AdScan campaign by Makro
Makro, a Colombian supermarket chain, launched AdScan, a tool that lets shoppers scan any brand’s outdoor ad and instantly receive a discount on that product at Makro. The campaign cleverly leveraged the advertising budgets of other brands—those whose products Makro sells—by turning their ads into Makro’s own sales drivers.
Using Google Vision Cloud and OpenAI, AdScan recognized products in ads and matched them to Makro’s inventory, generating real-time offers and allowing users to build virtual carts.
Campaign Overview
Makro, a large Belgian retail chain, faced a significant challenge. Despite offering thousands of products at competitive prices, they were at a disadvantage in a highly competitive market. They had a much smaller media budget than their main competitors and fewer physical stores. This meant a large portion of the population was unaware of the brand’s benefits and price advantages. Makro needed a highly innovative and cost-effective solution to increase brand awareness and drive traffic to their e-commerce platform without a large ad spend.
Problem
Makro faced two major challenges:
Limited physical presence: Only 22 stores compared to 3,688 across the category
Tiny media budget: Just 4% of what competitors spent (USD 1.4M vs. USD 34.5M)
This made it difficult to reach new customers and compete with chains that had stores on every corner and massive ad spend.
Execution
The Core Idea: Hacking Competitors’ Ads: The central idea behind “AdScan” was a clever and bold form of guerrilla marketing. Makro decided to leverage the massive advertising budgets of their competitors and the brands they stocked. Instead of spending on new ads, they turned existing outdoor advertising into their own commerce platform.
The “AdScan” Tool: Makro developed a feature for their app called “AdScan.” This tool used advanced technology, including Google Vision Cloud and Open AI, to recognize products in a photo.
How it Worked:
Recognition: A user would see a billboard or a print ad for a product (e.g., a new soda, a brand of shampoo).
Scan: They would open the Makro app and use the “AdScan” feature to take a picture of the ad.
Detection and Offer: The app would recognize the product in the ad, check its stock and price at Makro, and generate an offer for the user to buy it, often at a discounted price.
Price Comparison and Shopping: The app also allowed users to compare Makro’s prices with competitors and fill a virtual shopping cart, encouraging them to browse and purchase other items.
Brand Impact
Reframed competition: Makro turned its weakness (low media spend) into a strength by piggybacking on others’ ads
Positioned as innovative: The campaign showcased Makro’s tech-forward thinking and agility
Built customer trust: Offering real discounts based on familiar ads created a sense of transparency and value
Results
The Adscan by Makro campaign proved to be a highly effective initiative, saving over USD 1.1 million in potential media spend by redirecting that value into customer discounts. It successfully leveraged USD 15.7 million of brands’ media budgets to Makro’s advantage, amplifying the campaign’s reach and impact. As a result, the campaign is forecasted to bring in 20,000 new clients annually, cementing its position as one of Makro’s most impactful marketing efforts.
Lessons Learned
Hack the system: You don’t need a big budget if you can creatively leverage others’
Tech + commerce = magic: AI and image recognition can transform traditional retail
Customer-first innovation wins: Making ads useful to shoppers builds loyalty
Smart partnerships matter: Collaborating with tech providers like Google and OpenAI elevated the campaign’s credibility and functionality
Conclusion
The Makro “AdScan” campaign is a testament to the power of a great idea in the face of limited resources. By cleverly turning their competitors’ strengths into their own marketing advantage, Makro not only generated a huge amount of buzz but also successfully drove customer engagement and sales. The campaign is a powerful lesson for any brand looking to compete in a saturated market: sometimes, the most effective way to market your product is not by creating new advertising, but by creatively hijacking what’s already out there.
