Context

Grocerly is a startup founded in 2015 and it is in the business of developing e-commerce and enterprise solutions. I was contracted to help with the launch of their mobile app, which is also called Grocerly. It offers users the ability to make intelligent shopping list, accessible to all of their iOS devices. It also provides value-added features such as curated coupons and rebates that surface according to individual shopping lists. The app also assists users shop in physical stores, helping find items and organize their purchases amid the sprawl.

Strategies

The project primarily required the articulation of Grocerly’s value propositions with the goal of achieving a set app install objective. This involved a number of separate goals such as search engine optimization and the identification of a successful social media advertising framework.

The strategy I developed was based on the concept of education. The idea is not only about introducing the app but also persuade users to try it by providing informative as well as also compelling and actionable content.

The first step was the production of a video that catered to what Grocerly initially identified as its core target:  the suburban shoppers. The video content was carefully created to appeal to the audience based on their profile and preferences.

We ran the ad at Facebook and the campaign drew successful response rate. Based on the profile of initial installations, we began calibrating our ad to zero in on the most promising demographic. One of approaches involved was the segmentation of ad viewers into groups. These were then inundated with new advertisements based on certain app features.

The second stage involved an all out push in different digital channels. We launched a barrage of ads in Facebook, YouTube, the Google search engine, Apple App Store, and Display network. Based on the data we have collected, we were able to develop several versions of each campaign tailored according to our target audience in these platforms. For example, the ads all contained targeted keywords for Google Adwords Search. I have augmented all these strategies with free tools available that helped to drive the advertising cost down. For instance, we facilitated social media conversations that earned a huge number of impressions. These created market awareness and directed users to our advertisements, which worked to drive the audience to act according to what we wanted.

The strategy also included mechanisms for evaluation and control. And so our ad campaigns were easily modified, corrected or reinforced based on their impact, evident in the data we were collecting real-time.

Outcomes

By the end of the project, we were able to deliver a sustained stream of app installations. The efficacy of the ads and, therefore, the process by which they were created, were immediately known in the very first stage of the campaign. This is demonstrated with how quickly we obtained the lookalike audience we initially set for our remarketing efforts. Our marketing deliverables also include our great success in Apple search ads, which are keywords and bid based. Grocerly had remarkable placement in the search results, which was notable because to the sheer number of competitors in the platform.

Regarding the project objectives, the overall success was not only seen in the number of mobile app  installations. We were also able to maintain the advertising cost per install throughout the campaign down to $1.50.