Polygon has partnered with Swift Media to digitise Smart Boxes on Uber Eats’ delivery bikes in Gauteng, introducing the first programmatically-available digital delivery bike network in South Africa. The fleet of bikes racks up a total of 70,000km and around 5000 deliveries every month.
‘We plan on expanding our pool of delivery partners over the coming months,’ said Remi Du Preez, Managing Director at Polygon.
Du Preez said that delivery bikes have been used as a vehicle for out of home (OOH) campaigns for several years, particularly since the Covid-19 pandemic. ‘The pandemic saw a significant spike in the number of goods ordered online for delivery, and so these bikes became highly popular as an advertising medium, given their high visibility and reach.’
While bikes historically featured static OOH ads on delivery boxes, Du Preez sais that this is the first that boxes have been digitised and programmatic digital out of home (pDOOH)-enabled, allowing a more dynamic, responsive and engaging format. ‘These digital screens can be activated by any compatible Demand Server Platform (DSP) connected to Polygon’s network, including Google-based platforms.’
Du Preez said that a compelling feature of the digitised Smart Boxes is that advertisers can accurately track how many people are exposed to their ads, through the installation of a camera on each bike combined with vehicle tracking software.
‘This enables us to understand how many commuters and pedestrians are exposed to advertising,’ said Du Preez, adding that a pilot project is currently underway to access the mobile phone location data of those in the vicinity of the bikes, which would provide an even more granular picture of campaign reach.
The Smart Boxes are also GPS-enabled, which allows Polygon to ascertain the location of the bikes during each ad play. ‘This allows us to give advertisers a clearer picture of their campaign coverage.’
Lucky Maduna, Managing Director at Swift Media, said: ‘We are excited to partner with Du Preez and the team, with Polygon leading the charge in the programmatic DOOH arena. We believe our network will complement theirs, incorporating another touchpoint in the consumer journey via a delivery vehicle that is a consumer attention drawcard.’
Said Du Preez, ‘Research shows that receiving a delivery inspires feelings of anticipation among consumers, meaning that these audiences are often in a receptive and positive frame of mind, making them amenable to brand messages.
‘This network is ideal for brands looking for effective and novel ways to create awareness of their products or services, through a high-reach, ultra-measurable medium.’
POLYGON
http://pdooh.co.za
