It was vacation time in Hyderabad for brothers Hisham Mohammed and Sadiq who’d just completed their masters abroad and were dreaming of rosy careers to settle down in France and the US. Forget business, the two engineering passouts wouldn’t even talk much to each other in their childhood. It was true until Hisham’s unique advertising idea changed the direction of their careers.
Hisham
A model that Hisham wanted to pitch to his friend who subsequently shelved his interest to invest in it, laid the foundation to a unique startup. Hisham and Sadiq are now founders of LaMère Cab Ads, the pioneers of a digital-cum-physical advertising campaign on cabs that’s set to reach cab users across most metros in the country soon.
In this technology-driven idea, LaMere installs LCD screens, neon sign boards across cabs and provides leaflets of the products the clients in their repertoire. The clients get to track the distance and the places that the driver is travelling to. Besides, the initiative is also backed by a geo-advertising element in the LCD screen where a cab user would be alerted to the location of the advertiser as he nears his/her particular location.
Their first client was Continental Hospitals. “The first thing that we did was to discuss the idea with dad, who’d been a businessman all his life. He really liked it but wanted to confirm if the campaign would legally work in the country. It’s been happening in the US for decades, he helped us reach out to civic authorities who were very positive in their reactions,” the founders say.
Sadiq
Choosing between the decision to invest in the idea and settling abroad was a tough decision to make, they had no plan B if this didn’t work. “A friend of mine introduced me to the marketing division of Continental Hospitals, it was to basically understand how one reacted to the strategy. I pitched the idea to them, they offered us a six month contract and this was an indicator for us to kickstart our entrepreneurial journey.” They then acquired cabs, permissions and had to do explain the idea to many, given it was novel in an Indian context. “We didn’t have a reference point, we had to set the path and understand how this works.” A venture capitalist conference in Mumbai had them meeting an investor who asked them of a possibility to start this in Bengaluru. It was an idea that had struck them before as well, but they wanted to be sure of the legalities first. “Doing something pan-India was a dream we envisaged and it really helps the growth of a company, in terms of the image and advertising.” Currently functional in Hyderabad, the idea is set to take off in metros like Delhi, Chennai and Mumbai soon.
The real challenge wasn’t the technology but dealing with the drivers. “One of the reasons our investors were convinced is our objective of our idea. Most of our cab drivers are bothered by EMIs and loans, most don’t earn enough. We planned to offer them about ₹4,000 a month to install the devices in their cars. Initially apprehensive, they were happy to hold onto this over a few months. We had to assure them that their job would go on as it is and yet they would get paid.” The cab majors were difficult to please as well, they had to tell them that they were only helping the drivers out through their own system.
They signed a pan-Indian contract in no time. “We’ve tied up with Soch, Vans beyond Continental hospitals. We’re targeting cab users who’ve spending power, which is of great potential for any client to target.” Hisham heads the operations, while Sadiq is into the marketing division. “We’ve a few plans with respect to Metro, railways as well. We want this to flourish first,” they’re tightlipped about the future.
