What IVY does

IVY DESIGN INC. is a privately held, Calgary-based boutique marketing and creative agency founded by Richard Maruk in 1999 after nearly two decades in the graphic design and printing industry. The firm operates with a small team of approximately 8 employees — senior creatives, marketing strategists, and content creators who serve clients directly rather than delegating to junior staff. IVY positions itself as an outsourced in-house marketing department for mid-market and institutional clients, primarily in Alberta, delivering integrated services across strategy, brand identity, publication design, advertising (print, out-of-home, radio), digital marketing (social media, email, SEO, Google AdWords, web development), content development, and sales enablement.

The firm's flagship proprietary product is IVY CONVERT, a CRM-integrated marketing automation platform that automates, tracks, and measures web traffic, social media, email, and content engagement. Its features include automated visual workflows, email and landing page builders, lead scoring, anonymous visitor identification, real-time sales alerts, and life-of-the-lead analytics. IVY CONVERT is offered both as an implementation and training service bundled with agency engagements and as a standalone platform, creating a recurring-revenue complement to the firm's project-based professional services.

IVY generates revenue through two streams: (1) project-based and ongoing retainer fees for integrated marketing services with disclosed minimum budgets of $10K–$20K for core brand work and $60K–$100K for sales-enabled marketing campaigns, and (2) subscription/recurring revenue from IVY CONVERT platform implementations. Customer segments include mid-market and enterprise companies (primary), financial institutions (notably Alberta-based credit unions), educational institutions (notably SAIT Polytechnic), and healthcare/biomedical clients (notably Syantra Inc.). The firm's selective go-to-market favors long-term partnerships with clients who value marketing and have appropriate budgets, rather than transactional one-off projects. Notable client outcomes include a 99.8% member transition rate for a Vision Credit Union branch acquisition and 130 projects executed for SAIT over 2011–2019. The firm has earned multiple CASE, AIME, and BENNY trade awards between 2012 and 2020.

Name

IVY

Legal name

IVY DESIGN INC.

Website

https://ivydesign.ca

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

IVY DESIGN INC. is a Calgary-based boutique marketing and creative agency founded in 1999 that provides integrated marketing services — including strategy, branding, digital marketing, content, and advertising — to mid-market and institutional clients across Alberta, and sells its proprietary IVY CONVERT marketing automation and CRM platform.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Marketing Agency Services

NAICS

Advertising Agencies (541810), Advertising, Public Relations, and Related Services (5418)

SIC

Services-Advertising Agencies (7311)

akta.pro primary industry

Integrated Advertising (Brand + Performance + Media) (BPAFAAAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Marketing Automation Platforms & Services (BPAFAFAC), Marketing Technology, AdTech & MarTech Services (BPAFAAAN), Marketing Automation & Campaign Management CRM (HDAEAFAB)

Keywords

• Marketing agency services
• Brand strategy design
• Digital marketing services
• Marketing automation software
• Creative advertising services

Headquarters

HQ city

Calgary

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. Integrated Marketing Services: Full-service marketing agency offering strategy, creative direction, branding, digital marketing, social media, content marketing, advertising, design, and marketing automation services. Revenue generated through project-based engagements and ongoing client partnerships.
2. IVY CONVERT Platform: Marketing automation and CRM platform subscription service. Includes implementation and training for the proprietary software platform.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

IVY is a boutique marketing and creative agency that partners with clients as an outsourced in-house marketing department, delivering integrated marketing strategy, advertising and design, digital marketing, and marketing automation services. The firm complements its agency work with IVY CONVERT, a proprietary CRM-integrated marketing automation and sales enablement platform that automates, tracks, and measures web traffic, social media, emails, and content to drive qualified leads and sales results.

Product overview

IVY is a boutique marketing and creative agency offering integrated marketing services. The core product offering includes IVY CONVERT, a marketing automation and CRM platform, complemented by a comprehensive suite of marketing services including marketing strategy, advertising and design (brand identity, publications, annual reports, collateral), digital marketing (content, social media, email, web development, SEO), and marketing automation implementation and training. The agency also provides CRM best practice consulting and sales enablement services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• IVY CONVERT: Marketing automation and CRM platform that helps clients integrate marketing and sales efforts. Features include lead scoring, nurture campaigns, social network tracking, landing pages, email marketing, blog builder, and actionable sales and marketing reports.

Products and services

• IVY CONVERT

Quantifiable outcome

• 99.8% member transition rate in credit union branch acquisition campaign
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• Alberta Cancer FoundationminorOthersGrant provider to Syantra Inc. that caused initial media attention leading to Syantra's engagement of IVY for branding work. Not a direct partnership with IVY.
• DynaLifeminorOthersPartner mentioned in connection with Syantra's blood test development. Media attention from partnership caused Syantra to engage IVY for branding. Not a direct partnership with IVY.
• Alberta InnovatesminorOthersGrant provider and innovation agency that contributed to media attention for Syantra's breast cancer blood test, prompting Syantra's engagement of IVY. Not a direct partnership with IVY.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Emerging players

• Digital Commerce Group: Calgary-based digital marketing agency focused on performance, e-commerce, and CRM enablement for Western Canadian brands. Comparable to IVY as a regional digital and CRM-focused marketing services competitor in the same Alberta market.

Broad incumbents

• ActiveCampaign: Marketing automation, CRM, and email marketing platform serving SMBs. Comparable to IVY CONVERT as a competing marketing automation platform with lead scoring, automation workflows, and CRM-style capabilities, but at much larger scale.
• HubSpot: Global leader in marketing automation and CRM platforms serving SMBs and mid-market. Relevant to IVY because IVY CONVERT operates in the same marketing automation and CRM category, though HubSpot is a category-leading platform while IVY CONVERT is currently embedded inside an agency offering.
• Cossette Communications: Canada's largest independent marketing and communications agency. Comparable to IVY as a Canadian full-service agency offering brand, advertising, digital, and CRM services, though operating at enterprise scale across multiple offices.

Direct peers

• Karsh+Karsh Creative: Calgary-based full-service creative and marketing agency. Comparable to IVY as another Alberta boutique agency delivering brand, digital, and integrated marketing services to regional clients.
• Rethink: Canadian independent creative agency with offices in Vancouver, Toronto, and Montreal. Comparable to IVY as an independent Canadian agency offering brand, creative, and integrated marketing, although at significantly larger scale.
• Papermill Digital: Canadian digital marketing and CRM agency offering marketing automation, lead generation, and integrated campaigns. Comparable to IVY as a similarly sized independent agency offering CRM-integrated marketing services to mid-market clients.
• Venture Communications: Calgary-headquartered integrated marketing and PR agency serving Western Canadian clients across multiple verticals. Directly comparable to IVY as a Calgary boutique offering strategy, creative, digital, and PR services to similar mid-market customers.
• Calder Bateman Group: Calgary-based independent integrated marketing and communications agency serving Western Canadian brands across financial services, energy, and public sectors. Comparable because both are boutique, Western Canadian full-service agencies competing for similar mid-market and institutional clients.
• TAXI (Canada): One of Canada's largest independent creative agencies with offices in multiple cities. Comparable to IVY as a Canadian full-service agency offering brand strategy, advertising, and digital marketing, though at materially larger scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ivy-design-inc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about IVY