between the transfer of money on the platform. Before reaching Germany they change their

name to « BlaBlaCar » to standardize the network

End of 2013, BlaBlaCar got 5 million members and says transporting 1 million people per month, in a

total of 10 countries.

At the beginning of 2014 they settle in Ukraine and Russia and raise more than 100 million euros from

Index Ventures with the goal of becoming the world leader in carpooling.

In 2015 the company expanded into India and buys 3 international competitors, settling particularly in

Mexico. They also sign an assistance agreement with Axa to ensure its users while traveling.

In September 2015, BlaBlaCar announces new fundraising $ 200 million in order to accelerate its

deployment in Latin America and Asia.

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ii. Of the mobility marketAfter the wars and during the sixties the carpooling spreads as an organised hitchhiking in Germany,

Belgium, Canada, Netherlands and France with Allostop. After the oil shock in 1973 and during all the

70’, the carpooling extends because of the rising of the cost.

Following the strikes of 1995 and the paralysis of the transport the French head to cost sharing. In 2000

the matchmaking operators invest internet and lead to the creation of BlaBlaCar.

c. New settlementsThe different settlements of BlaBlaCar can be categorize into several plans: The first ones were based in

more or less neighbouring countries of France like Spain, Germany, GB, Italy, Portugal, Belgium,

Luxemburg, Netherlands… Those Europeans countries were ready to encourage a start up in the field of

collective sharing. Those settlements were easy to make and into the same area of European Union.

Moreover, the transportation between neighbouring countries is easy; inhabitants of South-East of

France were used to post travels to Milan on the platform even before being implanted in Italy.

Furthermore, on some countries like Russia this settlement seems obvious. The companies already

established on the field were ineffective despite the market potential.

Russia is a huge market of 200 million people were the use of Internet is very developed. It started very

fast: They reached more than 1 million users in 10 months, while in other countries, it may take 1 year or

two. The fact that most of Russians live in the western part of the country has promoted their

development. This area has a normal size compared to the rest of Russia, it’s densely populated and

everything is more expensive, especially trains. It appears as a great anti-crisis solution. They allow to

travel faster, cheaper and more conveniently. People who use this service are neither very rich or very

poor and any special profession. The average age is 30 years, with 20% students.

In deed the creation of a settlement is based on the criteria of gasoline price, distances between

big cities and public transport.

The average trip in Russia is 400 km with a price of gasoline of 0,47 $/ litter

The trips in France are not much longer than in Russia, approximately 300km and 1,37 $ / litter of

gasoline.

However, in the United States for

example, the average distance of travel is

difficult to calculate because of the vastness of

the territory and the population present on the

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entire country. But to give an example I took the distance between the five biggest cities (per inhabitant)

of the United states

The average distance will be: (2618+2491+3243+1222+156)/5= 1946

With 0,52 $/ litter of gasoline.

Price of gazoline on the 22/02/2016

"The model that we propose is more difficult to apply in the United States today. The distances are too

long there and the cost of gasoline too low for an interesting cost sharing. In addition, urban sprawl and

poor public transport complicate the encounter with passengers. "Frederic Mazzella

As a conclusion I would say that BlaBlaCar followed his plan of settlement. Ukraine followed their

implantation in Russia, and West Europe was “easy to get” by the lack of competitors (Poland, Serbia,

Romania, Croatia, Hungary, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Turkey).

In 2015/2016 their goal is to expend in Latin America and Asia through the market in India, Mexico and

Brazil. Beginning of 2015, BlaBlaCar create a subsidiary company in India. To become the world number

1, Mr. Mazzella intends settle BlaBlaCar "wherever there are roads and mobile phones." India, with 40

million cars and 71,000 km of highways, has enormous potential. The new generation fond of new

technologies will appear as a perfect target. Mexico went into the database in May 2015 by acquiring the

already existent platform Rides.

B. The servicea. Innovative

All the initiatives born from the digital revolution shakes the production and distribution modes for

goods and services. Those firms (BlaBlaCar, Airbnb, Uber…) that get profit from the support of the

"masses" against old lobbies disconnected from reality. They are the representatives of the “sharing -

economy” and of lower costs.

