- Polygon and its partner Dream Box Media are helping brands and businesses reach padel players around the country.
- With players being generally more wealthy, brands can take advantage of programmatic advertising to reach this affluent audience.
- Early adopters says the advertising has lead to an increase in sales.
Padel is a sport that has quickly climbed in popularity. The racket sport originated in Mexico but in recent years has become a global obsession with estimates suggesting as many as 30 million people played the sport in 2024.
South Africa is not immune to that obsession with new courts popping up constantly in neighbourhoods around the country. One of the organisations driving the uptick in courts and players is Africa Padel which operates over 650 courts across the country.
With that reach, Padel was bound to attract the attention of advertisers and Polygon, through its partner Dream Box Media is helping advertisers reach a segment of the market that has significant spending power.
“Due to the cost of equipment and court hire, Padel generally attracts an upper income, professional audience with disposable income. It’s not only a fun and competitive sport, but it’s also used as a meeting point where business associates can establish and maintain relationships – like with golf – in a sociable setting,” explains managing director of Polygon, Remi Du Preez.
The MD isn’t wrong, an Africa Padel memberships costs R2 500 per year with members still required to pay a rental fee for a court and rackets, albeit at discounted rates.
Advertisers can leverage digital billboards at Africa Padel clubs to spread their message to affluent players. The network of digital billboards is programmatically connected and support Google-based programmatic traders.
“We also have the means to activate campaigns on the mobile phones of visitors to Padel courts. This dual-screen targeted approach ensures a higher ad recall and receptivity for brands advertising to these audiences,” explains Du Preez.
Polygon says that it can accurately measure campaign attribution in that it can determine whether a Padel player visiting a website or store did so after seeing an advert. Early adopters who advertised on Polygon and Dream Box Media’s network say that this has lead to a “marked increase in sales”.
“The early advertiser adopters on our screens are benefitting from reaching affluent men and women during their leisure time – ideal conditions to connect with them. Our programmatic offering has done really well since the onset, and we look forward to driving further growth in the year ahead,” says Mark Murphy, head of commercial at Dream Box Media.
Advertisers looking to reach a more affluent audience, may want to get in touch with Polygon to find out more about reaching padel players.
