The .CA Domain Squad ventures into the great outdoors on CIRA’s new advertising campaign

.CA Domain Squad in back_2021

The .CA Domain Squad have traded their cozy cabin for the pristine Canadian wilderness.

OTTAWA, Sept. 29, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — As Canada and the world continue to re-open, the .CA Domain Squad can support Canadian online businesses wherever they are, including fishing for customers by the riverbank or feeding them poutine in the woods. Wearing their Park Ranger style uniforms, they are on a mission to help local business owners succeed online.

CIRA is thrilled to add brand new spots to its successful “Make your website true north strong” advertising campaign. In partnership with the award-winning Giants & Gentlemen Advertising Inc., Push Media Inc., and Search Warrant, the ads and videos will be running on traditional and connected TV, YouTube pre-roll, social and digital which now includes Amazon, TikTok and Xandr.

To spread the word and reach even more local businesses, the .CA Domain Squads will appear on CBC’s Dragons’ Den, airing on October 21^st at 8 p.m. on CBC and CBC Gem as an official sponsor of season 16. “We are excited to partner with CIRA for the upcoming season of CBC’s Dragons’ Den,” says Kristin Hosick, Director, Content Marketing at CBC/Radio-Canada. “As trends, inspiration, innovation and entrepreneurship continue to play an important role in growing the Canadian economy, Dragons’ Den viewers remain a key target audience for CIRA, who is looking to build a trusted online experience for Canadian businesses. This partnership will help local businesses discover the Domain Squad and grow their online presence in Canada.”

Key facts

• The campaign includes four 15-second spots featuring each of the Domain Squad characters at the .CA Headquarters at an undisclosed location somewhere in the Canadian wilderness (with special appearances by a variety of forest creatures). The campaign also features two brand new 15-second spots of the Domain Squad venturing into the Canadian wilderness:
  • NEW – Poutine Bird Man of Prey
  • NEW – Maple Syrup Fishing Bait
  • Domain name of thrones
  • Put it on the net
  • A winning hand
  • Bear necessities
• The commercials will air over broadcast television in the Greater Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal Areas from October 4 until November 14.
• The spots focus on the value of a .CA domain name for Canadian businesses. Studies show that Canadians prefer to shop from Canadian businesses online, and a .CA domain name is the number one way to declare your business proudly Canadian.
• Over the last three years, the campaign has been produced in partnership with the award-winning Giants & Gentlemen Advertising Inc., Push Media Inc. and Search Warrant.

Executive quotes

Since the .CA Domain Squad campaign premiered in September 2019, .CA’s unaided brand awareness with small businesses increased by 13%. As Canada’s small businesses grow their digital presence, CIRA continues to record growth in .CA domain name registrations with a record increase of 15% for the past 12 months until August 2021.

“As Canada begins to recover from the pandemic, it’s been heartening to see so many businesses pivoting to an online strategy to thrive. Through our campaign, we intend to spread the word that having a .CA domain can have a beneficial impact on the success of your Canadian business.” — Paul Sarkozy, Director, Marketing in .CA Product Marketing, CIRA

“While the scenarios in the commercials are comically farfetched, the depicted metaphorical lengths business owners go to attract their target audience, isn’t. It’s an incredibly competitive and cluttered online environment out there, and we wanted to position .CA as a key tool in the Canadian business owners’ tackle box.” — Alanna Nathanson, Co-founder and Chief Creative Officer, Giants & Gentleman.

Additional resources

• Find out why Canadians trust .CA domain names.
• Learn more about the .CA domain Canadian Presence Requirements
• Learn how CIRA is keeping the .CA domain registry safe.

About the CIRA
The Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA) manages the .CA top-level domain on behalf of all Canadians. CIRA also develops technologies and services—such as CIRA DNS Firewall and CIRA Canadian Shield—that help support its goal of building a better online Canada. The CIRA team operates one of the fastest-growing country code top-level domains (ccTLD), a high-performance global DNS network, and one of the world’s most advanced back-end registry solutions.

About Giants & Gentlemen
Giants & Gentlemen is a full-service, independent strategy & creative shop offering standout ideas and zero attitude. As entrepreneurs, we bring a grow-or-die philosophy to help brands tower like giants, while always acting like gents. Unique to G&G is Outthinking™, a process that leads to deeper insights that help bring meaning to brands. For more information visit giantsandgents.ca.

Media contact
Delphine Avomo Evouna
Communications Specialist, CIRA
delphine.evouna@cira.ca
613.315.1458

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/4cd41e3e-a06d-4aa7-ba1e-3a1bc98a2fc7