The authority on city living
ZIPCAR CONSUMER SUMMER CAMPAIGN
THE OPPORTUNITY:
Engage our high-value target to build top-of-mind awareness through a bold and memorable summer campaign.
THE THINKING:
Uncover insights about our specific audience and the cities they live in to make this campaign truly resonate.
Partnered with an agency to conduct extensive research to create our consumer persona. We uncovered fresh insights about our high-value audience. They’re smart, tech-forward urbanites who value convenience and independence. Drawn to culture and with an active social life, they’re always looking for experiences that feel easy and worth it.
Nice to meet you
Starting in just a few key cities, we could try out different messages, see what clicked, and build from there. Out of home ads ensured Zipcar was top of mind during the busy summer season. Paid media and member communications helped round out the campaign, educating on when and why to use Zipcar.
Test for scale
THE STRATEGY:
Establish Zipcar as the smart authority on car-free city living.
THE CREATIVE IDEA:
Zip if
An irreverent look at the everyday headaches of owning a car in the city. With smart humor, we turned those pain points into relatable reasons to zip instead. Building on our established illustration style and pairing it with quippy, city-savvy lines, we created a distinctive campaign platform that felt both memorable and uniquely Zipcar.
MY ROLE:
I led the development and brand integration of Zip If, shaping agency concepts into a more ownable, Zipcar-first campaign platform that could easily scale.
A multi-year campaign based on insights and data through continuous sharpening.
Partnered closely with the agency team, leading feedback and facilitating workshops and brainstorms
Pulled Zipcar’s personality, visuals, and voice forward to make the campaign feel more distinct and memorable
Guided the creative evolution of Zip If across OOH, paid media, and member channels, based on performance data for both members + prospects
Collaborated with an illustration + animation studio to simplify storytelling and bring the ideas to life
Kept teams aligned from early strategy through rollout, making sure the work stayed consistent, fresh, and scalable
THE IMPACT:
Stayed top of mind
Brand recall increased significantly for both unaided (+100%) and aided (+81%). And brand awareness increased for both unaided (+75% lift) and aided (+28% lift) for those exposed to the ads.
Memorable ads
Over two-thirds (68%) had improved perceptions of Zipcar as a result of seeing the campaign and a higher likelihood (+77% lift) of purchasing a membership
“If you have errands then there is a Zipcar option to get it done.”
–Brand lift survey participant
Trip inspiration
This campaign was great for awareness and mid-funnel paid media tactics. When it came to member comms, engagement started out low, and needed a tweak. With the addition of a local recommendation (hiking ex), we saw a lift in those inspired to book a trip (1/3), 74% found the emails helpful, and 24% reported taking a hike in that same month.
