CIRA debuts first original French-language .CA advertising campaign in Quebec

Ottawa, ON – September 29, 2022 – Designed with Quebec small business owners in mind, CIRA’s new campaign ‘Quand c’est .ca, c’est local’ (‘When it’s .ca, it’s local’) highlights the best way to get a business online for a maximum impact. The choice of a domain is an effective way for entrepreneurs to showcase that they are a local business that operates locally.

The ad campaign leverages the sense of community at the heart of the province and Quebecers’ strong desire to support local businesses from local restaurants to stores and other services. As two in three Quebecers say they prefer a .CA domain name to a .COM, when they visit a website to support a local business, this ad campaign aims to help entrepreneurs make the right decision to reach their audience. Customers who want to support their favourite brands are on the lookout for the ones with a .CA domain as it signals they offer their services locally. With a clear and direct message, the brand’s first dedicated initiative in Francophone Quebec shows that .CA is the perfect fit for business owners who want to be recognized as local and attract local customers.

The eight-week campaign highlights businesses and brands operating in Quebec that use .CA for their domain. They include avril.ca, pastaga.ca, salutbonjour.ca, and several others. The ‘Quand c’est .ca, c’est local’ digital campaign which targets small business owners in the Greater Montreal Area will begin on October 3rd and run on Quebec’s major online platforms, including La Presse, Radio-Canada, Québecor Media and Les Affaires.

Executive quotes

“The resilience and creativity of Québec entrepreneurs during these challenging times are extraordinary. An important strategy which has helped many survive and grow is the expansion of their businesses online. Our new campaign is designed to help businesses who are establishing a digital presence make the right domain name choice so they can thrive online.Entrepreneurs and business owners who want to be recognized as a local brand should look no further than getting a .CA domain. It’s clear that Québécois love supporting home-grown businesses and a .CA is a proven, recognizable symbol of local businesses on the internet.”— Marc Fares, General Manager, .CA by CIRA

“Quebec entrepreneurs often want to advertise themselves as local businesses serving local customers. This campaign reminds them that businesses, large and small, with domain names ending in .CA tell their customers that they operate here, near them.”— Eric Blais, President at Headspace Marketing Inc

Additional resources

Why Canadians trust .CA domain names

Canadian Presence Requirements

About CIRA

CIRA manages the .CA top-level domain on behalf of all Canadians. It 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 Headspace Marketing

Headspace Marketing is a strategic consulting firm committed to building great brands in Quebec. We work closely with clients to address the unique challenges and opportunities they face in the Quebec market. Our deep knowledge of the Québec consumer and our brand-building expertise provide our clients with a true competitive advantage in a market that’s at times misunderstood and often underexploited.

Media Contact

Eric Blais
President at Headspace Marketing Inc
416.221.3770
[email protected]