Shifting Gears: Peg City Car Co-Op Market Development

Peg City Car Co-Op Inc. (Peg City), a consumer co-operative (co-op) in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, had reached a turning point. Over the past 13 years, through the development of services and growth in its core target audience, it had reached the scale it needed to be a viable car-sharing business. It now needed to set its sights on the next growth opportunity. Michelle “Mitch” Panting (they/them), marketing and communication specialist at Peg City, together with chief executive officer Philip Mikulec (he/him), was grappling with market development decisions to aid in the co-op’s next growth stage. As the only member-owned car-sharing program in Winnipeg, Peg City was a co-op with social and environmental values: to reduce costs and increase access to transportation; and to reduce the number of cars on the road, thereby cutting congestion and emissions. Peg City had a recognized brand name, diversified product base, and continued annual revenue growth. Looking to the year ahead, Peg City knew it had to be strategic in its next marketing steps. Panting had been collecting data to identify which strategies would resonate with the values, needs, and lifestyles of young adults in order to engage the next generation of the co-op’s membership. Panting’s orders were clear: To determine how to leverage social media to reach a new, younger target audience.