Share the post "Rideshare advertising startup, Firefly, promises to make Uber-drivers more money"
Firefly, who had the idea to put electronic billboards on top of cars, especially Uber and Lyft ones, was launched with 21.5 million USD in funding. Even though this idea is not completely new, many taxies have ads on their cars, Firefly allows advertisers to run targeted, geofenced campaigns. This means that the ads put on the cars do not have to be changed, you can show ads for multiple advertisers and it can be more targeted to the place you find yourself in, using Big Data.
Firefly wants, however, to implement some restrictions on what kind of ads they want to display through their product. They will not accept ads for strip clubs, tobacco and cannabis, among others. The founders of Firefly stated that they also work with advertisers that have never advertised outdoors before. They think they can expand the market by bringing to the table a new way to do efficient marketing.
According to Firefly, we are not talking about small sums of money that are available for the drivers. They stated that the drivers they currently work with make on average around 300 usd more a month just because of the ads. This is not only good news for the drivers, but it might mean that we might also benefit from this. If Uber decides to make all drivers to use this device, they might be able to offer more competitive prices. It is, of course, just a speculation.
I can definitely see this product used in other industries where cars are involved. However, they only offer this product to Uber and Lyft. I can also see how some would be tempted to put this kind of advertisements on their personal cars too, in order to earn a little bit of extra money. I am not sure however, if this would be a good idea due to the relatively small amount of time casual drivers use on the road.
Gunay, one of the founders, said that right now, if the drivers meet a certain threshold of kilimoeters on the road, they driver will get a flat benefit to carry the advertisement. He also admitted, however, that they are trying to explore different ways of remuneration, to “maximize the revenue that we share with the drivers and give the maximum benefit to the drivers.”.
As you may or may not know, earlier this year Uber also signed an agreement with Cargo, in order to allow drivers to sell more by selling products such as chewing gum, snacks or phone chargers. Even though Uber does not have any official agreement with Firefly, the founders said that they had discussions with Uber and they were informed that their drivers are free to adopt the technology if they do wish to. That is very fortunate for Firefly, and a sign that the company is likely to succeed on the market.
I think this is a great idea, which might bring a lot of benefits to the drivers, and potentially to the clients. I have not seen one yet in Warsaw, so I will be looking for it in the future.
What do you think, is this going to become a must-have for all commercial drivers?