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France Russia United States

Gasoline Price($)

Distance

Public transport

b. EconomicIn a world always more expensive of the ultra-consumption, BlaBlaCar represent the company of those

who think about making ends meet at the end of the month. This is the way to deal with the cost of oil or

any repairs to the car.

c. Convenient

Convenient because picking someone in my town and and deposit him where I will be arrived is easy to

make. It doesn’t need any extra shifting, it just allows to meet new people, often really open minded and

ready to share a ride in a friendly atmosphere.

d. UsefulIt helps the rider to reduce costs, as same as the passenger that would maybe pay more a train ticket and

don’t have to take any metro ticket or anything else to go to the train station, the car is in his own city

most of the time.

e. EcologicThe ecologic aspect of BlaBlaCar is often used as a good reason of his development. This is indeed a

company that allow the reduction of greenhouse gas thanks to the limitations of the cars on the roads. 4

cars with a single person in it VS 1 car with 4 persons is obviously a better initiative.

II. Swedish consumer needs and comparative analysisA. Swedish consumer needs

a. HofstedeThe needs of a society are a huge amount of information and different datas to collect. To

understand the needs of the Swedish I took support on Greet Hofstede. Geert Hofstede is a Dutch social

psychologist and anthropologist who has studied the interactions between cultures. He was awarded

many times for his research on the interactions between cultures worldwide. One of his most notable

achievements is the establishment of a theory on the cultural dimensions that offers a systematic

framework for evaluating differences between nations and cultures.

The theory is based on the idea that the value can be placed on six cultural dimensions. This is the power

(equality against inequality), collectivism / individualism, the uncertainty avoidance /acceptance of

uncertainty, masculinity / femininity, the temporal orientation and pleasure /moderation. Hofstede

gathered most of his data on global cultural values through surveys conducted by IBM.

On his official website, Hofstede gives some information about the Swedish community.

First we can observe that the notion of Power distance is quit low and means

that the Swedish are more independent, with hierarchy for convenience and a

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big support for equal right. This join the notion of Individualism. Actually in his theory, Hofstede describe

the Swedes as very individualist. People’s self image is defined in terms of “I” and not “We”. “They have

a high preference for a loosely-knit social framework were individuals are supposed to take care of

themselves and their immediate family.” Their really individualist spirit might be a cause why the

implantation of a company based on the “sharing” is maybe not a good idea. They prefer having their

own travels with their closest friends or family rather than total strangers. However, in the Uncertainty

Avoidance dimension Hofstede explain that the Swedish have a low score of 29 and means that this

society “maintain a more relaxed attitude in which practice counts more than principles and deviance

from the norm is more easily tolerated”, people believe there should be no more rules or change it,

schedule are flexible, precision and punctuality do not come naturally. It is a flexible society that don’t

have any problems with change and they don’t feel threatened by ambiguous or unknown situations.

The Swedish are a very tolerant civilization and know how to deal with the others and are not afraid to

change their habits.

One other important point about the Swedes is their really Feminine culture. The really low score of

5/100 means that the dominant values in the society are caring for others and quality of life. They want

to keep their life balanced, they value equality, solidarity and quality. “The whole culture is based around

'lagom', which means something like not too much, not too little, not too noticeable, everything in

moderation. Lagom ensures that everybody has enough and nobody goes without. Lagom is enforced in

society by “Jante Law” which should keep people “in place” at all times. It is a fictional law and a

Scandinavian concept which counsels people not to boast or try to lift themselves above others.”

The Long Term Orientation dimension don’t give any important information about our subject.

Nevertheless, the last dimension, Indulgence, have a very high score (78/100). It means that the Swedes

exhibit a willingness to realise their impulses and desires with regard to enjoying life and having fun.

They possess a positive attitude and have a tendency towards optimism.

To conclude on this theory of Geert Hofstede, I would say that the Swedish have a perfect

personality for this kind of company. BlaBlaCar have a special spirit, they symbolize happiness, sharing,

meeting new people and the society’s change. Their icon, smiling and open-minded new members of this

consumption society are totally consistent with the attitude of the Swedish. From the Hofstede Swedish

cultural dimensions analysis, we can remove some descriptive adjective as: equal, flexible, tolerant,

balanced, solidarity, quality, enjoying life, having fun, optimism. Is this agreement the first step towards

a settlement?

