Instagram launches carousel ads in Australia

Earlier this year, Instagram introduced a new way for brands to tell deeper stories and share more images with people interested in their posts. Instagram calls them carousel ads, and they provide advertisers with more flexibility in telling their stories by allowing people to swipe left on an ad to see additional images and link to a website of a brand’s choice to learn more.

Today, Instagram has announced that it is launching carousel ads on June 1 in Australia. This coincides with the international launch in the UK, Canada, Germany, France and Brazil.

The first brands to roll out Carousel ads in Australia are Destination New South Wales (Vivid Sydney), Kathmandu and Crown Resorts.

Destination New South Wales’ ad campaign (Carousel shots 1-3 attached) highlights Sydney tourism, capturing elements of the stunning lightshow currently on display at Circular Quay.

Kathmandu’s (@kathmandu_live) Australian Carousel ad campaign has just gone live this week. Marketing manager, Tim Loftus, says the campaign is inspired by Winter, #EmbraceTheCold is ideal for the Instagram platform.

Says Loftus: “By showcasing our stunning adventure imagery on this highly creative canvas, we seek to remind everyone that there is no such thing as ‘bad weather’ when you are wearing high quality gear.

“Kathmandu is about inspiring travel and ad­­­­venture. The Instagram carousel allows us to take our audience on a real adventure, showcasing multiple images and links in one ad. The format is interactive, and allows us to tell our story in new and engaging ways. The website click-through feature provides a call to action for the audience.”

Crown Resorts chief marketing officer, Christopher Coyne is also excited to be one of the first Australian brands to embrace the new social ad format.

Says Coyne: “The Instagram ad carousels launch at an ideal time for Crown as we continue to grow a world-class marketing team to deliver our new vision and bring social media to the stage as a leader in our strategy. Embracing these cutting-edge opportunities means we are no longer bound by a single story and can showcase multiple truly fantastic Crown experiences that are available to our customers. #Eat #Play #Stay #Relax.”

Meanwhile, the momentum of carousel ads in the US has continued with dozens of new campaigns, including one that just launched from GMC that featured a panoramic interior view of the new Sierra.