Advertisers
Brief Vira, approve the ad, pick cabs and months, pay online, and read GPS and QR results in the console.
See the 8 steps
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How it works
How Backseat Network works
A step-by-step guide to in-cab advertising in India: how an ad is made, bought, shown and measured, and what happens on the driver and installer side.
In short: Backseat Network is a self-serve in-cab advertising network in India. We mount silent tablets on the headrests of airport cabs and city fleets. You brief our AI assistant Vira, review the ad it drafts, choose cities, cabs and months, and pay online at ₹4,000 per cab per month plus 18% GST. Our operations team activates your screens, every play is logged with GPS, and a QR code on each ad counts scans.
Last updated 20 October 2026.
Key facts
- What it is
- In-cab digital advertising (CADOOH): a silent headrest tablet in airport cabs and city fleets.
- Where
- Live in Mumbai, Delhi NCR and Bengaluru. Onboarding in Hyderabad, Chennai and Pune.
- Screen
- Company-owned tablet on the headrest, about 60 cm from the passenger, no audio.
- Exposure
- 20 to 45 minutes per ride in most cities, no skip button.
- Price
- ₹4,000 per cab per month, plus 18% GST.
- Buying
- Self-serve in the console, or a managed campaign with our team.
- Payment
- UPI, card or netbanking through Razorpay. GST invoice emailed automatically.
- Creative
- Silent MP4 with a QR code, reviewed before it goes live. Vira can draft it in Hindi and English.
- Proof
- GPS-logged playouts and QR scan counts, by city and route.
- Fleet
- City cabs, airport cabs, two-wheelers, tempos, vans and trucks.
Overview
The whole system in one view
Three groups make the network work: advertisers who pay for screens, drivers who carry them, and our operations team and installers who connect the two.
- Brief
- Draft
- Review
- Choose cabs
- Pay
- Activate
- Play
- Measure
Driver partners
Apply with RC and driving licence, sign the agreement, keep GPS on and the tablet online, and earn from campaigns running in the cab.
See the 6 stepsOperations and installers
Verify driver papers, provision each cab, mount and pair the tablet, and switch advertiser campaigns on.
See the install stepsAdvertisers
For advertisers: from brief to results in eight steps
Each step below shows what you do, what we do, and what you get.
1
Brief Vira
Start with your website or your own creative.
You
Paste your brand's website into Vira, our AI campaign assistant, or skip ahead and upload a finished creative.
We
Vira reads your site to understand what you sell and who you sell it to.
You get
A starting point for your in-cab ad.
2
Review the ad Vira drafts
Vira writes the ad. You approve it.
You
Read the draft, change any line you like, and approve it.
We
Vira drafts in-cab copy in Hindi and English, plus a poster sized for the headrest screen.
You get
A bilingual ad with a QR code, ready for review.
3
Pass the creative check
Every ad is reviewed before it plays.
You
Submit a silent MP4. Keep it to one message, one visual and one QR code, with type large enough to read in two seconds.
We
We review the creative before anything goes live in a cab.
You get
An approved creative that is safe to run on a passenger screen.
4
Choose your cities, cabs and months
Pick the fleet that fits your audience.
You
Choose a city, a cab count and a number of months. Start with airport Innova and Ertiga cabs for premium reach, then add city Swift and Dzire cabs for frequency.
We
We show the live and onboarding cities and price the plan as you build it.
You get
A fleet plan with the total shown before you pay.
5
Pay online and get your GST invoice
Pay by UPI, card or netbanking.
You
Pay when you submit the campaign. Media costs ₹4,000 per cab per month, and 18% GST is added to the invoice.
We
Razorpay confirms your payment instantly and we email your GST invoice automatically.
You get
A paid campaign and a GST invoice in INR.
6
We activate your screens
Operations switches your campaign on.
You
Nothing more to do once you have paid.
We
Our operations team activates your campaign on the screens in the cities you chose.
You get
A live campaign in your cabs.
7
Your ad plays in the cab
Silent, full screen, at eye level.