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b. Market surveyTo understand the needs of the Swedish market I secondly wanted to get information about

what they were expecting in this special market.

To start this work, I found normal to let the Swedish answer to some questions. Why a

quantitative survey? My goal is to find if BlaBlaCar can settle in Sweden and identify the pros and cons of

this implantation. This is why I created a market survey on Google Forms about this company. I shared

this survey in Karlstad University because It is my university but also because I found interesting to get

information about a young population, the target n°1 of BlaBlaCar. Secondly Karlstad is situated in the

middle of a lot of big cities: Stockholm, Goteborg, Oslo, Orebro etc… So it is a perfect situation for a

carpooling industry. My goal first of all was to find results about the willingness to share costs so my

question n°1 is « Would you agree to share your car for a travel Karlstad-Stockholm and share the price

of the journey? » and « Why ». Afterwards to develop a website of carpooling in another country the

target is the competitors. To know their popularity, their use, frequent or not. My question n°2 is « Do

you know a website of carpooling in Sweden? If yes, which one and do you use it? ». Thirdly, to start a

new business in a country we have to know is the people already know the brand to direct our marketing

toward one particular consumer or another. That’s why my third question is “Do you know the brand

BlaBlaCar? If yes, do you use it, how often?”. Afterward (4th question) their opinion: “Do you think it

would be a good idea to implant BlaBlaCar in Sweden? And Why”. Lastly (Fifth question) I asked if they

were living in Sweden, even if the people foreigners, if they are living in Sweden their opinion is as

interesting as Swedish one. More over Karlstad university is an international university were the number

of exchange students is very high and their willingness to travel, to discover the country and

consequently to use BlaBlaCar is higher.

I finished my survey with their age, sex and nationality to list the answer through different categories.

To spread my market survey to touch the maximum of persons I made an online survey, shared it on

different groups on social networks, send it to my teachers but I only got 50 answers. That’s why I

decided to create a « prospectus » and to distribute it in the library of the university.

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I created a Bit.ly link, a website to reduce the size of the URL address. Afterwards I found interesting to

add a QR code, a new and useful invention to touch more people, make my prospectus more attractive

and to facilitate their answer, they don’t have to type any URL address, it’s easier.

My results were conclusive after three months of survey in my surroundings.

At the first point, my goal was to see if the public wanted more

to be a driver or a passenger. The responses are almost equal

but more for passenger choice.

I base my analysis on simple questions which the Swedes

(30/70) and other nationalities (40/70) could answer. 98% of

people currently living in Sweden, the relevance of their

answers was valid.

1. To begin the survey I wanted to first have a clear view about

their wishes, whether they were willing to share a trip:

- 56% answered yes as driver

- 66% answered yes as a passenger

- 14% said no

Of the 10 people who answered no, 6 justified their choice by the fact that they wouldn’t share a trip

with a stranger and they did not know what could happen. 1 because he is never going to Stockholm (my

example was a trip Karlstad-Stockholm), 2 because they don’t have a driving license and don’t feel

comfortable in carpooling and the last because he considers that the transports public are available and

of good quality. The 60 people who said yes warranted by the friendliness of the system the substantial

savings that can make and it is a way to participate to ecology.

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2. Then my aim was whether they knew any Swedish carpooling sites and if they used it. Among those

who have knowledge of a name, 3/7 do not remember the site, and others give a name but only 1 use it

and 1 once a year.

Knowledge shows the consistency of the offer. On

Swedish ground, carpool sites exist but are a little bit or

never used by the target users BlaBlaCar. The same

question in France before and after the implementation

of BlaBlaCar on the field would have proven the power of

the brand.

3.The third question is to know the popularity of BlaBlaCar among le citizens of Sweden.

The majority (54,2%) don’t know the brand and therefore don’t use it (while they were 86% that are

willing to share a ride).

Among the people that know and use the brand, 45% use it once a year, 40% once every six months and

15% once every months

4. The direct question of the viability of an implantation of BlaBlaCar in Sweden was successful, 86% of

the interviewed answered yes. (65 answers). The others

13 persons justified their choice by:

- Swedish people are very shy, and reserved,

don’t want to share a ride (x2)

- Swedish use public transport (x2)

- They are not familiar with the brand or don’t

know (x7)

- No answer (x2)

5. Those answers were answered by 65% people aged between 20-25 years old, 23% of 25-29 and the

rest. With 49/72 women and 23/72 men. There is 43% of Swedish but 95% of respondents are actually

living in Sweden.

