DUBAI: Smiles, the UAE’s premier everyday rewards app, has partnered with Flyby to roll out smart delivery box technology across its e-bike fleet in Dubai, creating a new platform for hyperlocal digital advertising.
The agreement marks Smiles’ first move into embedded fleet digital box technology. Flyby’s innovative Smart Delivery Boxes feature IoT-connected digital screens that can display brands based on the location of each e-bike, helping brands reach audiences in relevant neighbourhoods at optimal times.
The technology will also provide Smiles with live fleet tracking and monitoring, improving transparency and road safety across its delivery operations. It will initially roll out in Dubai, with plans to expand to other emirates thereafter.
Ahmet Gokhan Ay, Chief Consumer Officer, e& UAE, said: “As a trusted homegrown brand, Smiles continues to evolve in ways that make everyday experiences more connected and relevant. By combining its reach with Flyby’s smart delivery technology, we are transforming our delivery fleet into a more connected and commercially valuable platform. The partnership will give us real-time visibility across delivery operations while offering brands a flexible, hyperlocal way to reach audiences across Dubai. It reflects how e& UAE uses technology to create new value across our digital ecosystem, strengthen the Smiles proposition and open new opportunities for partners.”
Cheyenne Kamran, Chief Executive Officer of Flyby, said: “Last-mile delivery has spent a decade optimising cost per order, and that time and profit pressure lands on the entire ecosystem of Smiles delivery champions, restaurants and operators alike. We built Flyby to bring value into that ecosystem with a new business model: moving digital boxes. Out-of-home has never had a shelf at eye level, and the Smiles fleet gives brands one without adding a vehicle to the street or a structure above it. Our ambition is to have thousands of boxes on the road in the next 24 months, and our partnership with Smiles is a major step in that direction.”
For advertisers and brand partners, the partnership creates a highly visible digital out-of-home (OOH) channel that moves through communities across Dubai, at a time when marketing budgets are being evaluated to maximise impact and return on investment.
Campaigns are geofenced, parted by day and time, updated over the air and live within 24 hours, against the four to six weeks a fixed format takes. Runs, impressions and locations are reported in real time, giving brands performance data by area and time of day rather than an estimate of passing traffic.
The scale of the roll out puts high-quality brand messaging across Dubai’s neighbourhoods from launch. Industry research suggests that digital OOH communication can attract attention and prompt consumer action, particularly when content is visually engaging and relevant to its location. For brands, this medium can provide a powerful entry point into OOH communication, while amplifying existing campaigns.
The partnership supports Smiles’ development as a technology-led last-mile platform and broadens its proposition for partners looking for hyper relevant and targeted ways to engage consumers at eye level.
