Instacart Logo

THE CLIENT | INSTACART

Instacart is the leading online grocery platform in North America.

Offering same-day service, Instacart shoppers deliver fresh groceries and everyday essentials to busy American and Canadians. Instacart has partnered with more than 700 beloved national, regional, and local retailers — including unique brand names. Its network includes more than 65,000 stores across more than 5,500 cities in North America. Instacart’s platform reaches more than 85% of U.S. households and 90% of Canadian households. The company’s cutting-edge enterprise technology also powers the eCommerce platforms of some of the world’s biggest retail players, supporting their white-label websites, applications, and delivery solutions.

GOALS

Instacart sought CMG’s help with a college ambassador program to engage students on campus and distribute Instacart Express promotional cards.

Mobile activations mixed with door hanger and poster campaigns drove awareness and engagement both in-person and on social media. The campaign achieved the following:

  • Boosted student awareness of Instacart Express
  • Showcased how Express can add value to their day-to-day lives
  • Drove action to sign up for Instacart Express
  • Gathered insights to optimize for student demographic
Goals
Campaign Graphic

CAMPAIGN

Instacart needed to convert students from traditional shoppers to digital commerce customers.

However, hungry college students weren’t their only audience. Instacart also needed to recruit personal shoppers to mobilize the delivery service.

When Instacart expanded to 25 campuses, CMG was there to assist in their efforts via on-campus activations, door hangers, kiosks, and posters. This public campaign found creative ways to gain significant attention quickly.

LOCATION MEDIA

Posters
Following the pandemic, QR codes are back. That means advertisers are now using more signs and other printed materials. Posters, along with other forms of location media on college campuses, have become one of the hottest ways to reach students. Once upon a time, posters were primarily an awareness piece. Now, they generate significant digital traffic for brands. Instacart’s campaign consisted of 100 posters placed in strategic, high-traffic areas on each of 14 college campuses in their target markets.

Kiosks

CMG’s outdoor kiosks raise brand awareness while maintaining a focused audience. Instacart chose to include kiosk signage at UCLA, San Francisco State, and City College of San Francisco.

EXPERIENTIAL

On-Campus Activation

Nothing beats good old-fashioned human interaction when it comes to advertising. CMG’s brand ambassadors represent the client’s brand on campuses they already know well. A team of ambassadors engages directly with students, informing them about the product or service, and distributing sales materials and giveaways.

  • Instacart activated on 25 campuses.
  • Each team consisted of three ambassadors and one manager.
  • Each spent two days on their respective campus.
  • Thousands of students received Instacart Express cards.
  • Ambassadors encouraged students to post on social media.

Door Hangers

Door hangers proved useful for more granular targeting. While digital options allow hyper-targeting, door hangers delivered a physical sample, gift card, or collateral directly to students at their off-campus housing residences

CAMPAIGN STATS

Campaign Impressions

Est. Students Reached

Promo Cards Distributed

Posters Hung on Campus

RESULTS

With 25 campuses successfully activated, students were generally surprised at the services available. Most were excited to try out Instacart Express.

As anticipated, the strength of the offer with both free groceries and delivery resonated well.

Results

“This is perfect for when I can’t leave; I have so many final projects going on!”

“I’m a broke college kid so $20 off $35 sounds great to me! That’s enough to hold me down for a few weeks.”

“Unlimited delivery with the membership, wow. This will come in handy this summer.”

“All my friends use Instacart and I have yet, I’ve been wanting to try it and you guys just gave me the final push to download and order.”

“It’s great Instacart is out here to help the students out with free money towards groceries, it makes Instacart feel more personal, not just another faceless app.”

Yes, I know!

Approximately 15% of students said they already use the Instacart services!

Oh, I didn't know!

Many students that already use the service did not realize there was an express membership.

Hey, me too.

We heard numerous students say they drive/work for Instacart! All of them were proud to share that insight with our teams.

Contact us today to be our next success story.

Smiling students