Andrew Barnett, MD at Ubiquitous discusses the arrival of Wi-Fi in the black taxi, something to be hailed by passengers and marketers alike.
In the century of smartphones and tablets, we’re all expected to be online and connected 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Developments in mobile technologies mean that whether you are at home or out and about, everyone, in theory, can keep up with colleagues and friends as they race through their busy day. Journeying across the city by train or taxi with intermittent signal is no longer perceived as a viable excuse to be unreachable, especially in London. London is now a city that truly never sleeps and offering connectivity is part of how our capital continues to retain its authoritative position on the world business stage, while holding on to its renowned status as a buzzing hub of shopping and culture.
For busy commuters looking for a comfortable and private journey, the black taxi is the transport mode of choice. During the 17 minutes of an average taxi ride, research that we carried out found that 84 per cent of passengers will check emails on their handset; 60 per cent will check Facebook and 60 per cent surf the web. When passengers look to spend this peaceful journey time so productively, it is frustrating when your phone signal frequently drops out or batteries run dry. Is it too much to ask for London’s excellent taxi service (the best in the world by some accounts), to offer passengers the means to stay connected and powered up for free?
Transport for London approved plans to install advertising-sponsored Wi-Fi in black cabs from 2013, and for the first time in March we were able to bring free Wi-Fi to passengers through our CabConnect proposition. Our launch customer, Microsoft, brought free Wi-Fi to London cab users across a network of 225 branded taxis, taking early advantage of this opportunity to build a reputation for providing an invaluable service to customers for free. Now it is up to other mobile and technology brands to catch up and get in the taxi Wi-Fi game.
Before the technology was in place to offer taxi passengers a strong and reliable Wi-Fi connection on the go, some brands had already implemented in-taxi marketing initiatives in a bid to target the growing numbers of smartphone consumers. The most recognised of these is our client Vodafone, who installed free phone chargers in 800 branded London taxis. With 93 per cent of passengers looking to hail down a taxi that offered such a service, this initiative positioned Vodafone as a brand that cares about the needs of busy Londoners. Similarly, we have found that 79 per cent of taxi users are more likely to hail a cab with free Wi-Fi so now is the time for brands to capture their attention and be the sponsor of services that are so highly valued by the desirable taxi audience.
Until now, the only way to deliver marketing content on the move was through the traditional monitor-style digital screens, which offer limited scope for innovation. We know from our research that taxi users want a choice of content and interaction with relevant brands and that they admit they would pay more attention to brand messages if they were able to choose what they looked at. Here is another opportunity for the Wi-Fi sponsor to connect with consumers by creating a mobile friendly ‘hub’ – a branded portal that offers passengers the option to further interact by exploring engaging content, creating that increasingly important two-way brand dialogue.
For marketers who are always on the lookout for ways to strengthen conversations and prompt consumer response, QR codes and NFC technology can be fantastic tools. Since 64 per cent of smartphone users in taxis would be happy to access offers or vouchers through QR codes and 65 per cent see NFC as a great way to find out more about brands ‘on the move’ brands are losing out by not integrating this tech into their outdoor campaigns. Advertisers are already extensively using QR codes across all types of media, but the potential of NFC is in its infancy. In an attempt to change this, we have fitted 300 branded black taxis with NFC tags in the passenger compartments, being the first taxi advertising operator to receive TfL approval for this new advertising opportunity.
And let’s not forget, traditional taxi advertising is an outdoor format that truly works hard to broadcast a brand’s message around town. Combining eye-catching exterior adverts with the leaps in technology-led interior media only makes the format work harder to captivate an audience of pedestrians and passengers.
Whether we like it or not, we rely on having constant access to a steady internet connection to be able to check emails, locate the nearest post office on a mobile map or keep up-to-date with the news. The move to bring free Wi-Fi to taxi passengers has been a long time coming, especially after parts of the London Underground were connected to the web in 2012. Welcome to a new era for commuters who can now hail always-connected black cabs and for brands that are set to win favour for bringing a free and in demand service to London life.
By Andrew Barnett
Managing Director
Ubiquitous
http://www.ubiquitoustaxis.com/
