ALDI Always-On Influencer Program
Influencer MarketingSocial Soup ran an always-on influencer program of over 300 creators for ALDI in Australia, which the agency reports reached a unique audience of 4M+ on Instagram.
Case in 60 seconds
ALDI was the biggest challenger to the traditional retailers Coles & Woolworths, yet it had to overcome the misconception that cheap equals poor quality, which held back shoppers who had not yet tried its products.
The program turns on first-hand experience rather than persuasion, because Social Soup found that shoppers who tried the products and stores had an 'ALDI epiphany' and became advocates, while #ALDIHaul showed that behaviour already existed unprompted.
Social Soup set out to build an always-on influencer program that spread the 'ALDI epiphany' from creator to follower while carrying the brand's 'Good Different' message with authority rather than through prescriptive scripts.
Social Soup matched over 300 creators to key messages by passion point and sent matched teams a bespoke ALDI pack ahead of Special Buy sale dates, then amplified their Facebook, Instagram, Youtube and blog content through dark posts across over 90 campaigns.
Social Soup reports a unique reach of 4M+ on Instagram, 72% unprompted recall among influencer followers and average engagement rates of 3.2%, while @ALDIAustralia Instagram followers grew from 15k to 44.5k after the program launched.
Strategy Breakdown
Creative & Execution System
Assets & channels
- YouTube
Partners
- Social Soup
Participation mechanic
- Members of the public posted their own shopping hauls under #ALDIHaul, emulating the behaviour of the program's influencers, and the page reports a 200% increase in usage of the hashtag.
Creator role
- @sincerely_sammy — creator
- @champagnesilvousplait_ — creator
- @avaleeandme — creator
- @clairecandice — creator
Results & Evidence
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Unique Reach | 4M+ unique reach |
| Unprompted Recall | 72% unprompted recall |
| Prompted Recall | 88% prompted recall |
| Target Audience Reached | 76% of target audience |
| Organic Impressions | 10.3M organic impressions |
| #ALDIHaul Usage | 200% increase |
| Assets Produced | 2,365 assets |
| Reviews Produced | 1,267 reviews |
| Creators Matched | over 300 creators |
| Campaigns Delivered | over 90 campaigns |
Why Social Soup's strategy worked
- 1
Letting creators use the product and write their own messages answers a quality doubt through trial rather than assertion, because a follower trusts a peer's experience more than a brand claim about value.
- 2
Building on a hashtag that shoppers already used unprompted gives creators a behaviour the public can copy, which Social Soup links to a 200% increase in #ALDIHaul usage.
- 3
Timing creator content ahead of Special Buy on-sale dates turns a long program into a series of short demand peaks, so each wave of content has a reason to exist and a store to send traffic to.
- 4
A program that runs over many months gives followers repeated exposure to the partnership, which the agency credits for 72% unprompted recall, so duration does work that a single burst of posts cannot.
- 5
Asking creators to tag the brand account in every post converts borrowed reach into owned followers, which Social Soup credits for @ALDIAustralia Instagram followers growing from 15k to 44.5k.