Swiggy, one of India’s largest quick commerce platforms operating across 650+ cities, has achieved a 30% reduction in Cost Per Onboarding (CPO) for delivery partners within three months through a strategic partnership with Clevertize. As consumer demand accelerated across markets, delivery partner onboarding struggled to scale at the same pace. Managing recruitment communication across diverse regions, shifting offers and operational variability left limited room for anything beyond static, transactional creatives, constraining potential delivery partner preference at a time when speed and efficiency were critical.
“Onboarding delivery partners at our scale is operationally complex, especially across multiple regions and dynamic incentive structures,” said Ashutosh Wadhwani, Head of Growth Marketing, Swiggy. To address the challenge, Clevertize deployed a human-first, AI-enabled campaign architecture designed to combine insight with operational scale. The agency created 30 unique stories, developed 35 adaptations per video and delivered over 1,000 creative video assets per month. Rather than relying on templated recruitment messaging, the campaign was built on research-led insights, derived from direct conversations with delivery partners to understand their motivations and experiences.“Clevertize’s approach blended AI innovation with storytelling, improving CTRs, CPMs, and CPCs across Meta and Google,” said Ashutosh.
These insights shaped multiple personas and formed the foundation of the creative platform centered around the Swiggy Ridercenter, culminating in the campaign titled “Asli Hero On Wheels.” The objective was to position the delivery executive at the center of Swiggy’s identity and make it easier for prospective partners to imagine themselves in the Swiggy uniform instead of a competitor’s. In a recruitment landscape crowded with incentive-led communication, this identity-driven approach created differentiation and improved engagement. Later, Ashutosh added, “It eventually led to faster hiring with reduced Cost Per Onboarding, which was a huge business success for us.”
Clevertize led strategy backed by insights and creative execution, while AI was integrated as a performance amplifier to scale asset production across 5 different languages and multiple formats and enable continuous optimisation. Every asset was monitored and refined to strengthen performance hooks and narrative effectiveness. “The challenge was not just to create videos using AI, but to integrate brand messaging and performance outcomes seamlessly,” said Saumya Agrawal, Co-founder, Clevertize. “We built a continuous optimisation loop, evaluating emerging AI tools rigorously to improve workflow and creative quality, all focused on being the preferred choice of the delivery partners. The performance numbers of the campaign prove that we are on track to achieve the desired outcome.”
The campaign delivered a measurable uplift in click-through rates by 28% and overall media efficiency. Higher engagement reduced CPM, translated into a 30% reduction in onboarding costs within three months. The efficiency gains unlocked additional reinvestment headroom, strengthening Swiggy’s competitive position in delivery partner recruitment. The initiative demonstrates how human creativity backed by insight, combined with AI-enabled scale, can drive tangible business outcomes in a highly competitive environment.
