Grabbing eyeballs in an already crowded marketplace is a difficult proposition. So Mulchand Dedhia asked himself the following question - what does almost every Mumbaikar keep their eyes peeled for on the city's busy streets? The answer was obvious - turn the ubiquitous and much-sought-after autorickshaw into an innovative advertising tool or mobile hoarding.
"An average autorickshaw driver makes 90 trips a day. Every passenger spends a lot of time in an autorickshaw considering the heavy traffic in this city. And since 60 per cent of commuters are collegians, young working professionals, housewives and middle-age people, I decided to introduce brands to these eyeballs," says the 27-year-old advertising professional, who introduces himself as the "Chief Autorickshaw Driver (CAD) of my company, Meter Down".
The Auto Ad Pie
True to the company's tag line, 'creating value through innovation', Meter Down breaks down the ad space on an autorickshaw into three segments - back-lit panels, back sticker on hood and inside autorickshaw. So, for instance, when the Hindi film Bodyguard was to release, autorickshaw commuters were pleasantly surprised to find a poster of Salman Khan popping up behind the seat!
First, A Magazine
But things didn't start out this way. When Dedhia and co-founder Ishan Mehta set up their company in 2010, they had analysed 18 different business plans. These included advertising on balloons and even on ships but zeroed in on a magazine called Meter Down. The magazine, launched with a seed capital of just Rs 75,000, was positioned neatly behind the autorickshaw driver's back rest for high visibility and easy access for commuters.
Featuring content relating to entrepreneurship, fashion, social networking, travel and lifestyle, the magazine served about 50 leading brands including Red FM, Vodafone, Uninor, Bank of Baroda, State Bank of India, Titan and Future Group. Dedhia and Mehta initially worked from home and later from a spare flat they converted into an office.
Taking A U-Turn
They company started by stocking the magazine in 50 autorickshaws and scaled up to 500. "When we scaled to 1,000, we began to realise that a significant number of advertisers did not want to spend on print but were keen on displaying advertisements inside or outside autorickshaws. "Thus, in 2012 we took a 360-degree turn and decided to position ads anywhere and everywhere in and on autorickshaws. We also began to customise the vehicle, if the brand lent itself to it," reveals Dedhia.
Revving It Up
The idea paid off. Says Sandeep Patil, Senior Marketing Manager, Red FM, "We started our business relationship with Meter Down for a campaign called Malishka Ka Jasoos. The branding on the rearview mirror stated, 'Mein Ho Malishka Asst Manager Ka Jasoos'. It was a simple yet eye-catching branding proposition and a high-visibility touch-point for us. Since then, autorickshaws have remained one of Red FM's branding mediums."
Hemang Jangla, MD & CEO, insurancebazar.in, who tied up with Meter Down for branding in 300 autorickshaws between Bandra and Andheri, agrees. "After I began to use auto branding, many people began to recognise me. I have received excellent visibility through this exercise."
Revenue Model
Meter Down has thus far served 50 clients. The cost of advertising per inch per auto for a month is Rs 550 and the start-up has inventories that go upto Rs 7,500 per autorickshaw. The cost of advertising varies with the number of autorickshaws used for a campaign, the size of the advertisement and where it is positioned. Also, every deal must be worth a minimum Rs 1.5 lakh. "We share 40 per cent of the advertisement revenue with the autorickshaw driver," says Dedhia.
Bumpy Road
Dedhia and Mehta started as a two-member team, which has since grown to 11 employees who look after sales, logistics and operations. And they've learnt some tough but fruitful lessons along the way. "We had not anticipated a long sales cycle and had assumed that clients would respond within three days and we would get rolling on day four. We found it could take up to 20 days for a client to close a deal," admits Dedhia.
Meter Down has learnt that patience pays, and after consolidating its base in Mumbai, the company expanded to Pune, Ahmedabad, Baroda and Surat.
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