One for the road

Using an autorickshaw as a marketing medium by publishing a magazine just for passengers and selling advertising space on the vehicle

Dedhia (left) and Mehta successfully partnered with
autorickshaw drivers

Three college friends, Mulchand Dedhia, 24, Simi Sailopal, 23, and Ishan Mehta, 23, started working on the concept a year ago. After completing his graduation in mass communication, Dedhia, who is also a part-time photographer, got a job at an advertising agency. He quit after an altercation with his boss and decided he would finally work on his dream of starting something on his own. Sailopal was working with a public relations agency and Mehta was a content writer with Hungama Digital Media Entertainment. Sailopal left the project midway, opting for further studies.

The three friends got together for a brainstorming session and hit upon the idea of exploiting spaces within and outside an autorickshaw for advertising. This led to the idea of launching a dedicated magazine for auto travellers—this way they could sell advertising space in the magazine. In October, they discussed the idea and the first issue of the monthly Meter Down was launched in March in Mumbai. They realized a consumer usually spends at least 10-15 minutes in an auto. The brands would get audience attention for those 15 minutes, more than any other medium could provide, Dedhia adds.

They commissioned a survey of 200 people and studied travelling patterns. “There’s so much traffic now and the people who are travelling get bored. We found that they either call friends and increase their phone bills, listen to music or just don’t do anything. We thought we’d make their boring ride a little fun,” says Dedhia.