Bringing Waze personalization to 50+ markets

01 / THE OPPORTUNITY

One of Waze’s most engaging experiences was out of reach for many drivers.

Customize Your Drive gave drivers a place to discover voices, moods, and car icons that made Waze feel more personal. At first, only U.S. drivers could browse the marketplace. Elsewhere, drivers could see only one campaign at a time, and even that was easy to miss.

03 / THE OPPORTUNITY

One campaign at a time was limiting adoption.

Outside the US, adoption lagged. Meanwhile, US data showed two promising signals.

Drivers who used CYD drove about 30% more than those who did not. Campaigns available in the US marketplace also saw a 21% lift in drives compared with campaigns that were not available there.

These signals made a case for expanding, but each launch still needed enough locally relevant campaigns to give drivers a real choice.

04 / THE EXPANSION

Made the case to Product for testing the marketplace in Brazil first.

I recommended Brazil as the first test because Waze already had a strong lineup of local campaigns there. I made the case to Product in a one-page brief. Once Product backed the test, I worked with the team to define what the first version needed.

I shared prototypes with Waze drivers for feedback and estimated that about 12 campaigns would give them enough choice to make browsing worthwhile. I ramped up voice production in languages where Waze already had a solid catalog and helped launch a version of the marketplace with filters to make campaigns easier to find.

05 / WHAT WE LEARNED

The rollout reached 50+ markets and changed how we expand.

Brazil gave us a reason to expand. Drivers used campaigns more when they could browse a lineup of locally relevant options.

Over several years, the marketplace expanded from five countries to 50+ markets and eight or more languages, making personalization available to 66M more monthly Waze users. When the broad rollout fell short of expectations, we rolled it back. Brazil’s results had shown what was possible, but the broader rollout made clear that every market needed enough campaigns that felt relevant to local drivers.

We now expand where there’s enough locally relevant content to make the marketplace worth browsing. In French- and Spanish-speaking markets, campaign usage is up 21% with the rollout halfway complete.