This survey reveal the coherence of the implantation of BlaBlaCar in Sweden, the market is open to news

opportunities for an implantation.

B. The Swedish concurrent

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a. Other carpooling websitesThe first direct concurrent is the others websites of carpooling. As you saw on my survey market,

the Swedish don’t really use the carpooling, they know some brands but don’t use it as much as the

French. (Cf market survey p.9) The names that came out are DriveBack, Sunfleet, Skjutsgruppen,

Roadmate and Samåkning but from all those answers only 4 persons on 32 said using those websites and

just once a year. It isn’t a developed concept in here and since one year I’ve never heard about

carpooling.

b. TrainsOne of the transport the most used to travel around the country is the train. To get any ticket or

information, the website sj.se is available. The price of the tickets is approximate, it can be cheap (25

euros for Stockholm-Karlstad, 300km) if the ticket is taken 1 month before the travel but can reach really

fast 40 euros. For the same distance (Marseille-Lyon, 314 km), the cost on BlaBlaCar 4 days before is 16

euros.

However, the quality of the trains is perfect, always in good conditions. The company SJ respect

completely the criteria of a train company. Taking the train in Sweden is really pleasant even if in winter

the trains are often delayed due to the important amount of snow that can fall in one night.

c. BusThe buses are also a really used transport. Less expensive than the train, the buses are good

ways to travel between big cities. It serves all the localities (the price of a few connections) even most

remote. The approximate cost of a Karlstad- Stockholm 4 days before is 20 euros. However, the busses

have a lot of stops, the trip is longer than the one by car and it is definitely less friendly than BlaBlaCar.

d. Implantation BlaBlaCar could be implanted in Sweden thanks to the politic they employ on the roads. First all

the highways are free, there isn’t any toll in Sweden so it reduces unavoidably the cost of the journeys

within the country. The roads are direct and fast, in town, the speed limit is 50 km / h and 30 km / h near

schools. Outside of urban areas, it can go at 70 or 90 km / h and 110 km / h on highways. Last year, 264

people died in a road accident in Sweden with a population of 9.6 million people, or 2.75 per 100 000,

while France experienced a record year in 2013 with "only" 3250 deaths in a population of 66.6 million

people, or 4.9 per 100 000. for this profound improvements of the road network have been established.

Swedish roads are indeed built with priority on safety before speed or practicality. The Nordic countries

have proved it was possible to avoid the absurdity of death at the wheel taking unpopular measures,

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notably to limit the alcohol level to 0.2 g/l. The roads are indeed a real asset for the country, always in

good condition and safe they allow an atmosphere of trust on the roads.

To take again the example in I.A.c., I would like to add the information of Sweden. The price of gasoline

in Sweden is 1,43 $/ litter almost equal to the cost in France. More over Sweden is not as big as the US

with just 450 000 km2, fourth biggest country of Europe after Ukraine, France and Spain.

Price of gazoline on the 22/02/2016

For the Public transport factor, the metro is really present in big cities as Stockholm and buses serve

most of the cities such as Karlstad with a dozens of lines. It is perfect to facilitate the encounters of the

passengers/drivers.

The implantation in Sweden could open different roads in Scandinavia. Norway, Sweden, Denmark and

Finland can offer a real opportunity of development for this company. For example, Stockholm is just at 4

hours from Oslo. More over Norway is one of the most expensive country in the world so this seems a

good opportunity for its inhabitants.

Another aspect is the ecologic impact. The Scandinavian have a really special and deep attachment to

ecology. BlaBlaCar allow a division of cost but also of pollution, it’s a real opportunity to break not only

the costs but also the greenhouse gas effects created by the car. Trips with multiple passengers are a

way to contribute to sustainable development.

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France Russia United States Sweden

Gasoline Price($)

Distance

Public transport

III. Modifications for the mobility market / Marketing plan

A. Targets. Who carpool?

The first important point in a new implantation abroad is to know which target we address at.

