Online directory ZipLocal introduced a new element to a recently launched multi-media campaign in the form of branded pizza boxes. Produced by Fresh Tracks Media, the branded boxes will be delivered by independent pizza outlets in Toronto and Ottawa.

Elaine Kunda, president and CEO of ZipLocal Inc., says the boxes represent a unique and effective way to target 18- to 35-year-old consumers.

“It was the absolute perfect method for us because we can reach different parts of the city and, with the size of pizza box we chose, reach that young adult target.”

At the beginning of November, ZipLocal launched a multi-media marketing campaign that includes radio and print advertising in Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal, as well as online and cinema advertising in Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Calgary, Vancouver and Edmonton.

The campaign also includes a guerrilla component in Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal. Street teams representing the company have been handing out copies of the Metro commuter daily newspaper in those cities this month.

Toronto-based Dynamo Living Media, a division of Bensimon Byrne, helped to conceive and execute the campaign. ZipLocal also drew on Bensimon Byrne’s primary creative division and its interactive wing, Mighty, for creative and strategy.

According to the company, traffic to the ZipLocal website has increased by 25% since the campaign began.

Kunda says the mix of traditional and non-traditional media has allowed the company to reach both business and consumer targets.

“One of our goals was to reach potential advertisers, and the other objective was to reach consumers,” says Kunda. “We wanted to make sure we didn’t overlap the messages for our target consumer group, which is 18- to 35-year-old urban, professional, tech-savvy consumers, with the advertiser portion of the campaign.

“The radio is solely focused on reaching advertisers, which is why, for example, we’re running it on 680 News, because the station reaches that demographic.

–Matt Semansky