Instacart Tries Its Hand At Brand Building With New, Whimsical Ad Campaign

In an effort to move its marketing “from transactional to inspirational”, Instacart has released a whimsical new ad campaign starring artist and entrepreneur Lizzo entitled “The World Is Your Cart”. Seen soaking in a luxurious bubble bath, Lizzo narrates as she scrolls through the app and adds items to her basket.

And as items are added virtually, they begin to appear in fantastical ways around the Grammy-award-winning artist — cherries fall from the sky, bath bombs explode in the air, and a comically-large scoop of ice cream bursts out of the wardrobe only to be doused in gigantic sprinkles.

The ad is magical, quirky, and fun — and it plays up Lizzo’s natural charm and charisma, making it a stand-out campaign. But it also marks an important shift in Instacart’s overall marketing strategy, as the brand’s chief marketing officer, Laura Jones, explained.

In an interview with Adweek, Jones shared:

“This year was really about, ‘How do we set ourselves up for the next chapter of Instacart?' (...) The business has evolved; now, the brand needs to evolve.”

As a 10-year-old company, Instacart has managed to grow and evolve to the point where, in order to further expand, it needs to move away from transactional marketing and try its hand at brand building via a unique brand personality.

Over the last few months, Instacart has been making strides in doing just that. In March, the company underwent a brand refresh “designed to reflect the evolving nature of the company and match the speedy growth of the grocery delivery landscape.” With a modernized logo, fresh typography, and new brand colors, Instacart’s new brand appearance encompasses “a broader focus on non-grocery items the service delivers, such as cosmetics and office supplies.”

Additionally, the brand recently dropped a streetwear collection in collaboration with designer Anwar Carrots to celebrate its 10th anniversary — another move that allows the brand to carve out a more distinct brand identity and personality.

The company has shared plans for a public IPO by the end of 2022, and, based on its recent performance, it makes sense. Though Instacart’s “growth has slowed since the early days of the pandemic”, it made $1.8 billion in 2021 — which represents a 20% year-over-year increase.

Furthermore, according to a recent article from The Wall Street Journal, Instacart’s 2022 revenue is also on the up and up — with revenue during three months which ended in June having "climbed 39% from the year-earlier period to $621 million.” According to investors, this is “the highest quarterly revenue in Instacart’s history.”

With brand performance like this, it’s no surprise that Instacart is looking to go public — and its largest-ever (budget-wise) campaign is just another way for the brand to increase awareness and build towards its goals.

We’ll be interested to see whether or not the expected IPO will happen before the end of the year — and we’ll be keeping our eyes peeled for more fun, whimsical ads like this that move Instacart in a far more inspirational, personality-packed direction.