The McCormick brand, a flavor company, achieved impressive campaign performance and portfolio growth participating in the Instacart in-flight measurement beta test in partnership with The Trade Desk, partnering with Flywheel for their campaign management and strategy. The initiative, which introduces daily refreshed closed-loop measurement directly within The Trade Desk platform, is setting a new standard in real-time campaign optimization and retail media effectiveness.
Unlocking real-time results with data-driven campaigns
As a McCormick agency partner, we helped bring this beta to life by leveraging Instacart first-party audiences to promote dry recipe mix seasoning packets in the lead-up to Cinco de Mayo. For the first time, our team could optimize programmatic campaigns at the site and app level, a capability that sets this activation apart from other omni-display retail media activations.
With daily reporting and actionable sales insights, we were able to see exactly which sites were driving sales and conversions for McCormick. This allowed us to exclude underperforming publishers and double down on what worked, in real time, on behalf of the brand.
We also conducted an audience overlap analysis, revealing just 7% user overlap versus another retailer’s programmatic campaign. This confirmed Instacart as a complementary media buy, reaching incremental, unique audiences for McCormick.
Real-time optimization, real-time impact
Throughout the campaign, we had access to near real-time closed-loop measurement via The Trade Desk, powering agile, data-driven decisions. By optimizing at the inventory level based on attributed sales data, we continuously shifted delivery to the highest-performing sites. This hands-on approach delivered measurable improvements:
Average CPMs dropped by 24% when comparing the first 14 days to the last 14 days of the campaign
ROAS for the featured SKU soared by more than 300%*
The impact extended to core product sales, with McCormick seeing a significant lift during this key holiday period. On May 4th , the day before Cinco de Mayo, the featured SKUs achieved a 28% year-over-year sales increase and 29% unit growth on Instacart.
Driving growth across the portfolio
The McCormick campaign didn’t just drive results for featured products; it also created a “halo effect” across the brand’s broader portfolio. During the campaign, over one-third of consumers shopping McCormick priority categories (like hot sauce and seasonings) were new to the brand.** Among featured SKUs, 34% of Instacart customers were new-to-brand, with a +3 point increase in new-to-brand share after campaign optimization.*
By targeting premium audiences and optimizing upstream, we helped McCormick achieve year-over-year sales growth ranging from +5% to 40% across multiple categories in the lead-up to Cinco de Mayo. Adjacent categories also benefitted, with two segments seeing their strongest performance in over a year (+25% and +14%, respectively).
A new era for retail media measurement
This innovative approach demonstrates the value of combining The Trade Desk’s in-platform measurement and optimization capabilities with Instacart robust first-party audiences and our hands-on, inventory-level optimization. Brands like McCormick can now optimize campaigns for ROAS and reach premium, incremental audiences - driving measurable results both for featured SKUs and across the entire portfolio.
As the digital grocery landscape evolves, the McCormick campaign’s success highlights how Flywheel’s proactive, data-driven approach empowers brands to maximize reach, relevance, and results through transparent, granular measurement.
*Comparing campaign results from 4/1/25 to 4/14/25 versus results from 4/22/25 – 5/5/25.
**Sales from users not purchasing from the overall brand on Instacart Marketplace in last 26 weeks
Prior results do not guarantee future outcomes.
Ready to grow your business?
Let's discuss the best approach to meet your brand's specific needs.
