WiseTouch: An Interactive Digital Media Platform that Engages andEntertains Commuters inside Taxis

WiseAssist Knowledge Solutions, a Delhi NCR based startup, launched an innovative interactive digital media platform called WiseTouch, last month during Ad:Tech 2012 at Leela Palace, Gurgaon. This digital out of home (OOH) media’s aim is to entertain commuters travelling in taxis and simultaneously provide brands and advertisers with a platform to reach and interact with a niche audience, which is mostly unapproachable.

They started developing the technology in June 2011 and in January 2012 started installing the interactive touchscreens in cabs. WiseAssist has tied-up with major taxi providers across Delhi NCR. The device works on the Android 4.0 OS, which allows marketers to easily integrate their existing apps. The touchscreens are wirelessly connected to the internet via 3G technology.

“OOH market in India is currently at INR 18 billion. Indian OOH industry is still highly unorganized. OOH has not still reached its full potential mainly because of the lack of advertisement performance metrics. Interactive OOH would give advantage to marketers and media buyers by solving the problem of measurability and feedback which traditional OOH media lacks,” said Hitesh Chawla, Founder, WiseAssist.

An average radio taxi ride is around 30 to 45 minutes, during which commuters are mostly free and bored. A medium like WiseTouch gives marketers an opportunity to capture captive audience as well as engage and entertain them during their free time.

“Advertisers are becoming more conscious of the ROI achieved on their ad spends, so this will increase their inclination towards the interactive mediums. We believe that share of digital will be up to 15%-20% of the total OOH over the next 4-5 years,” informed Hitesh.

Advertisers can choose from a number of different ad types. They can opt for static image ads, video ads and call for action advertising. In fact, advertisers can also display their content or apps on WiseTouch. Another option is to direct a commuter to the brands Facebook page or website. WiseTouch is powered by G.P.S, so location based advertising can also be displayed, within a 1km radius specified by the advertiser.

The WiseAssist Team

The founding team has the right mix of technology and sales expertise. Hitesh completed his engineering from IIT Delhi and has experience in technology and startups. He leads the overall operations of WiseAssist.

Alok is an electrical engineer from IIT Chennai and has more than 8 years of experience in hardware. He leads technology at WiseAssist. Gaurav is an electronics and communication engineer and MBA from IIM Indore. Gaurav has worked in the media space earlier and has been involved with startups.

Expansion plans

“Yes, we will replicate it in other metro cities as well as expand beyond radio cabs. We are still observing and experimenting on how Indian commuters are consuming this new media and accordingly working out the content for them while seamlessly integrating the advertisements. Once we feel we have right combination of content and advertisement to keep the commuter glued to our screen, we will roll it out in other cities,” said Hitesh.

He further added, “We have got a very good response from media planners. Most of them want to try a new innovative media which gives them a break from the traditional media. Good point is that unlike other new OOH media, clients are able to track the consumers’ responses with WiseTouch. This helps the clients measure the effectiveness of their media campaigns, making the medium readily acceptable.”

WiseTouch has already got quite a lot of traction. Some major brands are already on board, including Pepsi Co, Group M, Naukri.com, Corporate Inn and HT Media.

“As the digital space is exploding there is a scope for more than one player in the digital OOH space. This space is still at a nascent stage and with any player the challenge will be to educate and build acceptability of this media in the minds of brand managers and media buyers. Another challenge will be to increase the share of OOH in the total advertising pie. Multiple players in this field will help the digital OOH industry, as it would mean more confidence and faster acceptability of this platform by advertisers,” concluded Hitesh.

To find out more about WiseAssist, visit http://www.wisetouch.in/