Kijiji Canada wants to show consumers it isn’t just about finding good deals on used goods.
The classifieds site has launched an integrated campaign, “What’s Your Thing?” that conveys how the things you own allow you to do the thing you love.
Marc-André Hade, marketing manager at Kijiji, said the idea was developed when Kijiji celebrated its 10th anniversary last year. “We’re a well-established business and people know us: aided awareness is at 95%,” he said.
“People understand that we’re a classified site, you can buy and sell things on the site, that it’s free and it’s easy to use. The core value proposition of the brand is well established, so we came to the conclusion that it’s time to elevate the brand and to create more of an emotional connection with the users.”
A 60-second cinema ad, shot all across Canada, shows people of all stripes doing activities with their Kijiji finds, from skateboarding to listening to records to taking the reins on horseback. At the end of the spot, the voiceover says, “For all those things we do, there’s millions of things to find on Kijiji.”
The campaign, created by Montreal-based Cloudraker, also includes four English and French 30-second TV ads (including two autos), out-of-home, radio, online advertising and social media.
“[With the 30- and 60-second spots], we really wanted to showcase the different regions of this country and also different demographics and people with different backgrounds,” said Hade. “We wanted ads that are very inclusive that feel super Canadian.”
The campaign also includes pre-roll videos made from staged casting sessions in Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Moncton, N.B. Kijiji invited people to casting sessions on the premise they were looking for people for a TV commercial, said Hade. They were asked to bring their “thing” and talk about it on camera.
“We didn’t tell them that we’ll use some of these casting session as pre-rolls,” said Hade. “It’s all super authentic and super genuine. Nothing is scripted. It’s just Canadians talking about their thing and what it represents for them.”
“It goes back to the essence of the campaign: it’s not about just saying to Canadians ‘buy and sell on Kijiji… you make good deals and you’re going to save some money,’” he added. “It also allows you do to more of what you like to do.”
Those videos can be viewed here: WhatsYourThing.ca / AvezVousCeQuilFaut.ca.
Denneboom handled the media buy and Environics is handling PR.
