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Celebrating Instagram’s 5th Birthday

Announcement

October 5, 2015

Celebrating Instagram’s 5th Birthday

BY: Instagram Business Team

San Francisco, CA

Today marks the 5th anniversary of the start of Instagram. In just half a decade, the platform has gone from a single post shared by our cofounder, @Kevin, to more than 80M photos shared from around the world—every single day. Brands like Michael Kors have been with us since the beginning, and thousands of new businesses have joined the platform connecting with their own communities through our ever-expanding ad products.

In honor of the big day, here are five Instagram advertising moments we’ve shared with our business community over the past five years.

1. October, 2013: Ads Make an Appearance

During this month, brands that grew organically on the platform had a new way to reach the people they wanted. The first ad was created by fashion powerhouse, Michael Kors. And General Electric, Levi’s, Lexus, Burberry, Macy’s, Ben and Jerry’s, Starwood, Adidas and Paypal followed. These first 10 advertisers paved the way for businesses to create and share interesting, inspiring and innovative content on the platform.

One of the first ad on Instagram
2. October, 2014: Photo Ads Come to Life

Last October, we launched :15 second video ads. As one of our first video advertisers, Banana Republic developed a series of video spots featuring moving fashion sketches that brought to life the different elements of their new BR collection. The campaign was a great success—driving a significant lift in ad recall and lift in associating the brand with fashion-forward clothing. Since then, several businesses have followed in Banana Republic’s fashionable footsteps.

One of the first video ad on Instagram
3. April, 2015: Multiple Images, One Ad

Our third major moment took place this April with the introduction of carousel ads. The new ad format gave advertisers a way to tell a deeper story with multiple images in a single ad that linked off to a website encouraging people to learn more. GMC was one of the first brands to tell their story with these interactive ads—sharing a highly visual panoramic photo showcasing the interior of their new Sierra truck.

One of the first carousel ad on Instagram
4. June, 2015: Action Packed Ads

Instagram has long-been a proven way for businesses to raise awareness for their brands. And in June, we announced our new ad formats designed to help businesses drive a variety of objectives—from website clicks and video views, to mobile app installs. Some of the first ads that drove action included, Made.com, The North Face, Gilt Groupe and Kabam’s Marvel Champions.

Ads with a call to action on Instagram
5. September, 2015: Ads Available for All Businesses Everywhere

Our fifth and final major moment happened just last week. We opened ads for businesses—big and small—in over 200 markets around the world. That means that all businesses can reach, inspire and move more people with visually engaging ads than ever before. In our new markets, brands like Coca-Cola Argentina and Amazon México are already running highly creative campaigns.

Ads for small businesses and large enterprises on Instagram

We want to thank each and every one of you in our business community for making thoughtful, inspiring and engaging creative for the platform every single day. Here’s to the next five years.

BY: Instagram Business Team

San Francisco, CA