You
Watch the console for the first plays.
We
The tablet plays your creative on a silent loop. Each tablet logs its GPS position and every play.
You get
A GPS-stamped log of every playout.
8
Track results and improve
Read the numbers, then shift your spend.
You
Open the console to see where and when your ad ran, and how many people scanned the QR code.
We
We report playouts, reach by city and route, and QR scans by creative.
You get
Data to move more cabs behind the creative that works.
Passenger view
Inside the cab: what the passenger sees
A tablet sits on the back of the front-seat headrest, about 60 cm from the passenger. It plays your creative on a silent loop, with no skip button, for the length of the ride.
Every creative carries a QR code, so a passenger can scan to install an app, order or book before they reach their stop.
The tablet is company-owned and locked with the Backseat Network COSU app. There is no audio, so the driver stays focused and the passenger keeps watching.
Proof
How we measure and prove delivery
| What is measured | How it is captured | Where you see it |
|---|---|---|
| Playouts | Each tablet logs every play of your creative together with its GPS position | Console, by city and route |
| Cab location | Live GPS from each tablet | Console map |
| Impressions | We count impressions as counted playouts | Console and reports |
| QR scans | Scans of the QR code on each creative, counted per creative | Console and reports |
| Billing | Invoice generated at payment, in INR with 18% GST | Email, and the console |
An impression here means a counted play, not a unique viewer. Compare creatives by QR scans and move more cabs to the one that performs.
AI
Where AI is used in advertising on our network
AI handles the slow part for a new advertiser: turning a website into an ad. People handle the parts where a mistake costs money or safety.
What Vira does
Reads the website you paste, drafts in-cab copy in Hindi and English, and builds a poster sized for the headrest screen. It is also available as Ask Vira on the site. Its aim is to cut the time it takes a small business to launch.
What people do
You approve the ad before it is submitted. Creatives are reviewed before they go live. Our operations team verifies driver papers and vehicles, and an installer mounts each tablet.
Next on our roadmap is programmatic buying, which is not live yet.
Drivers
For drivers: how a cab joins the network
- 1
Apply with your RC, permit, driving licence, vehicle photos and phone number.
- 2
Choose how to be paid: a UPI ID or bank account in your own name.
- 3
Read and e-sign the Driver Device and Network Agreement. A sealed PDF is emailed to you.
- 4
Our operations team verifies the vehicle and documents.
- 5
A GPS installer mounts the company tablet. You get an enrolment code and lock the tablet with the Backseat Network COSU app.
- 6
Keep GPS on. Campaigns play silently, and you earn on approved uptime and campaign kilometres.
Monthly allowance
Earn from campaigns running in your cab.
Bonuses
Join on-ground activations and airport peaks on top of your allowance.
Stay preferred
Approved, online tablets keep you in the live fleet and first in line for new city flights.
The tablet and kit stay Backseat Network property. The driver holds them as bailee, not owner.
Apply with RCInstallers
Installation: how a tablet gets into a cab
- 1
Operations provisions the cab after approval and assigns an installer.
- 2
The installer mounts the tablet on the headrest.
- 3
The installer uploads photos of the tablet in the cabin, the bracket and the number plate. A GPS, power and SIM photo and a short video are optional.
- 4
The installer marks the job complete. Only the installer assigned to that cab can do this.
Installers use /install with the cab registration, enrolment code and their installer ID.
Pricing
How pricing works
Total = cabs × months × ₹4,000, plus 18% GST. There are no agency fees.
| Cabs | Months | Media | GST at 18% | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | 1 | ₹40,000 | ₹7,200 | ₹47,200 |
| 25 | 1 | ₹1,00,000 | ₹18,000 | ₹1,18,000 |
| 10 | 3 | ₹1,20,000 | ₹21,600 | ₹1,41,600 |
Examples for illustration. You choose the cab count and months in the console.
