There's nothing new about media on taxi tops, but a San Francisco start-up called Firefly is trying to go about it with a different approach.
Firefly describes itself as the first mobility-based SmartScreens platform - an advertising media firm that gets it footprint and scale from the rideshare industry.
Firefly is working primarily with the drivers for services like Uber and Lyft, offering a supplemental revenue stream in return for fixing a hyper-local, geo-fenced digital sign on the cartop. Firefly absorbs the capital cost, and spins off an average of $300 a month to the driver. That money isn't huge, but it can be enough to significantly offset leasing or insurance costs and make driving for a living worthwhile.
Co-founder Kaan Gunay is a mechanical engineer by training, but in recent years has found his way to Stanford, where he got his MBA and where the roots of Firefly first developed. He's also very active in community good works, and we spoke about how continuing that was, and is, fundamental to how Firefly does things.
At least 10 percent of all media on screens goes to to promote and advertise local not-for-profit organizations and provide public service announcements for non-commercial entities such as charities.
The car-toppers have sensors - for things like air quality - that generate data that's open for government planners, and others, to use.
I spoke with Gunay last week, just as his company was announcing a big $18.5 million seed funding raise.
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Pierre Gendron, Stingray Media
Kyle Pilot, iGotcha
David Anderson, Mimo Monitors
Gordon Feller, Meeting Of The Minds (Smart Cities)
Nick Fearnley, Signstix
Art Stavenka, Kino-Mo
Greg Topel, Tanvas
Brett Jones, Lightform
Jonathan Gudai, Adomni
Arie Stavchansky, Dataclay
Mitch Goss, Zero-In
Sheldon Silverman, Smartbomb Media
Matt Gibbs, UPshow
Alan Brawn, Brawn Consulting
Jason Bier, Federation For Internet Alerts
Mark Stross, ANC
Megan Dutta, Women Of Digital Signage
Jenn Vail, E Ink
Reece Kurtenbach, Daktronics
Stan Richter, SignageOS
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