BlaBlaCar being a new start-up, 75.8% of the users are between 18 and 35 years. However, for a carpool

service company there are no specially targeted social class. Each individual wishing to participate in

carpooling as a passenger (75%) or as a driver (25%) has the opportunity. There is no clear gap between

the number of women or men using this service (41% / 59%) but the difference can be explained by the

fact that it’s a platform that connects individuals together for a road trip and despite the installation of

their opinion online system, some women may remain hostile to the idea of sharing a trip with strangers.

The issue of trust is central for the economy of sharing. For Frederic Mazzella, founder BlaBlaCar,

"Confidence in a community makes possible interactions. For thousands of years, our society was based

on trust between people that share something: a place, a territory, a family connection ... But our study

shows that there is now a new type: the trust online ".

(These figures are given in the official website of the brand)

The reasons for using this service have been identified:

- 35% think that it’s a way to save money

- 24% use BlaBlaCar because it’s more friendly than a classic trip

- 20% found the system quick and convenient

B. Communication axis and positioning

To settle the communication axis, I first wanted to ask some question. What would the directors of the

brand could ask themselves to to position their communication and marketing?:

- What sets us apart?

- What is our competitive advantage?

- What makes us unique?

Or in other world how did they filled the Golden Triangle of

Positioning?

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To get a real view of the mobility market I’ve analysed first the company by making a SWOT analysis:

Strengths:

- Advantageous Win-Win system

- Diversity of travels

- Simplicity of the website (the more efficient and resulting)

- Indispensable platform for both passengers and drivers in all countries where the brand is

present. There is a "guarantee to find happiness" with over 3 million subscribers in total

- Ergonomic platform with a system of profits and notes to guide the relationship between drivers

and passengers.

- The remuneration system (10% commission)

- The online reservation system allows to drop the discontinuance rate of 4% rather than 35%.

- A brand that is driven by the quality of its platform and related services

Weaknesses:

- A brand a little bit too "young".

- "Ecological" territory not enough incarnated by the brand.

- Service fee (other sites are free)

- We don’t know the driver before going which can be an obstacle for some passengers

Opportunities:

- Development / Export in Europe and at global scale

- Strong Presence on social networks with a large community: 16th e-commerce brand in France

and in the top 5 in fan growth. (600 000 in total)

- Coherent Visual Identity: Using interesting and dynamic visuals of quality for a young and urban

target.

- Contact with its community thanks to operations like BlaBlaTour, BlaBlaDrinks and animations,

all relayed by social networks

- Partnerships: other economic initiatives

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Threats:

- Legislation / Taxes: Existence of regulatory risk with the possibility if the remuneration of the

driver exceeds the costs that he can be accused of "smuggling" and unfair competition

- Their paying system can create a risk of discontent and a shift towards other non-paying

platforms.

- It’s an online payment method via credit card only, no alternative methods of payment

(electronic currency, prepaid ...) which excluded the ones who don’t have one or those who are

refractory to use is online.

Thanks to the strengths of the company,

this new start-up get a new record of users

and reached 9 millions in 2014 as showed in

the graph.

Currently the site has 20 million members.

C. Define the taxation policy

The price is the pillar of the strategy for BlaBlaCar. Their percentage of 10% of the price can be a threat

or a weakness but the price of the trips remains very competitive. With an average cost per trip of 21

euros, BlaBlaCar was able to first convince the young and the not so young to opt for a mode of

transport cheap and environmentally friendly in a context of economic crisis. Although price inflation

was observed on the site, the offer remains attractive and the permanent increase of the number of

registered permits to create competition between the drivers. At the risk of tarnishing its very social and

solidarity image, BlaBlaCar built a large scale trust model capable to rival or at least alert the traditional

transport companies.

The price remains in the hands of users, whether in Russia, Sweden or France, pricing is one of the

company's assets.

