Start-up insurance provider League is mixing mass media with hyper targeting with its first-ever OOH campaign.

A series of digital billboards and transit ads with cheeky phrases mocking some old-school insurance conventions have popped up in the southern end of Toronto’s downtown area and will remain there for the next four weeks.

Colin Bettam, CMO of League, said that normally, such a niche business would stick to a targeted digital campaign. However, he said it took advantage of the upcoming Human Resources Professionals Association convention coming to Toronto Jan. 31 to try outdoor advertising. The conference will see an estimated 4,500 HR professionals from around Canada attend activities at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, where the ads are placed.

“We’re at a good stage in our life as a company,” he said. “We’re still somewhat of a start-up — we’re three years old — so this is the opportunity we’re taking to raise our profile and increase brand awareness.”

All media buys and creative were handled internally by League.

In addition to the OOH ads, the creative will be boosted on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter. Bettam added that it’s trying its hand at experiential through a partnership with Greenhouse Juice and snack manufacturer Kind to host a “fuelling station” for conference attendees on the first day of the conference.

Bettam said the campaign is “not really mass,” but he did acknowledge that League wanted to take a leap on OOH rather than the digital media it’s been using to promote itself over the last three years.