Turo is showing that finding the right car can be a magical experience as it tries to build greater brand awareness.

In its latest campaign for the car sharing marketplace, “Open the Door to Extraordinary,” a driver cruising in a red Corvette convertible is suddenly vaulted skyward and soars above the clouds.

“What we were trying to exaggerate or dramatize was the feeling you get when you’re behind the wheel of a perfect car,” explains Andrew Mok, CMO of Turo. Mok tells strategy that the car renting category is very functional and people don’t get particularly invested in what is typically a temporary ride. With this spot, Turo is appealing to people’s sense of identity and cars being an extension of someone’s self-image, no matter how briefly they may be driving it.

The campaign builds off of the momentum of Turo’s inaugural “Find Your Drive” campaign first launched last year, a new brand platform emphasizing the host-guest relationship of its Air B’n’B-style business model and members’ individuality.

Other car-share companies like Zipcar or Communauto, as well as traditional car rental companies, are the antithesis of what Turo wants to be, Mok says, limited in model selection and without any pizzazz attached to driving around with a big sticker attached to your ride. As Mok explains, by using Turo, you can be flashier by for example, renting a muscle car.

This is the first North American campaign from Turo that includes Quebec localization, as well as assets in English and French, part of its attempt to get the word out: presently, the service only has 25% aided awareness.

Mok says awareness is the primary objective of the campaign, and despite growing its notoriety north of the border with last year’s work, there is room to grow.

The target it’s identified is “explorers and indulgers,” novelty-seekers who embark on adventures, a group that overindexes toward young, urban couples. “When people get on the marketplace, they book everything, something luxury cars and fancy cars, and sometimes something more basic,” Mok says.

According to Mok, it features EVs in its ads too, a “defining characteristic of the marketplace,” as Turo users frequently use the service to test drive electric vehicles and suss out range, child seats and other issues.

The campaign is supported by a mix of YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, as well as OTT 30-second spots running digitally to drive exposure for content.

“We are going to keep this running over a long period of time and will in the peak travel times in summer,” Mok says.

The mix is much more geared to digital than the 2021, which had more broadcast TV. It’s also doing a campaign with influencers and tapping the “new wave for how people are consuming content.”

Production was supported by Huge and SixTwentySix. Media buying was done both in-house and with Horizon Media.