In mid-April 2008 Karo was awarded two new projects involving rebranding, signage and wayfinding for two prominent shopping malls in Calgary and Vancouver.

Park Royal, West Vancouver

Karo will undertake the re-branding and complete Wayfinding & Signage for Park Royal Shopping Centre, one of the first shopping centres in Canada. The owners want to emphasize the centre’s premium retail offering and new master plan. The first phase will be launched as part of a new Fall campaign. Subsequent phases will feature new development from entertainment to a boutique hotel as Park Royal expands into a major regional urban centre.

Southcentre, Calgary

Over the past two years Karo participated in planning and some initial work on the site, and has now been selected for the complete wayfinding and sign program for Southcentre, a 33-year-old mall in southeast Calgary. Southcentre is in the midst of a major upgrade, including a new food court on its north side.

Southcentre is our fifth major project for Ivanhoe Cambridge, following Karo’s re-branding, wayfinding and signage work at Metropolis at Metrotown, which started in 1999.
That project continues to this day with the ongoing refinement of site wayfinding, development of a third office tower, and inclusion of a seasonal entertainment centre.
Understanding how shoppers navigate from store to store, and creating a pleasant shopping atmosphere for them is how Karo helps strengthen a mall’s brand. We know the customer experience is the brand. With that knowledge, we’re able to revitalize two landmark malls in two major Canadian cities.

“When we acquired the mall adjacent to our existing property (Metropolis at Metrotown), we knew the two had to be brought together under one powerful and cohesive brand. The new brand identity and retail wayfinding program Karo created was so well conceived that it is one of the reasons our revenues have increased significantly.”
Brian Castle, Senior Vice President, Ivanhoe Cambridge

Lara Presber got her first hammer from her dad when she was only eight years old and her first sewing machine from her mom when she was 10.  Little wonder that Lara grew up to be an architect and fashion designer (and integral part of Calgary Karo’s Environments department).  Lara’s second collection – for Fall 2008 - has been chosen as one of the four finalists in Toronto Fashion Incubator's New Labels competition.  Lara’s story made it to the front page of the Calgary Herald Real Life section recently.  Read it here...

Karo Group was awarded the Hastings Park Master Sign Plan by the City of Vancouver. We will create a comprehensive sign plan to assist visitor wayfinding over the long-term future development of Hastings Park. Our plan will balance a mix of commercial and community uses and maximize green space and fair activities.

Hastings Park, comprising 162 acres (66 hectares), is Vancouver’s second largest.  In its first half-century the park featured green space, fairgrounds, and a horse track. A restoration plan was approved in 1997, and in 2004 Vancouver City directed staff to develop the plan further, and this is where Karo comes in. Our sign plan will be address the site’s many features and intended changes, including the PNE Fairgrounds, Hastings Racecourse, PlayLand, the Pacific Coliseum, the Sanctuary and other park green space.

Karo Group–Vancouver has been awarded a major new assignment for the City of Vancouver—a citywide wayfinding and signage strategy. This will make it easier for people to navigate their way to Vancouver’s many attractions, and is even more necessary as the City prepares to welcome tens of thousands of visitors to the 2010 Winter Olympics.

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.

On February 13, 2008, Karo Group won an IDI GOLD Award of Excellence at the annual Interior Designers Institute of British Columbia Awards for its work on the Deeley Motorcycle Exhibition.

Trev Deeley Motorcycles (“TDM”) wanted to integrate its priceless collection of motorcycles into its dealership.  After consulting with the former director of Public Programs at the Royal B.C. Museum, TDM hired Karo to create an experiential visitor environment for its new, 10,000 sq.ft. Deeley Motorcycle Exhibition.

Karo’s design showcased TDM’s new identity as well as exhibit graphics, display millwork and feature areas. It allows TDM to construct themed exhibits from its extensive and expanding gallery of motorcycles and one-of-a kind objects from around the world.

Most importantly, Karo’s design allows maximum flexibility for revolving exhibitions while supporting a strong permanent brand and presence for the Exhibition venue itself. Flexibility is crucial as the collection is rotated not only annually, but also daily for different events hosted in the space for groups large and small. Karo answered the design challenge with a fun, interactive space that is easy to maintain. Compared to TDM’s former Richmond location there has been a significant increase in both interest and visitation—leading to a benefit for TDM’s sales, showroom and service areas.

“Not only has Karo’s exhibition design supported the dealership and allowed the Harley aficionado to engage with the legacy of the brand, it allows both diehard fans and newbies to be drawn into the power of the Harley-Davidson experience. It has also become a tourist destination attraction in itself with a visitor increase of 800%.” Brent Cooke, Exhibition Manger, Harley-Davidson Canada

 Karo’s design for the Deeley Motorcycle Exhibition also placed in the category of "Institutional and Educational" projects, defined as "places of assembly occupancy such as schools, universities, daycare centres, museums, theatres, public art galleries, public auditoriums, airports, places of worship, courthouses, correctional and recreational facilities." Karo’s entry was judged against several other public institutions for this award, including schools, a library and a film centre. That Karo stood out among myriad others in this category was indeed an honour.     

The Vancouver office of Karo Group is very pleased to announce that it has been awarded the Wayfinding and Signage contract for West Vancouver’s new Community Centre Project. This is Karo Group’s first project with Hughes Condon Marler Architects and their project manager, Basil Davis.

In our proposal and subsequent interview about this project, we stressed that we are wayfinding strategists, not merely sign designers. We also expressed excitement in the many opportunities to create an assured visitor experience. We like to think this made the difference in our proposal, not the fact that we also had Vancouver’s mayor to our offices for tea!

Karo will apparently also get a separate contract for the community centre’s main tenant: The Vancouver Coastal Health Unit. We would like to express our thanks to all who worked hard to make this proposal a success, and look forward to transforming Karo’s design ethic into another exceptional human environment.

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.

Karo is excited to announce that it has joined forces with the Rocky Mountain Soap Company to create a strong brand for the Canmore-based natural soap manufacturer, the first step in building a long-standing business relationship.  They have five retail stores in Canmore, Banff, Edmonton, and Calgary, as well as a thriving wholesale business.

Cam Baty of Rocky Mountain Soap says that some of his company's best-selling products, including Pumpkin Patch soap, have resulted from listening to their customers and using 100% natural ingredients to transform customer suggestions into desirable natural products.

"Our plan is to grow to 30 stores across Canada in the next five years. We chose to partner with Karo to help us get there by first better defining our brand and then helping us roll out an inspiring and consistent brand experience across our stores, our website and our marketing communications.”