Firefly Supercharges Out-of-Home Advertising Network Through Acquisition of Curb Taxi Media
Firefly, the leading mobile digital out-of-home (DOOH) company that is democratizing mobility through advertising and data monetization, announced it has acquired Curb Taxi Media. The deal will give Firefly access to over ten thousand top-of-car screens to significantly scale its disruptive technology and network to become the undisputed leader in the US, with presence in 11 cities, including the major media markets of New York City, Chicago, Las Vegas, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Miami.
Demand for taxi and ridesharing is booming as the world reemerges from the COVID-19 pandemic, driving growth in DOOH advertising as brands look to connect with consumers outside of the home. The acquisition will enhance Firefly’s ability to help brands reach their customers in an effective and targeted way.
“We’re thrilled to add Curb Taxi Media’s massive network of taxi tops to our already expansive network,” said Kaan Gunay, co-founder and CEO of Firefly. “By advertising to more people, in more cities, we can unlock a new level of targeting and reach for our partners.”
The acquisition will allow Firefly to accelerate deployment of its digital out-of-home screens on taxi tops in its existing markets, as well as new cities such as Boston, Atlanta, Memphis, and Philadelphia, scaling to over ten thousand OOH screens in the near term. Firefly and Curb Mobility will continue to work together to push the taxi media industry forward through new and ongoing projects, including TaxiTV—the largest in-ride video network in the US—which remains a part of Curb Mobility.
“Through this new collaboration, we’ll be able to preserve the legacy we’ve created through our award-winning campaigns, ” said Amos Tamam, CEO of Curb Mobility. “We see no better company to drive innovation with our taxi media partners than Firefly.”
With the highest resolution of any DOOH display in the nation, Firefly’s smart screens deliver the most dynamic campaigns, drawing on real-time triggers like weather, time of day, day of the week, location, and more to optimize creative content and reach audiences in all-new ways.
“By combining Curb Taxi Media’s network of taxi top screens with Firefly’s algorithmic targeting and network of advertisers, this will be a gamechanger in OOH media,” explained Farhaad Wadia, Managing Partner at Variant Equity. “ We’re confident drivers, riders, and advertisers alike will benefit from this deal.”
Firefly’s platform is trusted by top brands like Puma, Papa John’s, Postmates, Colgate, and United Airlines to deliver the most dynamic campaigns in out-of-home and are the only digital OOH ads that optimize weekly.
Partners and advertisers interested in learning more about Firefly, please visit Fireflyon.com.
About Firefly
Firefly is the street-level digital media network that connects audiences with dynamic media on taxis and rideshare vehicles. The company works with taxi companies and rideshare drivers to install its proprietary advertising displays atop their vehicles. These proprietary screens deliver dynamic content based on location-based, WiFi-enabled triggers. Firefly provides an additional revenue stream for drivers and empowers brands to efficiently engage consumers across our nation’s busiest cities, including San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York City, Chicago, Las Vegas, Dallas, and Miami.
Founded by Kaan Gunay (CEO) and Onur Kardesler (CPO), Firefly is headquartered in San Jose, with offices in New York City, Los Angeles, Dallas, Chicago, and Istanbul. To learn more visit: fireflyon.com
About Curb Mobility
Curb is reimagining urban mobility by creating the foundation for an intelligent, scalable, and efficient transportation network of the future. Its comprehensive mobility and payments platform powers millions of rides for consumers, transit agencies, and businesses to facilitate billions of dollars in payment transactions.
Riders across major US markets, including New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Philadelphia, rely on the Curb app to provide safe, low-cost rides in licensed taxis and other for hire vehicles. With features like Upfront Pricing for taxis and ‘Pair & Pay’, Curb is continually improving the riding experience for passengers and drivers alike. To learn more visit: www.gocurb.com
About Variant Equity
Variant Equity is a Los Angeles-based private equity firm that makes control investments in a range of industries including transportation and logistics, technology, and business services with a focus on corporate divestiture and other similarly operationally intensive transactions. The firm’s investment approach focuses on businesses it believes are best suited to reach their full potential as stand-alone enterprises through the deployment of Variant’s operations and technology resources. Variant Equity purchased a controlling stake in Curb Mobility in 2017 from Verifone, Inc. To learn more visit: www.variantequity.com
