Adtech startup gets Sydney Angels funding to launch ad platform for cars
Wrappli, a mobile outdoor advertising tech platform, has launched its service after raising funding, the company has announced.
Adtech startup gets Sydney Angels funding to launch ad platform for cars
AdTech startup, Wrappli, is this week launching a mobile outdoor advertising tech platform that allows advertisers to leverage car owners in locations of strategic importance to their clients, by wrapping privately owned vehicles in client advertising, and tracking their travel using a patented beacon technology that connects to a mobile app held by drivers.
The launch was made possible after a funding boost from Sydney Angels and a syndicate of other investors allowed Wrappli to finalise the technology, which now gives advertisers real-time visibility on the location of their ads, while allowing drivers to track the passive income they earn by simply going about their usual routes (up to $600 per month).
“The idea behind Wrappli came about during a conversation at a startup event between myself and my now co-founder, Fiona Aaron, where we were discussing the general discontent about the high costs of owning a car in Australia,” said Suraj Vaghjiani, CEO and Co-Founder of Wrappli.
“We wanted to find a way for drivers to mitigate vehicle costs, without changing the way they were driving. Because we both have a background in media and advertising, we wondered whether there was an advertising solution to this problem.
“After a few more brainstorming sessions, the concept behind Wrappli slowly emerged, so we threw $180 into Facebook advertising to see if there was any interest in our idea – and we got over 1,000 expressions of interest almost overnight from drivers! We were totally blown away by the response,” continued Suraj Vaghjiani.
“Knowing the idea was a popular one, we then set about ensuring our business model was solid and would hold up to scrutiny from potential investors, as we knew we needed additional funds to build on our original technology. That’s when we turned to Sydney Angels, who embraced it immediately.
“After assisting us to finalise the original tech, the funding from Sydney Angels will now also allow us to validate and test the business model even further, so we can fully understand how to deliver results for advertisers. This in turn will allow us to expand into other major cities in Australia in the second half of 2017,” concluded Suraj Vaghjiani.
Interested advertisers can get in touch with the Wrappli team to gain access to its planning tool, where they can create a campaign by choosing the number of cars they wish to advertise on, and the geographic boundary they want to pay for advertising within.
Interested drivers can download and register the iPhone app (Android release in December), and must hold a full drivers licence, have a car that is less than 8 years old, undergo an extensive background check of themselves and their vehicle, and complete 100km of their daily routes and driving habits before they’re invited to a suitable ad campaign. They will then need to take photos of their wrapped car every 2 to 4 weeks to ensure quality control and accountability.
It’s a business model that has been proven in other countries, but Wrappli is hoping to use the Sydney Angels’ funding to continue development of an impression algorithm that will allow advertisers to additionally track the potential number of people who may have seen the ads, which will be the first time this technology has been developed for a moving ad.
“The founding team brings together a strong mix of advertising expertise and technology entrepreneurialism, which was a key attraction for Sydney Angels,” said Jemma Enright, member at Sydney Angels.
“The current technology already delivers high levels of accountability via GPS data tracking and advanced reporting functionality, but Wrappli’s plans to extend this further to deliver something completely unique to advertisers is truly visionary,” concluded Jemma Enright.
For more information on Wrappli: www.wrappli.com.au and Sydney Angels:www.sydneyangels.net.au
From a company media release
