Dive Brief:

• Instacart has launched its largest-ever back-to-school campaign, “You’ve Got This, Parents,” according to a press release. The six-week, multi-channel campaign targets shoppers in the U.S. and Canada to promote the brand’s hassle-free, one-stop shopping experience.
• Key to the campaign is the use of Instacart’s new co-marketing solution to allow for brands including Babybel, Chobani, Lunchables, Skippy and Yoplait to collaborate with Instacart on the effort. The campaign also highlights Instacart’s AI-fueled search capabilities.
• Instacart is also focusing on savings by reducing its annual paid-subscription fee for new members by 50% starting Aug. 11 and offering tax-free shopping for consumers in Texas and New Jersey in recognition of the states’ official tax-free holidays. 

Dive Insight:

With back-to-school shopping in full swing, Instacart is pushing convenience by asserting itself as a hassle-free, one-stop shop for parents. The move could help the company establish itself as more than a grocery delivery service, showcasing the wide range of products it offers beyond food including school supplies, sporting equipment, backpacks, clothing and electronics.

“You’ve Got This, Parents,” notably highlights Instacart’s Ask Instacart search tool, an AI-powered capability that began rolling out in May. The ChatGPT-based tool allows consumers to search for products, recipes and more using natural language versus keyword-based searches. In the case of back-to-school, Ask Instacart could make tasks like planning school lunches easier by generating ideas in response to searches like “easy school lunches” and “lunches a kindergartner can make,” per release details.

Instacart’s back-to-school campaign will span multiple channels including over-the-top/online video, linear TV, paid and organic social, audio, CRM and affiliate marketing in addition to being promoted through pop-ups on the Instacart app under “Back-to-School Groceries” and “Back-to-School Essentials.” A playful 30-second spot by the brand showcases the Ask Instacart feature as a tool to help guide a child through packing their lunchbox, while another 30-second spot features one child’s journey to finding the perfect backpack.  

"Back to School can be a hectic and bittersweet time for parents, and this campaign embodies how Instacart has parents' backs this season," said Instacart CMO Laura Jones in release details.

“You Got This, Parents” also showcases Instacart’s consumer packaged goods (CPG) co-marketing solution, which it launched earlier this year, per release details. Included in the campaign are tie-ups with a slew of family brands, which could help the marketers better align themselves with the key shopping period. An emphasis on its co-marketing capabilities could also help Instacart bolster its ads business. In February, Michelob Ultra became the first to utilize the brand’s CPG co-marketing capabilities to create shoppable TV commercials coinciding with the beer brand’s Super Bowl LVII advertising.

Instacart is also leaning into savings for its effort, a nod to parents amid a back-to-school shopping period expected to see a 10% year-over-year drop in spend as many families continue to grapple with macro headwinds. In addition to offering its paid subscription, Instacart+, at a discounted rate for new members for their first year, the company will enable tax-free shopping on eligible items in New Jersey and Texas on the states’ official tax-free holidays, which fall on Aug. 26 to Sept. 4 and Aug. 11 to 13, respectively.