McCormick + Flywheel Win Share Ahead of Crucial Period

In this success story about working with Instacart Ads, we look at how McCormick partnered with Flywheel to win share on Instacart in a competitive landscape

McCormick, the makers of Frank’s RedHot Hot Sauce, and many other spices, seasoning mixes, and condiments, was looking to drive top of mind awareness for Frank’s during football season. This competitive time across the media ecosystem is critical for any brand, so investing through the season was critical to help ensure Frank’s presence and continued performance. 

“Instacart has been a key partner for McCormick’s eCommerce growth across top grocery retailers,” said Lizzy Camus, Senior Manager of North America Retail Media, McCormick & Co. “The Instacart Ads team continues to add actionable insights for manufactures, like new to brand sales.  Instacart Ads continues to adapt for both consumers and brands for a seamless and premium user experience.” 

McCormick and their partner Flywheel, a managed service provider for search and display across digital commerce platforms, developed a plan to drive reach and visibility for the season. This included layering a display campaign on top of evergreen sponsored product ads early with more efficient investment in September, ahead of the Q4 competitive rush. 

Using Flywheel’s proprietary technology, the team was able to efficiently ramp campaigns and increase spend easily, as well as see performance across the sponsored product and display campaigns in one place to show the growth in delivery on the platform. 

“Flywheel’s dedication to the brands, attention to detail, and proactive nature makes them an extension of our team,” said Lizzy Camus, Senior Manager of North America Retail Media, McCormick & Co. “Flywheel works closely with Instacart to ensure our campaigns are optimized and that all McCormick brands continue to win on the digital shelf.” 

The strong media support across the season ensured that Frank’s continued to deliver best in class results across the full funnel.  The brand saw increases in market share and new to brand sales because of the early execution and investment strategy that combined two proven tactics – sponsored products and display. 

Overall, September saw +4.1% increase in new-to-brand (NTB) buyers month on month and maintained stronger NTB and share through EOY in comparison to January-August. 

The synergistic effect of these two tactics allowed Frank’s to amplify its presence across the platform and drive brand choice throughout the football season.  

“As a longstanding partner of Instacart, we at Flywheel really value and appreciate their willingness to lean in with our clients and add value to each situation,” said Bernie Che, Associate Director of Omnichannel Platforms, Flywheel Digital. “In the case of McCormick, the additional sales and share data they provided was pivotal in helping us understand that our strategy was indeed working.”

*Prior results do not guarantee future outcomes. Reporting provided by Flywheel. 

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McCormick envisions A World United by Flavor where healthy, sustainable, and delicious go hand in hand. To learn more, visit www.mccormickcorporation.com. 

Powered by proprietary technology, Flywheel provides industry leading managed services for search and display across all leading Digital Commerce platforms.

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Instacart is the leading grocery technology company in North America, partnering with more than 1,500 national, regional, and local retail banners to deliver from more than 85,000 stores across more than 14,000 cities in North America. To read more Instacart posts, you can browse the company blog or search by keyword using the search bar at the top of the page.