Who: Kijiji, with BBDO for strategy and creative; Citizen Relations for English PR and Capital-Image for French PR.
What: A new campaign promoting the online marketplace’s “redesigned and meticulously improved” app, which represents the company’s biggest tech update since 2005.
When & Where: The tongue-in-cheek campaign launched this week, led by a classified ad running on Facebook Marketplace.
Why: Kijiji has been in business for nearly 20 years, and boasts nearly 11 million monthly unique visitors in Canada. It had more than 45 million listings that generated more than 78 million replies last year, and is the most-visited classified site for automotive and real estate rentals.
However, CMO Adam Jardine said that the app’s experience has “fallen behind,” and the company has heard calls to update and modernize. “Our team built this new app from the ground up using the newest technology to make it more intuitive, personal and secure, making now the perfect time to prove we’re out with the old and bullish on our future,” said Jardine.
How: To promote the upgraded app, Kijiji is running a classified ad selling its old 2005 source code on its chief rival, Facebook Marketplace.
Described as “a piece of digital age history,” the code is being sold for $1 and comes in a “purple three-ring Performore binder with 3 x 11 inch transparent letter size cover, adorned with the original Kijiji logo. It comes on 500 sheets of “20 lb 8.5 x 11 inch multipurpose paper.”
According to Kijiji, there have been about 300 views of the listing, and the company has already sold out of its initial run of binders, and is considering printing more. Meanwhile, a video promoting the ad has been running on Kijiji’s social channels, garnering more than 150,000 views since going live.
And we quote: “It’s great to highlight the legacy of the Kijiji experience in this clever twist; listing the past on their competitor’s platform to make way for the future of the all-new Kijiji app exclusively on their marketplace.” — Derek Blais, SVP, ECD, BBDO Canada
