Canada Post is launching a new shopping website that brings geo-targeted direct mail online.

The full nationwide launch is expected in March 2011 and will be promoted through a multi-channel, multi-million dollar advertising campaign, the size of which hasn’t been seen for a long time at Canada Post, Tim Skelly, director of product management, tells MiC.

The site, CentrSource.ca, will be branded as a Canada Post venture and will give local and national advertisers the opportunity to load their catalogues, flyers, video ads and promotions onto the website free of charge.

Advertisers will only be charged when shoppers take part in a call-to-action, whether it is to sign up to an email list, book an appointment to test a product, or to buy something.

Shoppers who visit the site to search for goods or services will receive geo-targeted results. Anonymous shoppers will be targeted through their IP address, and those who decide to register will get deals based on their postal code.

‘Shoppers want the national brands because they see credibility in that, but what was missing…is a way for consumers to know what’s going on in their neighbourhood,’ says Skelly. ‘They want to be connected to the stores in their community and they want to make sure they don’t miss any sales or promotions.’

Registrants, if they choose, will also receive emails to tip them off to specific deals in areas of interest.

‘They wanted to be able to control the data they receive,’ says Skelly of consumers’ preferences regarding email lists. ‘This system allows them to have preferences based on a brand, or a store, or interests like home and garden, outdoor activities or travel, so they can define what [appears when they visit] the website and emails they recieve.’