Ads on cars: how Ubiklan plans to be the Uber for offline advertising

Photo credit: Ubiklan.

Being stuck in traffic is the worst, especially when you live in a metropolis notorious for it. Ubiklan, a Jakarta-based startup is trying to take advantage of this situation by showing ads on cars along the commute.

Ubiklan offers businesses a more affordable option to advertise offline by wrapping their message on privately owned and rented cars. “Instead of using billboard advertising, which mostly incorporates large-scale brands and costs about US$2,000, Ubiklan advertises using independent drivers around the city for less than a fraction of the price,” Glorio Yulianto, CEO of Ubiklan tells Tech In Asia.

The name Ubiklan comes from the words “ubiquitous iklan”, which translates to advertising that aims to be present everywhere.

Origins

A pioneer of its kind, Ubiklan was established in early 2016 by Glorio and Kalvin Handoko, the company’s current CTO. They were Indonesians living abroad who met as schoolmates in Taiwan.

Glorio says the company started as an idea of monetizing Jakarta’s traffic problem based on sharing economy principles.

“I want to connect people and small to medium companies – people who want to earn more money by giving up their private space for advertising and companies who want to market directly to their consumers by rendering ad space.”

“At first, I planned to go on vacation in Indonesia, but I ended up spending most of my time discussing the idea with my friends who work in startups like Go-Jek, MokaPOS, and Kurio and decided to move here and leave my job at HP in San Francisco,” he continues.

Glorio and Kalvin then left their jobs to build Ubiklan in Jakarta.

Ubiklan co-founders Kalvin Handoko (left) and Glorio Yulianto.

How the app works

Ubiklan was loosely inspired by Wrapify–an American startup with a similar idea. According to Glorio, the startup localizes the concept to Indonesian users by compensating partners in monthly payments and requiring drivers to travel a certain number of kilometers in order to maintain a solid level of reach.

Ubiklan takes about 15 percent from whatever amount a company spends in a campaign.

In Ubiklan, every step from campaign launching and managing to tracking is done online through the web app. Cars are equipped with GPS technology that allows real-time tracking on ads movement and inspection on the number of impressions earned. The startup also takes care of printing and wrapping the ad stickers while they give drivers orientation. “Wrapping takes about an hour,” Glorio says. “It’s quick and easy.”

Glorio further explains that Ubiklan’s algorithm and extensive database helps businesses aim for the bull’s-eye. “For example, when a business wants 10 units of our services from the 100 we have, we will pick the right 10 units based on their desired age, gender, interest and road traveled daily – making offline advertising more targeted.”

Ubiklan is currently on its beta phase and is planning to launch by November.

Six-digit seed round

Earlier this week, Ubiklan closed a six-digit seed funding round, Glorio said. Among contributing angel investors are Triandy Gunawan, a shareholder member of Warna Warni Group, Indonesia’s pioneer out-of-home advertising company and Benny Girsang, an individual related to the same group.

According to Glorio, Ubiklan chose to accept seed funding from Warna Warni Group because Benny and Triandy provide mentoring and support. “We believe not only money can help us; experience is a more important factor. These investors care deeply about Ubiklan; they give us insights to raise the bar in digitizing offline car advertising.”

With the help of Triandy and Benny as investors, Ubiklan plans to develop its technology in order to scale quickly, collaborate with the government in terms of app regulation, and “surprise potential clients”. And it has proven to work even before the launch, with companies like MokaPOS, Jamba Juice, and Ciputra on board and about 100 drivers from multiple backgrounds wanting to drive their ad-plastered cars around town.

This post Ads on cars: how Ubiklan plans to be the Uber for offline advertising appeared first on Tech in Asia.

from Tech in Asia https://www.techinasia.com/ubiklan-offline-car-advertising
via IFTTT