Internship Experience at Money4Drive Advertising

Creative without strategy is called 'art.' Creative with strategy is called 'advertising.'
― Jef I. Richards

A summer well spent , is what echoes in my mind when I write about my 2 months internship experience with Money4Drive Advertising Pvt. Ltd , a rising advertising company that has swept the advertising market in 12 states with its "transit advertising" solutions. It brings corporate professionalism and the legacy of a renowoned business house to the advertising business through its founder Sourabh Khandelwal.

Money4Drive is a two year old “Transit Advertising Company” based out of Indore. Transit advertisement is advertising through vehicles and has become popular due to low cost and more customer reach. As an expansion plan of the company, my responsibility was to setup and develop the business in a new city which was challenging but equally stimulating.

My internship started on 7th April in Lucknow - my hometown. I had a Skype call with Money4Drive team where they explained me about the project, my responsibilities and expectations. After the call, I decided to break down the management objective into different project objectives mentioned below:
– To assess the market in terms of business opportunity in Lucknow
– To streamline the business processes for the overall business development
– To find out the legal requirements pertaining to transit advertising.
– To select vendors for printers and other forms of media
– To finalize the vehicle rate and establish a business relations with vehicles owners and Union leaders (Auto, Buses, MMTS, Cabs) for advertisement.
– To recruit and select execution team.
– To diversify the business
– To explore the sales opportunities and convert the deals

The whole process was divided into 3 phases:

Phase I: Basic market research (6th April – 13th April)
During the phase I, a basic market research was carried out to
– Assess the business potential – study the transit advertisement market in Hyderabad
– Assess competitors and their rates
– Find preferred modes of transport for transit advertisement
– Identify the upcoming events to understand the trends and likes
– Identify the potential clients from various sectors – hospitality, education, retail, banking, medical, automobile, financial services etc.
Result: The informations collected were useful in preparing SWOT and road map for the company.

Phase II: Standardization of the business processes (17th April – 5th May)
Success of any business depends on the efficient utilization of resources. It is very important to define and streamline the business processes before entering into the market. As a transit advertisement firm, it was necessary to get the basic necessary approvals and tie up with vendors before starting the business and approaching the clients. These details were also needed for pricing and framing the advertisement proposals. The key features of 2nd phase were:
– Collaborating with the auto union leaders and UPSRTC (Uttar Pradesh state road transport corporation ) to understand their requirements and register the vehicles required for vehicle advertising
– Getting market rates by researching on the prices being offered by the competitors.
– Finding the low cost printers and finalizing the prices for the supplies (Flex and Vinyl posters, banners etc.)
Result: The information collected in 2nd phase was helpful in streamlining the business process and preparing the business proposal and presentation for sales pitch to client.

Phase III: Client Approach and Sales (6th May – 7th June)
With the information collected in first two phases, business proposal was drafted with Money4Drive rates for transit advertisement and approximate number of vehicles. Also the areas with potential customers were identified in Hyderabad and clients were approached.
The key features of 3rd phase were:
– Prepared the exclusive proposal for the clients
– Approached clients using various sales techniques such as making cold calls, sending mailers, face to face meeting after appointment
– Coordinated with other teams of Money4Drive present in different cities – they visited the head offices of the national clients
– Followed up the clients for final confirmation
– Prepared a standard country wide proposal with the help of other teams at different locations
Result: The third phase was successful as I generated 4 leads including a client with national presence.

Individual Projects :
As an intern I was given the golden opportunity to work on the technical aspects of the company and streamlining its national business by the use of technology. I did a research on the digital presence of the company and provided solutions and recommendations for the same. I also created a central repository for the all the information flow during the summer training which would be useful for future reference for the company.

In a nutshell my experience with Money4Drive was a great learning experience as it allowed me to work like an entrepreuner rather than an intern. I would be foreever grateful to Vishwajeet Sir , Saurabh Sir and the entire Money4Drive Team for giving me this opportunity.