Zepto turns LinkedIn purple with Cafe campaign, but is the marketing act anything new?

Quick commerce is the talk of the town, and leading sector players—Zepto, Blinkit, and Swiggy Instamart—are trying their best to be at the top of their game. And one of them is winning the marketing play. 

Ever since Zepto decided to move its headquarters from the city of dreams Mumbai to the Silicon Valley of India, Bengaluru, the leading quick commerce unicorn is on a spree of making headlines, and not just in media.

A quick scroll on LinkedIn will feature at least two posts related to Zepto—if not more. Interestingly, most of these posts are by Zepto employees—either intimating users about new team expansion plans or promoting the brand. The multiple partnerships—with the likes of Coca-Cola, boAt, Decathlon, iD, NIVEA India, Cetaphil, Minimalist, and recently, Manyavar and Shaadi.com—have only helped Zepto keep the conversation going. 

Earlier this month, Zepto revamped and launched its cafe nationwide, and the LinkedIn wall seemed to turn purple (Zepto’s brand colour) for the day. It had launched the feature only in Mumbai previously in April 2022.

The quick commerce giants' employees or as they call themselves, "Zeptonians", took to LinkedIn to share their Zepto Cafe coffee experience. Kaivalya V, Co-founder of Zepto, wrote: “I can’t start my day without an Americano from (Zepto) Cafe.” 

Chandan Mendiratta, Chief Brand Officer and Chief Culture Officer at Zepto, wrote: “Great coffee doesn’t have to be expensive! And shouldn’t take more than 10 minutes!” 

Besides the top leadership, many "Zeptonians" shared their coffee experiences on LinkedIn, emphasising the 10-minute cafe deliveries.  

Commenting on the trend, Saurabh Mukherjee, Marketing and Growth Head at Ola, said this was “A masterclass in employee advocacy.” 

“Instead of relying on traditional ad campaigns, they’ve done something unexpected—they’ve turned their own employees into brand advocates, building influence and connecting with working professionals right here on LinkedIn,” Mukherjee added. 

He emphasised how leveraging in-house talent equals cutting down on hefty ad spending while maximising the impact as genuine voices help create an authentic buzz.

However, this isn’t the first time a brand has leveraged the power of employee advocacy—a strategy where employees share branded content on their personal social media accounts. Many successful brands have come before Zepto: 

• Tech giant Microsoft runs a Microsoft Social Employee Advocacy Programme, encouraging its employees to share their content via tools like LinkedIn Elevate and Viva Engage. 
• Dell trains employees in its Social Media and Communities University to engage authentically on social media. 
• L’Oreal’s Share and Care Programme encourages its employees to become social media influencers for its products and workplace. 
• Starbucks, too, encourages its baristas to share their stories and experiences on social media. 
• H&M promotes its sustainability efforts by involving its employees. 

Besides these, companies like Deloitte, Slack, PwC, Adidas, and HubSpot also indulge in employee advocacy. 

Do you know of any Indian homegrown brand that encourages employee advocacy? Let us know!