Ad Dollars for Uber Drivers

Calling an Uber or Lyft at the end of a night out has become a default for many, but drivers for the popular ride-sharing services still often don’t see much profit. Firefly is helping to change that by paying drivers an average of $300 per month for placing geo-targeted, rotating digital advertising for brands such as HotelTonight on the roof of their car, like many taxis already do. The service claims to deliver more than 430 million ad impressions per month over its 40,000 sq. mi. of coverage, a non­contiguous expanse that includes New York and Los Angeles. The company, founded in a Stanford business school dorm by Kaan Gunay and Onur Kardesler, says it reserves 10% of its ad space for social causes, local governments and nonprofits. One such campaign, which ran in L.A. and San Francisco, featured Smokey Bear and focused on fire prevention. Firefly is also working toward collecting city data using attachments like air-quality monitors on their units, and is considering international expansion next year. —Emily Price