Strategic approach
The used car market in Romania is booming. Dealerships, online giants, and private sellers are all vying for shoppers' attention. Traditional digital marketing? A very expensive dead end: the cost of ads on search engines and social media is skyrocketing, hindering growth.
Instant.ro, Romania's first AI-powered platform for instant valuation, buying, and selling of used vehicles, set itself an ambitious goal: to accelerate user acquisition while simultaneously reducing the cost per new user. Specifically, the platform aimed to lower its user acquisition cost (UAC) to €5.50 per user, compared to the average of €8.50, without compromising conversion rates.
The path forward? AI-powered retail media. Forget the old ways. Accurately identify shoppers with high purchase intent: at the right time, in the right place. Instant.ro didn't just join the race, it broke new ground.
Creative concept
“Automatic updates powered by AI – Smart selling, confident buying.”
Abandoning generic ads, Instant.ro turned to AI to create geolocated images—the Arch of Triumph in Bucharest or St. Michael’s Church in Cluj—making each ad an iconic landmark.
The hook?
"Register. Win a 250 RON fuel voucher."
Clear. Appealing. It resonated deeply with car shoppers, from first-time buyers to seasoned drivers.
AI-powered creativity bridged the gap between trust and action. Signing up became simple, validating Instant.ro's promise: fast, easy, and smart car buying and selling.
Execution
Omnichannel precision down to the store location level.
AI-powered ads were delivered across in-store, on-site, and off-site channels—right up to the store entrance. The strategy aimed to trigger retail media exposure at every relevant step of the buying journey.
The target audience: urban professionals aged 30 to 45, with high purchasing power, tech-savvy, and eager for quick car-buying solutions. The ads featured local icons: familiar, urgent, and relevant. Peak shopping hours among professionals boosted coupon usage.
The advantage? Instant.ro tailored its ads based on geographic location and shopper behavior.
- Geolocation-based personalization: each ad featured a background with iconic local architecture. This hyperlocal approach increased the emotional connection and relevance of the ad.
- In-store display during peak hours: During peak shopping times, digital screens in Profi stores displayed frequent reminders about the fuel voucher incentive.
- Interaction with the Retailer's app: Users browsing the Profi app from home or on their way to the store received personalized messages from Instant.ro.
Execution details:
- Creative resources: AI-powered personalized on-screen ads, geolocated by store, with behavior-based accuracy
- Tools: AI-powered behavioral profiling, dynamic segmentation, real-time lead mapping, and conversions for every ad and every location.
Instant.ro connected shopper intent to registration, turning media exposure into measurable results.
Extension
Midway through the campaign, AI uncovered a new trend: urban professionals aged 30 to 45 were converting into customers with a high conversion rate. Areas near Profi were buzzing with activity. Instant.ro shifted its strategy.
Segmentation focused on the 30-45 age range, and more budget was allocated to key locations identified by the platform.
Neighborhoods with a high concentration of young professionals received a larger budget.
AI-generated images were further refined to reflect more ambitious automotive options, targeting high-value audience segments.
This real-time, data-driven shift improved campaign efficiency without exceeding the original media budget. By prioritizing accuracy over scale, Instant.ro maximized its return on investment.
Innovation
AI-powered hyperlocalized retail media
AI-powered intelligence refined the strategy. Data was merged in real time—in-store transactions, Wi-Fi trails, mobility changes, social signals—to identify high-intent shoppers in real time. Ads were transformed live with local icons.
- The campaign combined data from physical stores (transaction history, in-store behavior, Wi-Fi tracking), proximity data (mobility patterns, weather conditions, store location information), and digital retail media data (social media activity, website interactions, purchase history). This fusion enabled highly targeted audience segmentation, ensuring that ads reached the right users at the right time.
- Leveraging AI, Instant.ro dynamically generated geo-personalized ad creatives that incorporated the iconic architecture of each user's location. This level of contextual relevance made the campaign more engaging and personal, increasing emotional connection and driving higher conversions.
- The campaign reached potential users at all key touchpoints in the purchase journey, ensuring that Instant.ro's message remained relevant:
- At home: digital ads generated conversions
- On the way to the store: it kept Instant.ro top of mind for users
- In-store: digital displays reinforced the incentive, encouraging users to register
- Performance was measured dynamically, with full campaign attribution to conversions, enabling real-time optimizations that maximized efficiency without exceeding the original budget.
Real-time attribution tracked every win, keeping spending under control. Instant.ro set a benchmark in Retail Media beyond FMCG, heading directly for success in the automotive sector.
Results
Objectives? Exceeded. Instant.ro transformed car sales. AI-powered retail media delivered:
- A massive impact on traffic: the campaign generated 882,000 new visits to Instant.ro, at an ultra-efficient cost of only €0.07 per visitor.
- User acquisition gains: Instant.ro achieved a cost of €0.56 per new user—about 10 times lower than the original €5.50 target and about 15 times more cost-efficient than the prior €8.50 average.
- High-value sales leads at half the cost: the campaign generated 1,350 sales-qualified leads at just €49 per lead, twice as cost-efficient as sales-qualified leads from Google or Facebook.
Instant.ro turned Romania’s fragmented automotive market into an opportunity. Smart targeting. Geo-precise ads. Proven impact. This is how Retail Media can uncover untapped potential.
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