Client Profile

Zipcar, the world’s largest car sharing company, charged its national agency-of-record CooperKatz to develop and execute a U.S. PR campaign on the heels of its merger with rival Flexcar. 

The company’s communications needs were articulated in a clear message and call to action – “help us convince mass market consumers, particularly those in urban areas, to think very differently about car ownership and how they move from location to location.” Through media relations at the national, local market and university levels, CooperKatz helped Zipcar communicate that message via a saturation campaign that secured major placements in publications like The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, The Boston Globe, The Washington Post, Fast Company, Inc. and The New York Times Magazine.

Among many special initiatives CooperKatz managed for Zipcar was the company’s “Low Car Diet,” in which hundreds of residents in major Zipcar markets handed over the keys to their personal cars and committed to living one month without the use of their vehicles. In turn they utilized their Zipcar memberships in conjunction with public transportation, walking and biking. The campaign raised awareness of car sharing as well as enabled participants to test whether permanently reducing car usage was a viable option for them. CooperKatz secured national and local media coverage of the Low Car Diet, including a segment on “NBC Nightly News,” a story in New York Daily News and a spot on KCBS-AM San Francisco. 

The strength of our work on behalf of Zipcar was acknowledged with a Bronze SABRE Award.