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.
“We plan on expanding our pool of delivery partners over the coming months, says Remi Du Preez, managing director at Polygon. The fleet of bikes racks up a total of 70 000km and around 5 000 deliveries every month.
“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,” said Du Preez.
While bikes historically featured static OOH ads on delivery boxes, Du Preez said this was the first that boxes have been digitised and programmatic digital out of home (pDOOH)-enabled, allowing a more dynamic, responsive and engaging format.
Du Preez said the digital screens can be activated by any compatible Demand Server Platform (DSP) connected to Polygon’s network, including Google-based platforms.
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,” says 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.
GPS-enabled 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 Remi 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.”
