Mega Cabs introduces interactive advertising

Moving Trumpet has developed New Delhi's first 3G-based radio taxi entertainment and advertising system service

Ananya Saha | Delhi | June 28, 2012

Come July 1, the 850-strong fleet of Mega Cabs would be equipped with an interactive advertising system to cash in on the free time of passengers commuting from Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport's Terminal 3. Reaching out to a niche and affluent set of audience of radio taxi passengers, MTC Interactive boasts of being New Delhi's first 3G-based Radio Taxi Entertainment System service.

Gautam Bhirani, CEO, Moving Trumpet Communications, said, “Interactive taxi advertising has been used by marketers across the world for its efficiency. It works very well for marketers as they get a platform to interact and engage the difficult-to-reach demographic of urban consumers who are on the move with limited time to consume other forms of media. With journeys lasting over 40-45 minutes, it gives ample time to absorb in-depth media messages with few distractions, assuring higher rates of absorption and recall.”

The medium aims to provide a unique exposure opportunity that delivers measurable result and limit media wastage. MTC Interactive will have fresh video content from its digital content partner, Indo Asian News Service (IANS). The content is specifically customised for MTC Interactive, and would be generated once every two days. An hour's programming would have five commercial ads.

Even as Bhirani remains tight-lipped about the ad rates, he said, “The agencies that are selling our inventory include Lintas Media Group, DDB MudraMax, Madison and GroupM. And the response has been encouraging so far.”

With 850 systems rolling on these premium radio cabs, the ads will be viewed by over 10,000 passengers daily. The screen is activated only when the meter is turned on, thus minimising wastage.

Vishal Gupta, Chairman & Founder, Moving Trumpet, commented, “With the radio taxi business booming in India and with 3G technology available now, it is the right time to offer this unique platform to marketers. Scalability plays a very important role in this medium. It has worked very well overseas because of the large fleets. With Mega Cabs we get great numbers, making it a viable marketing tool.”

Kunal Lalani, MD, Group Mega, said, “Radio taxis across the world have been using this medium. It adds value to the fleet and also generates additional revenue through advertising. We are looking forward to exploring this medium in association with Moving Trumpet Communications.”

Mega Cabs is part of the Rs 1,000-crore Group Mega. Launched in 2002 in Delhi, Mega Cabs offers services in Mumbai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Chandigarh, Amritsar and Ludhiana. Mega Cabs owns and operates a fleet of over 2,500 cabs currently.

The medium is flexible enough to customise and adapt campaigns with time-sensitive needs. Apart from being visually appealing the device is innovative as it is also interactive. With Android based technology the devices are connected to a web server which also provides health monitoring of the devices and reports for advertisers.

About the challenges, Bhirani said, “Overseas, digital outdoor advertising is a norm. In India, outdoor advertising implies billboards. This is the mindset that we are trying to challenge and change.”

He is confident that after the initial launch phase of two-three months, passengers would get used to the installed media. After launching in Delhi, MTC Interactive would be launched in Bengaluru next. Bhirani insists that he wishes to have a monopoly in Delhi at least for the next five years in Delhi. The company is looking at the expanding content inventory.

Moving Trumpet has demonstrated the growing potential of transit media in metros since its inception in 2009. It has pioneered the LED-based taxi tops in Mumbai and is now building its footprint in Delhi with the 3G-based radio taxi entertainment system service.

Ananya@BestMediaInfo.com

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