Instacart supports new shoppable CPG ad campaign

Instacart is launching its first major CPG co-marketing campaign with new shoppable TV commercials featuring a well-known beer brand.

The grocery technology company is partnering with the Anheuser-Busch Michelob Ultra brand to create a co-marketing campaign that runs during the NFL football playoffs.

Featuring several famous male and female athletes from a variety of sports, the ds enable consumers to scan a QR code, which seamlessly takes them to a dedicated Michelob Ultra page on the Instacart site. In partnership with PepsiCo, the page also features complementary snack foods such as chips.

“We’re taking a digital-first approach to leverage this marquee entertainment moment and offer fans everywhere a seamless brand experience and even faster access to our products,” said Ricardo Marques, VP of marketing Michelob Ultra.  

“Over the last year, Instacart’s brand and full-funnel suite of advertising solutions have grown to reflect our maturing business and evolution from a transactional to inspirational experience,” said Instacart chief marketing officer Laura Jones. “Partnering with Michelob Ultra for a campaign of this magnitude leverages both of our brands’ equity and expertise to deliver Michelob Ultra directly to football fans’ doorsteps. Our omnichannel strategy aims to reach millions of consumers across screens and enrich their game day experience without them having to leave their family and friends.” 

Instacart will also promote Michelob Ultra from shoppable media on its app, as well as via email, push notifications, and social posts. The company is also offering a game-day pop-up page in its app and website through Sunday, Feb. 12. Consumers can shop from more than 40 brands, including multiple products from the Anheuser-Busch portfolio like Michelob Ultra, Cutwater, and Stella Artois, as well as PepsiCo beverages, Frito-Lay chips and snacks, spirits from Diageo, Wholly Guacamole, and Digiorno pizzas.

Instacart serves CPG advertisers

In other CPG advertising initiatives, Instacart began piloting shoppable CPG ads in spring 2022. In May 2020, the company rolled out a self-serve ad service called Instacart Ads which brands and agencies can use to purchase search ads, set goals and advertising budgets, and manage bidding.

And in October 2021, Instacart collaborated with e-commerce marketing platform CommerceIQ on an offering called CIQ Advertising for Instacart. The service, which includes an API integration, enables CPG brands to obtain real-time visibility across all their campaigns on the Instacart Ads self-serve ad platform, as well as leverage CommerceIQ artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities to automatically optimize Featured Product ads on Instacart in bulk.

In January 2022, the company released a collection of advertiser solutions, including brand pages and a suite of display applications designed to maximize brand reach and consumer awareness for CPG brands. The new products are designed to enable advertisers to run a full-funnel marketing strategy throughout the entire consumer shopping journey on Instacart – from awareness to consideration to purchase.

Instacart partners with more than 1000 national, regional and local retail banners to deliver from more than 75,000 stores across more than 13,000 cities in North America.