Strategic Approach

Romania’s used car market hums with action. Dealerships, online titans, and private sellers scramble for buyers’ eyes. Traditional digital? A costly dead-end—search and social prices skyrocket, stalling growth.  

Instant.ro, Romania’s first AI-powered platform for instant car valuation and trading of used vehicles, set an ambitious goal: to accelerate its user acquisition while significantly reducing the cost per new user. Specifically, the platform aimed to lower its User Acquisition Cost (UAC) to €5.5 per user, down from the average of €8.5, without compromising conversion rates.  

The path? AI-driven retail media. Forget old routes. Pinpoint high-intent buyers with precision—right moment, right spot. Instant.ro didn’t just join the race—it charted new territory.

Creative Concept

“Upgrade auto prin AI – Vinzi inteligent, Cumperi cu încredere”
(Auto upgrade through AI – Smart selling, trustful buying)

Ditching generic ads, Instant.ro tapped into AI to craft geo-smart visuals—Bucharest’s Arcul de Triumf or Cluj’s St. Michael’s Church—making every ad an iconic waypoint.  
The hook?  

“Sign up. Win a 250 RON fuel voucher.”  

Clear. Compelling. It resonated with car buyers at all life stages, first-time owners and experienced drivers alike.
AI-powered creativity bridged trust with action. Sign-ups became effortless, validating Instant.ro’s promise: quick, easy, smart car trades.

Execution

Omnichannel Accuracy down to Store Location Level.
AI-powered ads took over all the channels—in-store, on-site and off-site—right to the store’s doorstep. The strategy aimed to activate retail media exposure at every relevant step on the path-to-purchase:

The target: urban pros, 30-45—cash-rich, tech-savvy, craving swift car solutions. Ads showcased local icons—familiar, urgent, relevant. Profi peak hours pushed the voucher.
The edge? Instant.ro adapted its ads based on shopper geographical locations and behaviours:

• Geolocation-Based Personalization: Every ad featured a background with iconic local architecture. This hyper-local approach increased emotional connection and ad relevance.

• Prime-Time In-Store Exposure: During peak shopping hours, digital screens in Profi stores delivered high-frequency reminders about the fuel voucher incentive.

• Retailer App Engagement: Users browsing the Profi app at home or on their way to the store received personalized Instant.ro messages.

Key Deliverables:

• Creative Assets: AI-tailored screen ads, geo-personalized per store, behavior-driven precision.

• Tools: AI-Powered Behavioural Profiling, Dynamic Targeting, Real-time Lead Mapping conversions to every ad, every spot.

Instant.ro guided the journey from store to screen, turning intent into real results for busy buyers.

Amplification

Mid-campaign, AI uncovered a new trend: urban professionals 30-45 converted at a high rate. Commuter zones near Profi buzzed. Instant.ro shifted gears.
Targeting locked on the 30-45 age range and more budget flowed to commuter hotspots detected through the platform.  
Higher budget was allocated to neighbourhoods with a strong concentration of young professionals.
AI-generated visuals were further adapted to reflect more aspirational automotive choices, for high-value audience segments.
This real-time data-driven pivot enhanced campaign efficiency without exceeding the original media budget. By focusing on precision rather than scale, Instant.ro maximized its return on investment.

Innovation

AI-Powered, Hyper-Localized Retail Media

AI-powered ingenuity redefined the route. Data fused in real time —store transactions, Wi-Fi trails, mobility shifts, social signals — spotting buyers instantly. Ads morphed live with local icons.

• The campaign combined Physical Store Data (transaction history, in-store behavior, Wi-Fi tracking), Proximity Data (mobility patterns, weather conditions, store location insights), and Digital Retail Data (social media activity, website interactions, purchase history). This fusion enabled hyper-targeted audience segmentation, ensuring ads reached the right users at the right moment.

• Leveraging AI, Instant.ro dynamically generated geo-personalized ad creatives featuring iconic architecture from each user’s locality. This level of contextual relevance made the campaign more engaging and relatable, increasing emotional connection and driving higher conversions.

• The campaign reached potential users across all key path-to-purchase touchpoints, ensuring Instant.ro’s message stayed relevant:

• At home – Digital ads generated conversions

• On the way to the store – kept Instant.ro top-of-mind

• In-store – Digital screens reinforced the incentive, nudging users to sign up

• Performance was measured dynamically, with full campaign-to-conversions attribution, allowing for real-time optimizations that maximized efficiency without exceeding the original budget.

Real-time attribution traced every gain, keeping spend tight. Instant.ro set a retail media benchmark beyond FMCG, steering straight into automotive success.

Results

Targets? Exceeded. Instant.ro transformed car trading. AI-powered retail media delivered:

• Massive Traffic Impact: The campaign drove 882,000 new visits to Instant.ro, at an ultra-efficient cost of just EUR 0.07 per visitor.

• Breakthrough in User Acquisition: Instant.ro achieved a  EUR 0.56 cost per new user - 10 times lower than the original €5.5 target and 20 times more cost-effective than Search & Social Media campaigns.

• High-Value Sales Leads at Half the Cost: The campaign generated 1,350 sales-qualified leads at just €49 per lead, 2X more cost-efficient than sales-qualified leads from Google or Facebook.

Instant.ro turned Romania’s automotive chaos into opportunity. Smart targeting. Geo-precision ads. Proven impact. That’s how retail media can be leveraged to unlock untapped potential.

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