Place Exchange Gets Inside Uber OOH as Riders Return

The streets of major cities in the U.S. have been teeming for months, so out of home media sales platform Place Exchange senses this is the right time to hail a marketing alliance with Uber OOH. Specifically, the deal has the programmatic OOH media placement platform connecting its ad buyers with Uber's digital OOH cartop advertising network. The network includes 3,000 vehicles nationwide across Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, New York and Phoenix. Uber OOH also promises over 112 million daily impressions. “That coverage, coupled with Uber OOH’s ability to allow advertisers to serve relevant, contextual and street-level campaigns, makes Uber OOH a uniquely powerful channel for advertisers,” Place Exchange CEO, Ari Buchalter, told Adweek. The deal comes as the OOH industry has continued to point to signs of a comeback after last year’s spending in the category dropped by 29%, according to IPG’s Magna Global. About 53% of Americans indicated OOH advertising is playing a role in restoring their confidence as they prepared for the school year, according to a survey by industry trade group Out of Home Advertising Association of America this summer. While those numbers are more directional, ride-hailing’s robust reversal is clearer. Two weeks ago, Uber’s Q3 earnings identified a surge in rider demand. Gross bookings hit what the San Francisco ride-sharing and delivery company said was an “all-time high” of $23.1 billion, up 57% from the same period in 2020. Rising optimism in the face of rising everything Of course, rising fares—along with continued inflation fears generally—could dent that comeback, along with many other uncertainties associated with global pandemic spikes. But the new partners’ deal is all optimism. Place Exchange cited a report from MarketsandMarkets, Covid-19 Impact on Ride Sharing Market, that forecasts the global ride-hailing market size is projected to grow at a rate of 55.6% from 2020 to 2021. In July, Place Exchange demonstrated its confidence about dominating digital OOH, as interactivity is seen as one specific area promoting the wider outdoor ad resurgence. That’s when Place Exchange began preparing for a shot of triple-digit growth by closing a $20 million series A funding. It also used the funding round to lay the groundwork of its new status as a standalone company after spinning off from OOH giant Intersection. While many ad tech players the last decade shrugged OOH off as an old-fashioned ad medium, Place Exchange was lining up the pipeline of sales from programmatic buyers across Amobee, MediaMath, Quotient, The Trade Desk, Yahoo DSP and other major demand side platforms. Uber Knows How to Move People and Products. Next: Showing Up With Uber attempting to diversify its own revenue streams beyond ride-hails and food delivery, piping ads through screens on the top of drivers’ cars sounds like easy money. “We’re incredibly excited to be partnering with Place Exchange to open up Uber OOH inventory to a broad array of demand,” said Brett Baker, general manager, Uber OOH. “Our network has grown considerably over the last few years and we look forward to unlocking more opportunities for advertisers to integrate Uber OOH alongside their omnichannel strategies.”