.ca: Where Local Means Business

The Challenge

.CA is Canada’s brand on the internet, and Canadian companies of all types and sizes benefit from using the .CA domain name. But small startup businesses have several options when choosing a domain name. CIRA needed to demonstrate the value of .CA to the small business community, build an emotional connection to the brand, and encourage Canadian small and medium business owners to embrace the .CA domain.

The Solution

Alphabet® developed “Where Local Means Business,” a digital marketing campaign for the .CA brand that positions .CA as a valuable business asset for small and medium-sized Canadian organizations.

This involved:

• Compelling video testimonials by representatives of Canadian companies explaining the value of .CA to their businesses
• A website – Where Local Means Business – that provides digital marketing information to small businesses, highlights the advantage of a .CA domain name, and lets visitors quickly search to see if their .CA website name is available
• A unique advertising campaign highlighting the advantages of .CA in publications geared to the Canadian small business community
• A robust paid search (PPC) campaign that ensures the continuation of the campaign over time

The Results

Alphabet®’s targeted digital marketing campaign:

• Delivered a measurable year-over-year lift in domain searches (up 24%), leads (up 23%) and new .CA registrations (up 6%)
• Became increasingly more efficient, with cost per lead dropping from over $600 to under $18 in four years
• Increased awareness of the .CA brand from 9% to 16% among business owners in general and from 17% to 27% among .CA business owners
• Raised business owners’ purchase intent from a pre-campaign level of 13% to 22%, and small and medium business owners’ purchase intent from 17% to 30%