News

It’s not everyday you see a 40-foot-high golf tee, let alone one in the middle of downtown Calgary. Then again, it’s not every day a major golf tournament supports such a big cause.

The "romance novel" idea used in this campaign was based on this insight: Even the perpetrators of domestic abuse often wonder how they’ve arrived in an abusive relationship. No one plans to be in it. Obviously no one dreams of being in it. And those who find themselves in one often just don’t know how they got to that point. Or how to get out.

At the 2008 Marketing Awards held May 1st in Toronto, Karo Group received a Gold for its Calgary Stampede “Rides” outdoor campaign.

The 2008 Anvil Awards Gala is a celebration of the best work produced in Calgary for Marketing and Communications from January to December 2007. This year, the Anvils were stronger than ever. The number of entries continues to grow, the categories are streamlined and more competitive, the caliber of judges brought in are world-class, and this year, the gala was a sold out event, Friday, April 25th.

Karo Group was awarded Anvils for the following categories:
Best of Show - Alberta Securities Commission, “The Cheque”
TV Single over $50,000 – Alberta Securities Commission, “The Cheque”
Out-of-Home - The Calgary Stampede, “Mega Drop Elevator”
Public Service Print – HomeFront, “Romance Novel”
Best Illustration – HomeFront, “Romance Novel”

Merits in the following categories:
TV Single over $50,000 – The Calgary Stampede, “Fireworks”
TV Series – The Calgary Stampede, “Rodeo/ Fireworks”
Outdoor Single - The Calgary Stampede, “Rides”

 

We at Karo Group are pleased to announce that we have been engaged by Misión La Serena and Gravity Destination Properties to create the marketing campaign for the luxury resort in Los Cabos, Mexico, called Misión La Serena.

Misión La Serena offers 75 two and three-bedroom residences on pristine beachfront within the master planned development of Puerto Los Cabos on the Baja California peninsula. It is close to a new marina, two golf courses, an international airport and the charming Spanish colonial town of San José.

Karo’s campaign will include branding, advertising, web site, presentation centres and print collateral.

Father Time, a figure usually associated with ushering out the old year, is given a new job in this year’s First Calgary Savings RSP advertising campaign and his new job is aging people. TV, radio, print, online banner ads, in-branch posters, and direct mail all poke fun at the common signs of aging, like getting wrinkles or losing hair.

The merit of running ads for needy causes has never been questioned. But when Calgary-based Homefront (a support agency for those affected by domestic violence), chose to run an outdoor campaign, they knew they were courting controversy.

Karo Group has just added five new awards to its stable of excellence. We entered our Horse Racing Alberta campaign into the Canadian Agricultural Marketing Awards that took place in mid-November, 2007.

Karo was in competition with top agencies including Ad Farm and BBDO, the latter of which entered its Milk Campaign, well known across Canada. We came away with an Excellence in Television Series and Merits in Billboard Single, Billboard Series and Product Sales–Direct Marketing/Direct Response.

Leading these other wins was  our “Best in Show” for the Consumer Direct Category. This victory is a tribute to the Karo tradition of design excellence that arises from creative liberty, market experience and energetic teamwork.

The Calgary Stampede 2007 10-day campaign has brought Karo more awards—this time internationally.

The IAAPA (International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions) Brass Ring Awards is an annual competition recognizing excellence in marketing for amusement facilities worldwide. On Monday, November 12th in Orlando, Florida, it was announced that the Calgary Stampede won in five of the ten categories presented in their division—the most wins in any division. The categories were:

• Integrated Marketing Campaign—the campaign as a whole (TV, radio, direct mail, guerrilla, print)
• Outdoor Signage
• Media Kit
• PR Campaign
• Web Site
  

The most exciting win for Karo is certainly the Integrated Marketing category. It is a new category this year and was created with the intent to show the creative use of media and breadth of work included in an agency’s campaign.

The international competition consisted of a vast variety of American parks, most notably the Six Flags amusement parks and the San Diego Zoo, as well as parks from Mexico, Germany, Norway, Singapore and Hong Kong.

 

The Calgary Stampede - one of the most recognized brands in Canada – has expanded its working relationship with Karo to include advertising and brand communications.

Karo has become engaged with major US resort developer, Star Resorts, to lead a marketing campaign for the Mount Superior Residence Club at Snowbird Ski and Summer Resort in Utah.