Compare
In-cab screens compared with static hoardings
| In-cab screen (Backseat Network) | Static hoarding (typical) | |
|---|---|---|
| Where the ad appears | Headrest tablet, about 60 cm from the passenger | Fixed roadside site |
| Time in front of the ad | 20 to 45 minutes per ride | Seconds as people pass |
| Skippable | No | Not applicable |
| Proof it ran | GPS-logged playouts and QR scan counts | Usually estimated traffic or footfall |
| Weather | Indoors, keeps playing in monsoon | Exposed to the weather |
| Booking | Self-serve, pay online by UPI or card | Usually arranged through a vendor or agency |
Glossary
- CADOOH
- Cab digital out-of-home. Advertising on digital screens inside cabs.
- DOOH
- Digital out-of-home. Advertising on digital screens outside the home, such as in transit.
- Cab-month
- One cab running your campaign for one month. This is the unit we sell, at ₹4,000.
- Dwell time
- How long a passenger is in front of your ad. 20 to 45 minutes per ride in most cities.
- Playout
- One play of your creative on a tablet.
- Proof of play
- The GPS-stamped record that a playout happened, and where.
- QR scan
- A passenger scanning the QR code on your ad with their phone.
- Vira
- Our AI campaign assistant. Drafts Hindi and English ad copy and a poster from your website.
- COSU app
- The Backseat Network app that locks the company tablet to our campaigns.
- RC
- Registration certificate of the vehicle, required from drivers.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
What is in-cab advertising (CADOOH)?
+
CADOOH stands for cab digital out-of-home. It puts your ad on a silent tablet mounted on the back of the front-seat headrest, so every passenger in the back seat sees it at eye level for the whole ride.
How does Backseat Network work?
+
You brief our AI assistant Vira, review the ad it drafts, choose cities, cabs and months, and pay online. Our operations team activates your campaign on tablets in cabs. Each tablet logs every play with GPS, and a QR code on your ad counts scans.
How much does in-cab advertising cost?
+
Media is ₹4,000 per cab per month, plus 18% GST on the invoice. You choose the number of cabs and months, so the total is cabs × months × ₹4,000 plus GST.
How long do passengers see my ad?
+
City rides in Mumbai, Delhi NCR and Bengaluru typically run 20 to 45 minutes, and our Delhi NCR and Bengaluru pages cite 30 to 60 minutes. Airport rides are often longer. There is no skip button.
Does the ad have sound?
+
No. Ads play silently, which keeps drivers focused and lets passengers keep watching. Use clear visuals and large text.
What format does my creative need?
+
A silent MP4 with a QR code. Keep it to one message, one visual and one QR, with type that reads in two seconds. We review every creative before it goes live.
How do I know my ad actually played?
+
Each tablet reports its GPS position and every playout. The console shows where and when your ad ran by city and route, next to QR scans. We count impressions as counted playouts.
What is Vira?
+
Vira is Backseat Network's AI campaign assistant. Paste your website and it drafts in-cab copy in Hindi and English and a poster for the screen, which you review before submitting.
How do I pay, and do I get a GST invoice?
+
Pay by UPI, card or netbanking through Razorpay when you submit your campaign. Payment confirms instantly and your GST invoice is emailed to you automatically.
Which cities can I advertise in?
+
Mumbai, Delhi NCR and Bengaluru are live. Hyderabad, Chennai and Pune are onboarding, and more cities are coming.
How do cab drivers join the network?
+
Drivers apply with their RC, driving licence, permit and vehicle photos, then e-sign a device agreement. Our operations team verifies the papers, an installer mounts a company-owned tablet, and campaigns play silently from then on.
How are drivers paid?
+
Drivers earn on approved uptime and campaign kilometres, and are paid to a UPI ID or bank account in their own name after each settlement.
Can I change my creative during a campaign?
+
Yes. You can rotate the best-performing creative into more cabs while the campaign runs. New creatives are reviewed before they go live.
Can you run the campaign for me?
+
Yes. Our team offers managed campaigns, including planning, creative and city-wide takeovers for national brands and agencies.
See it on your own brand
Paste your website into Vira and review your first in-cab ad.