Garmin UK has appointed Tangerine Communications with the aim of working closely together to reinvigorate the category and increase market share through celebrity partnerships, events, stunts, video and rich content, influencer activations and traditional tactics.

Tangerine successfully secured the account following a three-way pitch process in February.

Speaking about the appointment, Richard Daish, head of marketing UK and Ireland, says, “The decline of Sat Nav sales is well documented as many people utilise free mobile applications. However, over 1 million people purchased a Sat Nav device last year which makes it still one of the biggest CE markets in the UK! Sat Nav is Garmin’s heritage and still a hugely important part of our business. With greater penalties on using a mobile phone behind the wheel, and our new range of innovative products, we needed a partner who can bring this to life for us!”

He continues, “Tangerine’s established automotive credentials are what caught our attention initially and the team’s response not only exceeded expectations in their understanding of our audiences but also their strategy development and creative thinking across a wide variety of channels. The team outlined an innovative and bold approach and we’re really excited about the proposed strategy which we have no doubt will deliver positive tangible results for the brand.”

Tangerine has already began planning stages with the Garmin team ahead of an official start date of April 1 this year.

Consumer MD, Mary Harding, says, “The automotive sector is one of Tangerine’s heritage specialisms. Over the years, we have supported a variety of big brands in the market, so adding such an authoritative brand as Garmin to this list is a fantastic result for the team."

“We’ve got some big plans for the brand this year and the wheels are already in motion to get them underway," she says. "Working as an extension of Garmin’s in-house team, we are collectively pushing the brand forward in terms of content creation and overall positioning, so we’re excited to see how this will be received by its customers both existing and new.”