Company: Oskarmobil a.s., Prague, Czech republic
Company Description: Oskar is the brand name for mobile services offered by Oskar Mobil a.s. Oskar is the newest mobile operator in the Czech Republic. Our arrival has been good news for consumers and business customers alike. Since our commercial launch, Oskar has already attracted more than 1 830 000 subscribers, becoming one of the fastest growing 3rd operators in Europe.
Nomination Category: Organization Awards Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Best Creative Organization

Nomination Title: Oskarmobil creativity

1. Tell the story about what this nominated organization achieved in the past year (up to 500 words). Focus on specific accomplishments, and relate these accomplishments to past performance or industry norms. Be sure to mention obstacles overcome, innovations or discoveries made, and outcomes:

On a cold grey winters day in Prague, the sight of a Chihuahua in a bright red
jacket would be bound to bring a smile to your lips. A few seconds later when you
turn the corner and see a great big Alsatian in a red jacket you’d think it a
bit of a coincidence. By the time you see your fifteenth dog in a bright red coat you know that something very strange is happening.

Is creativity a walk in the park? Just ask Czech mobile operator Oskar. A convoy
of dogs wearing branded jackets strolled through five major cities in the Czech
Republic as part of our ‘Obsessed with coverage campaign’ to promote our
network.

For a period of several months the public and press were waiting to see what we’d
cover next. Bus stops, water towers and even an orphanage we’re completely
covered in red foil, our company’s colour!

But it was our work on a major freeway bridge that scored the most PR points,
when we completely covered it in red bubble wrap.  It took 35 guys over 20 hours
to cover the 670-metre bridge, earning our company a place in the Guinness book
of records for the biggest advertisement ever.

Our creativity pays off, not only with customers, but when it comes to awards.
We’re a relatively new company, we only started up in 2000, but since then we’ve
scooped over 45 awards in the Czech and international arena. A public poll in the
Czech Republic voted us ‘Mobile operator of the year,’ we’ve won several
international Golden Drum awards for our advertising and several best company
image awards from Rhodos, which is judged by public poll. Even our annual report
won a Vision award from the League of American Communications Professionals
and came top out of 1200 entries.

Whether it’s web advertising, TV spots or direct marketing materials, the judges
seem impressed. But it’s not just our image that makes us good. We believe in
investing in the people that work for us and we’re recently named on of the Czech
Republic’s top 10 employers.

We’ve also launched some successful careers. Our advertising has something of a
cult following and the bands who play the music we use often become household
names. One of the actors we used in our TV spots not only saw his band become
one of the top ones in the country, but went on to become an award winning film
actor to boot.

As third mobile operator on the Czech market, people never thought we would last.
But not only have we proved them wrong, our creativity, hard work and ingenuity
has made us one of the most recognised brands in the country. We never have
been conventional. We have always strived to be unexpectedly different. We take
the normal and turn it on its head. We’re passionate about our brand and as we
celebrate our fifth birthday this year, we know that other people are too.

2. List hyperlinks to any online news stories, press releases, or other documents that support the claims made in the section above. IMPORTANT: Begin each link with http://, and enclose each link in square brackets; for example, [http://www.youraddress.com]:

http://www.oskarmobil.cz/en/about_oskar/awards.php
http://www.oskarmobil.cz/en/about_oskar/network/20_obrazem.php
http://www.goldendrum.com/en/showcase/entry/12035/detail.html

3. Provide a brief (up to 100 words) biography about the leader(s) of this nominated organization:

Karla Stephens, the Oskarmobil COO, has already played an active role in the
building and development of three mobile operators. In the nineties she worked in a
variety of managerial positions for telecommunications companies. Prior to Oskar
she was the director of sales and marketing at China Unicom and VP of Sales and
Marketing at Connex in Romania. Karla spends most of her free time with her
husband and son. She enjoys vacations at her cottage in Canada and hanging out
with their Great Dane,.in free time she also loves going to Disney World.