Virgo Communications was honoured with not one, but two awards for animation at the 2010 CAF ADDY competition. Judges selected two of the agency’s regional television spots for LIMEconomics, a fully integrated campaign that ran in 2009.

Emma Saba, Virgo’s Creative Director was thrilled with the two silvers awarded in the “Elements of Advertising” category.

“This campaign used a humourous play on a medical theme to push a number of recession busting offers and prescriptions for savings. The style of animation was essential to convey the necessary visual tone. The two winning ads were a part of campaign that was very well received by the public at large. That in itself is very exciting! The fact that the CAF is now bestowing this honour on our work is really the icing on the cake!”

The silver ADDY was awarded to Virgo Communications  for a brochure designed to build awareness of Claridges, a new luxury development on Barbados’ West coast.

The win, honouring creative excellence, was well received by Claridges’ developers Mike and Pip Challis who commented, “We are thrilled that our brochure won an award and we are so pleased with the Virgo team for their amazing translation of the Claridges brand into this fantastic sales piece.”

Claridges Brochure

Working with the Challises, Virgo created an eye-catching campaign using metallic silver as the primary colour and utilizing a series of ten images  to tell the story that reflects the lifestyle living at Claridges offers, with a particular focus on the outdoor activities Barbados is famous for.

“An ADDY is one of advertising’s highest tributes, and we’re truly thrilled to receive this award,” said Stephanie von Oppen-Taylor, Managing Director of Virgo Communications.

“Building strong, identifiable brands is our agency’s greatest strength. The fact that our first work for Claridges has been recognized in this manner is gratifying, and bodes well for the future of the Claridges’ brand. It is also gratifying to see that our work on advertising within the real estate market continues to achieve results from all angles.”

The successful "Crane Diary" multipage print spread

Barbados-based advertising agency, Virgo Communications was awarded a Silver ADDY award for its print creative for The Crane, one of Barbados’ premier residential resorts.  The brief from client was to create an 8-page advertorial that would emotionally connect with consumers, while delivering a call to action for property sales.  Virgo successfully executed the concept “Diary”, which interwove first person journal entries from a family vacationing at The Crane, with descriptors of the resort’s key services and amenities.

“Winning this award is such an honour,” says Ayanna Victorin, Account Manager at Virgo. “ A big thank you to our clients Paul Doyle, Annmarie Thompson, and Kim Goddard for the opportunity to work with such a first class product, and with such a fantastic group of people. And of course, it’s always great to deliver award winning creative on a first attempt!”

Foreground - Susan Mahon, 3rd from Left: Sara Odle & Stephanie von Oppen-Taylor - Virgo Communications; Roslyn Watson & Israel Mallett - UWI Marketing Students; and Ralph "Bizzy" Williams of Williams Industries

Virgo Communications is part of the vanguard in the new image of Barbados’ clarion cry for Green Responsibility, the Future Centre Trust (FCT), the communications agency, headed by award-winning Stephanie Von Oppen, has revamped the website of the Trust into a more accessible database. Click here for full story.

Virgo Communications recently received a prestigious ADDY Award for interactive HTML website design for its work on the development of www.thegreathouserestaurant.com. The Barbados based agency worked on all aspects of the site including conception, branding including the new logo, design and programming.

The awarded website is for The Great House, a lovely restaurant in Cap Estate, St. Lucia known for its spectacular views of the ocean. According to Ayanna Victorin, the Account Manager at Virgo Communications who oversaw the project, “The restaurant is a sophisticated blend of modern and traditional, and we wanted the website to reflect that combination. We believe this was achieved and are thrilled to have the quality of our work acknowledged.”

Emma Saba, Virgo’s Creative Director said, “I am very proud of the team. Our Interactive/Web department has now been recognised each and every year since we added the department, and continues to go from strength to strength. Our clients have really benefited from working with a team that understands the bigger picture in terms of their overall brands.”

The Great House website home page

Jason Applewhite & Sara Odle enjoying the post match atmosphere with Hal LInton

Virgo Communications was thrilled to be part of the team that helped make the very first Sentebale Polo Cup such a success.  The Virgo PR team worked with event company Quintessentially, to ensure  maximum coverage and assist in the logistics of the VIP area. Oh.. and the polo was good fun too!

Still make us laugh….  CLICK HERE TO WATCH!

From left: British High Commissioner - Paul Brummell and Virgo Communications Assistant Account Executive - Jason Applewhite

The British High Commission teamed up with The Future Centre Trust to officially launch Green Business Barbados at the residence of the British High Commissioner, Paul Brummel. The British High Commission in conjunction with the Future Centre Trust kicked off the event with a lovely reception. The event, which officially signalled the establishment of the Green Business Barbados program, outlined the Future Centre’s objective to stimulate awareness amongst the local business community and encourage organizations and individuals to become more environmentally responsible.

Virgo Communications, designers of the Green Business Barbados logo, was in on the festivities and had the opportunity to mingle and network with some with some of the individuals who played an important role in getting this program up off the ground and running, including the High Commissioner himself (pictured above).  Highlights of the night were The High Commissioner’s speech and official welcome to the guests, and a presentation  made by Nicole Garofano – Chief Administrator of The Future Centre Trust. Lani Edghill – Project Manager of the Green Business Barbados project also made a brief speech to those in attendance and expressed her deep gratitude to the High Commission’s contribution and support of their initiative.  Fun indeed!!!

Ryan Browne (2nd from right) with some of Virgo team

Having been an integral part of Virgo’s creative team for the past 4 years on Feb 12, 2010 Virgo Communications has said ‘goodbye’ to Ryan Browne – one of their original staff members and very talented graphic designers. Read more »

On February 1st 2010, the  Future Centre Trust in Barbados,  launched its new website futurecentretrust.org . Created by Virgo’s web department, the website is designed to be a flexible communications headquarters for the non profit organisation. Take a look and  please get involved!