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D. Communication/ Advertisinga. Traditional tools

This start-up get famous thank to their incredible sense of communication. They were able to use each

type of communication to touch the maximum of population. The older ones with traditional advertising

campaign though:

- Television: Reports on Direct 8 , France 3…- Paper Press: journals (Le Figaro, le Monde) - Advertising posters- Radio: emissions (France Info, France Bleu…)

Communication in Sweden is made by the same way than in France, the Television (national public

service channels and the national private channels such as TV4 Group, Viasat and SBS Broadcasting),

newspapers (Aftonbladet, Expressen or Svenska Dagbladet ) and radios like Sveriges Radio P2, P4.

b. Digital toolsi. Webmarketing

It’s the promotion of a product, a brand, a service or just ideas via internet. It’s the principal tool used by

marketing teams of BlaBlaCar to get to know their product (cognitive) but furthermore to like it

(affective) in the goal to get it adopted by the public (conative).

There is different strategies on the web:

The promotion via games, contests : BlaBlaquizz ( Quizz to win a journey to Greece)

Events:

- BlaBlaDrinks : These are aperitifs between car-poolers and members of BlaBlaCar team. They

organize these BlaBlaDrinks everywhere in France and Europe between May and September. The

goal: spend a nice moment between car-poolers and share experiences!

BlaBlaDrinks are also an opportunity to get codes to win kilometres and increase his chances of

winning the trip to Madagascar! This Event is developed through most of the country members

and could be a way to get to know the project in Sweden.

- BlaBlaTour : The BlaBlaTeam spent five weeks on the road to meet the community in more than

80 cities around the world and cross 17 countries. More than 80 organized BlaBlaTimes (Funny

and friendly meeting between car-poolers and members of BlaBlaCar team)

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Those events are developed through most of the country members and could be a way to get to know

the project in Sweden. Those events are hugely present in the social networks and all the different ways

of communication that are more than present in a country as developed as Sweden.

Social Networks:

- Facebook: Approximately 4 millions of fans on their page.

- Twitter: 25,7 k followers only in France

This company have a really good advertising system that expends everyday.

E. Performance Targets

BlaBlaCar is managed by Comuto, founded by Frederic

Mazzella in 2006 and now includes nearly 500

employees dedicated to managing its various

international locations.

With more than 10 million euros of turnover in 2014 and with an amazing growth since its creation, this

company is perfectly adaptable to an other implantation that could be a door to all Scandinavia.

BlaBlaCar holds 100% market share in most countries in which they operate thanks especially to their

buyback policy such as the company "Carpooling", the first German car pool, which was its main

competitor on the Old continent. The Swedish market is fully open.

So far, in all the countries where they operate, acquire a service owned by local entrepreneurs

who want to develop the business but lack the means, has proved very effective. BlaBlaCar provides a

product that works, a support service, and they support the communication and marketing. This

prevents the local team from being swallowed up by the management of the website.

Buying local carpooling websites gives several advantages:

- They are people who know how to build something in the country, and have a spirit of autonomy

and creative innovation.

- As they are passionate about carpooling as BlaBlaCar they are highly motivated to develop this

activity. There is no need to convince them of the value of this means of transport.

- As they began several years ago, they are fully aware of the problems of carpooling in their

country, perceptions of carpooling in their culture, the important persons in the mobility sector,

etc.

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In Sweden there is several websites of carpooling not really developed, as explained in my market Survey

(p.9) the surveyed population knew some names but didn’t really used it. Increasing the communication

and Marketing of this system though BlaBlaCar could really work. the company wasn’t still profitable in

2015 because they are constantly innovating and investing abroad but their plans aren’t to stop and

extend.

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Conclusion:

Thanks to the answers that I was able to collect via the market study with my surroundings I could get a

sample corresponding to the current demand of carpooling. Given the popularity of BlaBlaCar in

countries where it is already established, the communication of this brand can not be discussed. The

Swedish population, increasingly open to foreign trade, seems to me to be a viable location for a start-up

that can also be called since 2014 Unicorn. Indeed, “With a fresh $1.6 billion (1.4 billion euro) valuation,

the nine-year-old start-up has joined the ever-expanding list of billion-dollar startups and stands out as

one of the most well-funded young tech companies in Europe. » (Forbes, Liyan Chen, 2015).

Following the footsteps of the two French startups Criterio and Vente-Privée, BlaBlaCar join the closed

circle of the 140 global unicorns.

This challenging company correspond perfectly to the demand of this society, getting more and more

oppressed by the traditional and motionless companies that enter the market everyday and

currently dominate the world

The individualistic Swedish society needs a communal company like BlaBlaCar to expend and be an

example to all the Scandinavian countries.

21

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