Mercedes Benz just did the most genius thing I’ve ever seen ANYONE do on Instagram.
What could they possibly do? Instagram is pretty static and its interactive capabilities don’t extend much further than a double tap.
I’ve been very impressed with how Mercedes Benz does social media and customer love but this absolutely blew me away. They created a way for you to design your own GLA on Instagram and it’s pretty awesome!
Mercedes Benz created a sponsored mobile ad on Facebook with the click through taking the user to an Instagram account that begins step 1. Each step along the way takes the user to a different Instagram account allowing them to select a different feature.
Step 1: Ready to build your own GLA on Instagram?
When you tap Instagram once, tags on the photo will appear. Mercedes Benz used this as a clever click through method. Tap the tagged account on the photo and it takes you to the next feature.
Step 2: Pick your color
I went with Night Black! Notice the instructions to tap again- the Instagram tag that shows up takes the user to the next step, selecting your wheels.
Step 3: Choose your wheels
I went with the 5 spoke AMG wheels. Notice the name of each account as you go through the options. They build on each other depending on what features you choose. Now on to step 4.
Step 4: Choose your roof
Would you like to add a panorama roof? Is that even a question?! Absolutely!….. who’s paying for this again?
Step 5: Choose your grille
I’ve seen the Illumina Star feature once and it was pretty awesome. Check it out here: Illumina Star. Now on to step 5. On each choice you make, the account tells you more about the feature. It’s just like using their website, but on Instagram. Kinda cool!
Step 5: Check out your new ride!
Notice how in the description of your finished GLA250, there’s a call to action that directs the user to take the picture to a Mercedes Benz dealer to get started. Yep, that easy! I wish I had held off on buying my Mercedes back in January because if you know me, this is totally something I would do!
I can just imagine how this came about. How can we use Instagram to better engage our audience past the point of pictures and 15 sec videos. I would have never thought to take the “build your own car” experience and emulate it on Instagram using their functionalities. With 11 different colors, 3 wheels, 2 roofs and 2 grilles, that comes out to 132 different combinations…that’s a lot of accounts to create! (or at least I think that’s what they did!) If someone can show me the permutation combination formula, I would love to see it!
Way to go, Mercedes. You just won the Instagram game!
