Could traffic be a business opportunity?

Advertising was a discipline far removed from electronics and communication engineer Raghu Khanna���s world. But today, the 24-year old founder of CASHurDRIVE has built a reputation for himself by pioneering a niche form of outdoor advertising in India. And in the bargain, the 2008 IIT-Guwahati graduate has no regrets about passing up a chance to study further at the London School of Economics (LSE).

Khanna, a Shimla resident, had a job offer straight out of college. But having secured admission at LSE and booked his flight ticket, he was all set to follow his dreams. Driving to Delhi airport he got stuck in traffic. As his eyes wandered over the gaudy slogans that typically adorn trucks in India, a thought crept into his mind: could traffic be converted into a business opportunity? ���The more I thought about it, the more the idea of charging advertisers to put their messages on privately-owned vehicles made sense,��� Khanna says. His utter lack of experience in advertising, marketing or large format printing didn���t deter him. Khanna found out that on-car advertising is well known in the West and this encouraged him. Things took an abrupt turn from there on. ���I cancelled my admission, air tickets and hostel arrangements at LSE to start the company,��� he states. CASHurDRIVE was founded in August 2008 at his home in Shimla along with cousin Nandan Khanna and an employee. Their first client was Bonn Bread. ���The client supplied the vinyl ads and we thought it would be easy to put them on the cars ourselves. But we struggled a lot and wasted a couple of vinyl covers before we succeeded,��� he laughs.

Their first campaign was in Shimla. ���In Himachal Pradesh, billboard ads are not such a good idea, given the terrain. Plus, there aren���t any radio cabs, so advertisers didn���t have many options. That���s why we thought this method would work,��� he explains.

The concept is simple. Car owners register on CASHurDRIVE���s website. Khanna���s team evaluates the profile of each owner and tries to match him or her to the advertisers. If all goes well, they wrap the car with ads and hand it back. The vinyl material for the ads is being sourced from two suppliers, and CASHurDRIVE does the application of the ad. An owner can choose to get the vehicle partially or fully ���wrapped��� with ads for a certain period of time.

CASHurDRIVE then pays them in kind���fuel, with prepaid cards that can be used at HPCL and BPCL pumps. Paying registered users in fuel instead of cash, he says, helps the company track the cars��� mileage and movements. The extent of ���ad coverage���, the daily mileage of the vehicle and the duration for which the ad is carried determines the compensation in fuel terms. Khanna says, ���A car owner can get Rs 1,500 to Rs 8,000 worth of fuel in a month.���
However, there were challenges to be ironed out. Advertisers demanded proof that the vehicle was being driven around daily and the ad was visible at all times. The medium���s measurability was critical. Also, the drivers had to be paid every month, even though CASHurDRIVE���s revenue cycle was from 90 to 180 days. To ensure that such troubles didn���t crop up, the company made some rules. Only cars that are driven over 30 km a day can be registered. CASHurDRIVE staff conducts random checks on cars to ensure that the ads are pasted on. And the fuel card contains the initial odometer reading, pump location and the car���s number so as to minimise errors. It also obtained around Rs 3 lakh in funding from Venture Hunt in 2008, which it used to pay car owners on time.

CASHurDRIVE has 17,200 registered owners and has ads on 450 cars. Khanna says that his target audience consists of 18-35 year olds who use his service to offset high petrol costs. ���We have all kinds of car owners registered with us���college students, insurance agents, businessmen, IT/ITES and media professionals,��� he says. The firm currently offers its services in Delhi-NCR, some northern states and Bangalore with plans to enter Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai soon. Advertisers include Tata, Reliance and the Virgin group. ���We really want to bring car wrapping in a big way into India,��� says an enthusiastic Khanna, ���Instead of getting their cars repainted, we want car owners to start wrapping them, as it is a more economical option,��� he claims.