AdTech Briefing 2026 Recap: From Ecosystem to Scale

On January 21, Flyby hosted its first AdTech Briefing in Dubai. The format was intentional: short TED-style talks, a hands-on workshop, and focused networking.

Not a conference. Not a product pitch. A working conversation with the people closest to the medium. What made the morning distinctive was the breadth of the room: Brands, agencies, and last-mile delivery partners showed up together, each bringing a different lens on the same question: how does moving digital out-of-home actually perform, and how should it be used as it scales?

Building the Ecosystem

From the outset, the conversation was framed around collaboration. As stated during the session, the only way for this medium to work is if the ecosystem works together. That idea carried through the entire briefing – from performance discussions to creative planning and, ultimately, to how campaigns are brought to market.

Moving digital OOH is not a single-player game. The inventory runs on delivery networks. The creative is shaped by brands and agencies. The data layer connects them all. Alignment across these players is not optional; it is the operating model.

By the end of 2025, Flyby was operating hundreds of boxes across Dubai, delivering 95 campaigns, 4.6 million ad runs, and over 37 million impressions. These numbers establish product-market fit. They also represent only a fraction of what is possible. Across the UAE and wider GCC, the delivery ecosystem operates at a scale that puts moving media firmly on the map as a serious channel – not an experiment. The question is no longer whether it works. The question is how fast it can scale.

Time-based and location-based takeovers emerged as a strong use case, particularly when brands want to signal presence or own specific moments in the day. The ability to control time, location, and sequencing gives moving media a role that complements rather than competes with traditional out-of-home.

Flyby is starting to fill gaps where traditional OOH is either too expensive or physically inaccessible. For brands rethinking their media mix, this is exactly where the opportunity sits.

Roadmap for 2026

The roadmap shared during the briefing reinforced this direction. Flyby is scaling toward 1,000 boxes in Dubai – a threshold expected to unlock a true planning and data tipping point. At scale, impression data becomes robust enough for serious media planning and third-party validation.

Product development is focused on deeper reporting, live data overlays, sequencing, and independent measurement. These are the tools that build buyer confidence as campaigns scale.

A core segment of the session was dedicated to Ramadan 2026. Rather than treating Ramadan as a blackout period or a creative constraint, the discussion reframed it as a shift in rhythm.

Movement patterns change. Evenings matter more. Engagement concentrates post-iftar and late into the night. Campaigns that lead with meaning, usefulness, or context are more likely to earn attention than those that simply push volume. For planners, this means thinking in phases. Context over raw reach. The medium rewards brands that respect the rhythm of the moment.

Hands-On Workshop

The session moved from presentation to participation. In a hands-on workshop, attendees worked through real scenarios using a simple framework: What do you want to use the medium for? What do you want to show? What do you want to achieve?

The emphasis was on clarity of intent rather than volume of exposure—moving from reach-led thinking to recall-led planning. Ideas discussed in the room moved closer to execution before anyone left the building.

We don’t want to be just another platform you spend money on. There’s a bigger idea behind this box.

The briefing closed with a broader reflection on Flyby’s role. The ambition is not to be another platform selling inventory. It is to build a medium that can be shaped around real brand needs.

Owning both the hardware and the software allows flexibility that pure-play adtech cannot offer. When a brand has a specific need, the system can adapt. When the ecosystem identifies a new use case, the roadmap can respond.

As a first briefing, the session did what it set out to do. It connected the ecosystem, grounded the conversation in real data and real constraints, and set a clear direction for how moving media can be used more intelligently in the year ahead.

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