Instacart Elevates Laura Jones to CMO

Laura Jones has checked off a number of items from her marketing shopping list in just one year at Instacart. Now, she can cross off another item: being promoted from head of marketing to CMO of the app-based grocery courier. A former global marketing strategist at Uber, Google, Visa and elsewhere, Jones has been credited with managing Instacart's brand redesign and crafting its first integrated brand campaign. She's also helped build out Instacart's in-house Creative Studio and developed a "full-funnel" in-house media team. Jones also led Instacart to its first campaign around the Super Bowl. But her most ambitious project is still ongoing: transforming Instacart's perception as a utility for fast grocery deliveries to a brand that inspires affinity from its users. We want to be famous for this other attribute that we call ‘savor.’Laura Jones, CMO, Instacart The marketing effort to demonstrate its "brand soul" was started in conjunction with the release of its subscription offering, Instacart+. Jones' rise and her focus on making consumers' relationship to Instacart less coldly transactional and more emotionally satisfying occurred amid considerable struggles. There was the sudden appearance and departure of longtime Facebook marketing and advertising executive Carolyn Everson. There were falling valuations and labor strife among its contractor couriers. In the background, there was the boon of 2020 when online delivery exploded during the pandemic. In 2021, that turned into a bust when consumers began heading out and ordering-in less. All the while, competition from Fresh Direct and Amazon began eating away at market share. Through it all, Jones has been credited with an impressive balancing act that was accompanied by a deeper vision for Instacart's brand value. Amex’s Latest Bid to Boost Small Businesses: QR Codes “We do want to be famous for being the most convenient, efficient way to shop,” Jones told Adweek's Rafael Canton last month. “But we also want to be famous for this other attribute that we call ‘savor.’ And that is about savoring the moment of that time, like the extra 30 minutes with my kids playing around in the yard because I don’t have to pop down to the store.” Restocking the leadership shelf Jones' promotion is part of several other executive moves. Chris Rogers, vp of retail, will be taking on the expanded role of chief business officer. He'll continue to oversee all of Instacart's retail operations as well as taking on leadership of the brand partnerships team. Rogers' larger remit comes after three years at Instacart. Before that, he spent more than a decade at Apple, where he held a number of similar posts. That period allowed him to bring existing connections to Instacart's retail partners. Since joining, Toronto-based Rogers has helped grow Instacart's retail banners from 300 to more than 800. Instacart’s head of product, Daniel Danker, has been promoted to chief product officer. Chief technology officer Mark Schaaf is winding down his work with the company to take a break with family and pursue new opportunities. Instacart vp of engineering Varouj Chitilian will be assuming the role of CTO. Meanwhile, Instacart head of infrastructure JJ Zhuang is also getting a larger area of oversight. He's now chief architect, responsible for driving technology decisions across all Instacart product areas. "The growth of our leadership team is a testament to our expanded vision as a retail enablement platform and grocery technology company," Instacart said in a statement. "We’re excited to see these leaders and our teams drive even more value for our partners, customers and shoppers as we look ahead." Infographic: How Inflation Is Changing Americans’ Spending