Vovia Marketing Agency Sees International Growth During These Difficult Times

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After a busy year, despite the pandemic affecting so many media and creative businesses, Vovia has expanded its management team to work with its growing list of clients.

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Susan Murphy, President of Vovia since joining the performance-focused media agency founded by Cameron Prockiw in 2014, said: “2021 was our biggest year for new client growth, which was largely driven by companies seeking e-commerce agencies and performance marketing and media savvy”.

Thus, the vice-president of customer service Heather Isley, who is celebrating her 11th birthday^and year at Vovia, was named senior vice president of strategy. Over the past two decades, she has honed her media and strategy skills in B2B and B2C, working in a variety of industries including finance, education, technology and e-commerce. Isley’s old job went to new recruit Tracy Gonzalez.

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Gonzalez may have only recently joined Vovia, but his strengths are well known to Murphy. In fact, when Murphy was at Venture Communications, she hired Gonzalez to help her as a client services manager.

Since then, she has accumulated 20 years of marketing experience on both the agency and client side, leading marketing initiatives for a wide range of leading organizations including Nike, Unilever, Coca-Cola, Proctor and Gamble and Kraft.

Most recently, Gonzalez was Vice President, General Manager and Head of Western Canada for Toronto-based independent agency Rain, which acquired Calgary agency Karo.

“I have worked with Tracy over the years and have been very impressed with her leadership style, the client partnerships she fosters and her strategic focus,” Murphy says. “She is a perfect fit and an essential recruit for the next chapter of Vovia’s strategic growth.”

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From its 10,000 square feet of space in the Village of Mount Royal, this growth is built on a foundation of data advancement and innovation that consistently generates results for clients.

Vovia has succeeded over the past year in expanding its customer list in Mexico and the United States

Encanto Group, a home furnishings manufacturer and retailer, engaged the Calgary agency to launch its e-commerce and media program. In the United States, the Calgary-based company manages all national e-commerce campaigns for Cleverman, a provider of men’s grooming products.

Murphy and his team of 30 also continue to serve a strong portfolio here and win new local accounts.

They have enjoyed a long association with Calgary Co-op as their go-to media agency for many years. Vovia was responsible for integrated media strategy and execution during the launch of Co-op’s local private label Cal & Gary, which achieved a high brand recall rate of 85%. Currently, he is planning and buying media for the co-op’s new “Make Today Delicious” campaign, in partnership with Calgary’s Daughter Creative, who is responsible for all the creative work.

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Another local business that Vovia is proud to serve is Edo Japan. Founded more than 40 years ago in Calgary, it now has 140 locations across Canada, served by Vovia’s expertise in media planning, buying and execution.

Some of its most recent local wins include the digital media partnership with Lammle’s Western Wear and the media planning and buying award for the new Calgary Cancer Center.

Murphy is proud of the full suite of services offered by Vovia and to be recognized by Google as a Premier Certified Partner; a notable designation given to the top three percent of Google Partners in Canada, and one of the few Canadian media agencies to sit on Google’s Council of Executive Agencies.

Remarks:

It’s great to see in-person events taking place again. The 2022 Distinguished Business Leader Award Gala is one of the events to look forward to. 30^and anniversary award, presented jointly by the Haskayne School of Business and the Calgary Chamber, will take place at the Hyatt Regency Hotel on June 23 — and tickets are available now. The recipients celebrated this year are Wayne Chiu, Founder and CEO of Trico and Founder of the Trico Foundation, and Andrea Robertson, President and CEO of STARS. They will both share their personal insights and stories about ethical leadership within our community.

David Parker appears regularly in the Herald. Read his columns online at calgaryherald.com/business. He can be reached at 403-830-4622 or by email at [email protected].