From major brands to mom-and-pop shops, businesses from around the world come to Instagram to connect with people in fresh, immersive ways. Through our visually passionate community, businesses are able to create unique experiences around their products and services with Instagram ads unlike anywhere else. Whether through stories, live or feed, more and more every day are finding success and driving results on Instagram – especially in 2017.

As we prepare for the new year and all the exciting things to come, we want to take a moment to celebrate our community of 25 million businesses and all of their successes. Across food, fashion and beyond, businesses from various passions continue to stand out and inspire action all over the globe.

Here are some of our favourites from this year.

AUTO

Looking to take advantage of the buzz surrounding the release of its all-new Levantes SUV in the US, luxury car maker Maserati (@maserati) used a two-phase video campaign on Instagram and Facebook to draw a third of its leads – selling 127 vehicles (from those leads) as a result.

To support the launch of its new car, the limited edition Twingo Twilight, French automaker Renault (@renault_france) tapped Instagram Stories to create an eye-catching video campaign that targeted a younger millennial audience – resulting in an increase in brand perception and ad recall, especially amongst women aged 18-24.

BEAUTY

To find the perfect audience interested in his eyebrow micropigmentation courses in the city of São Paulo, Brazil, beauty professional Tulio Cotta (@tuliocottaoficial) used Instagram to create a successful lead ad campaign – crushing the established goal of registrations by 20% with 77% of the course's total registrations coming directly from Instagram.

Seeing a tremendous opportunity to drive brand awareness of its new beauty product Genoptics, Japanese skin care line SK-II (@skii) used ads in Instagram Stories¹ to create a video campaign that was as luxurious as the brand itself. Targeting women aged 18-54 in Japan, the campaign achieved an incremental lift in ad recall of 13-points² and a 62% increase in complete video views.³

FASHION

To generate awareness and buzz around its Spring/Summer 2017 men's collection, the French fashion house Louis Vuitton (@louisvuitton) used the immersive, vertical screen format of Instagram Stories to create an exclusive video campaign for the brand's new line – resulting in a massive 28-point increase in ad recall, as well as a strong increase in brand favourability.

For its first creative ad campaign on Instagram Stories, online fashion retailer ASOS (@asos) wanted to increase brand awareness and engagement in the US (and the UK) amongst young, digital natives. By combining the high production values and style of a fashion shoot with mobile video, the brand was able to create a tailor-made campaign that generated a 7-point increase in brand awareness in the US (and a 14-point lift in ad recall in the UK).

FOOD

To boost its brand recognition and show people throughout São Paulo how its ketchup, mustard and mayonnaise products can transform any recipe, Heinz Brazil (@br_heinz) used Instagram Stories to create a mouthwatering video experience. Partnering with Facebook Creative Shop and the agency Africa, the legendary brand ran an irresistible ad campaign in Instagram Stories that could actually be eaten⁴– generating an 11-point increase in ad recall and satisfying hundreds of lunch-goers as a result.

Combining Instagram Stories with a series of intricate animations to support the launch of its delicious new snack (Lay's STAX) in Russia, global snack brand Lay's (@lays_russia) created an attention-grabbing video campaign that offered customers an immersive and entertaining experience that singled Lay's out amongst the competition – leading to a massive 33-point increase in ad recall and 6-point increase in product awareness.

SPORT

Australian fitness brand Kayla Itsines (@kayla_itsines) was looking to drive awareness for its new "Sweat" fitness app, but needed a little spot to help it reach its target audience of women aged 18-42 in the US. To do this, the brand created a full-funnel video campaign that ran across Facebook and Instagram around the simple message "Workout, anytime, anywhere". Reaching a wide audience of 6.4 million people, the campaign achieved an astounding 21-point lift in brand awareness with a 6-times increase in higher brand reach.⁵

What does it mean to be original? Pulling together a range of visionaries from the worlds of music, art, skating and sport, world-famous lifestyle brand adidas Original (@adidasrussia) created a beautifully epic video campaign on Instagram to ask just this to millennials in Russia. The conversation around what Original means to its followers led to an increased ad recall of 20-points – jumping to 27-points amongst its target audience of 18-24 year olds.

TRAVEL

Embracing Instagram's new ads in stories format, Australia's leading airline Qantas (@qantas) launched its first brand campaign for its branded content platform AWOL.⁶ Looking to connect with mobile-savvy millennials, the airline created a simple, yet stunning vertical video campaign that took the audience on a journey across various destinations to inspire travellers to embark on new adventures. Not only did the collaboration help drive brand awareness amongst a millennial audience, but it also generated a significant lift in ad recall and recommendation as well.

As a natural extension of its playful brand, mobile app travel company Hopper (@hopper) tapped Instagram Stories to reach millennial travellers in North America and entice them to book flights through its app. Featuring illustrations from various destinations throughout the world, the ads in stories campaign resulted in a 67% higher rate of App Installs and an 80% higher booking rate for new users.⁷

SHOPPING

Looking to reach people who had shown interest in products on its website, but had not yet finalised the purchase, Brazilian wallet brand Dobra (@querodobra) used the Facebook pixel to retarget customers on Instagram through carousel ads. Combining simple visuals of the product with straightforward copy about the brand, the campaign completely shattered expectations – producing a 30-times return on its Instagram investment and a 32% decrease in its shopping basket recovery cost.

After having great success with organic posts on Instagram, online children's shop SpearmintLOVE (@spearmintbaby) wanted to take the brand a step further during its Thanksgiving retargeting campaign. Looking to reach more customers more easily, especially those who had visited its website but had not yet purchased anything, it used the Facebook pixel and dynamic ads on Instagram to do just that. As a result, SpearmintLOVE welcomed a 33.8-times return on ad spend and a 47% decrease in the cost per purchase.

Throughout the world, businesses of all sizes are using Instagram to bring their products and services to life unlike ever before. Whether in Mexico, Indonesia or other countries around the globe, our passionate community is helping businesses connect with people and the things they care about. And as we move in 2018, we can't wait to see how more and more will continue to find success growing their business through our immersive platform.

If you'd like to share how your business has been able to expand with the help of Instagram, submit your success story here. We're always looking to highlight the success of our business community whenever possible, so get in touch today!