Dive Brief:

• Squarespace, an e-commerce provider for small businesses, launched a campaign that highlights individuals who use the service, the company announced in a press released shared with Marketing Dive.
• The "Make It Real" campaign is comprised of three films and 12 out-of-home (OOH) spots that will run in New York, Chicago, Toronto and London, as well as social media outreach and an online video ad.
• The creative aims to pitch the idea of following one's dreams and opening a small business. St. Anselm, a Brooklyn-based restaurant; BFF Bikes, a Chicago-based bike store specializing in cycling for girls; and Prick, a London-based shop that sells plants that are hard to kill are featured in the campaign.

Dive Insight:

Squarespace thrives on people that have launched small businesses and careers on the platform. By highlighting the variety of these stories across multiple industries including food, retail and music, the company illustrates how its tools work using compelling stories. People who see these ads that may have dreamed of opening their own café or bike shop could relate to the real-life people featured this campaign and potentially turn to Squarespace to take the first step.

By adding OOH ads to a marketing mix that includes digital video and social media, Squarespace joins other digital brands like Bumble that are powering an OOH renaissance. OOH advertising spend jumped 4.5% last year, reaching a record high, and is a powerful tool to get shoppers into stores.

Squarespace has been investing more in its advertising and marketing, as analysts speculate the company could go public in a few years. In June, Squarespace kicked off its "A website makes it real" campaign with a humorous video series about a couple who is unsure if they're ready for marriage using the platform to build a wedding site.

The global website builder market was valued at $6.5 million in 2018, and that number is expected to grow to $13.6 million by 2027, according to Zion Market Research. Squarespace is reportedly valued at $1.7 billion. It competes with other firms including Wix, which went public in 2013, and Weebly, which was acquired by Twitter founder Jack Dorsey's firm Square for $365 million last year.