case study

Magellan: Climbing Back on Top

GPS: The outdoor recreation market fell in love with this simple, reliable method of navigation the moment the Magellan Corporation introduced the first handheld GPS units in 1988. By the year 2000, Magellan was no longer the only player in the handheld GPS game: several competitors had rapidly gained ground—and market share—in this popular category; however, the Magellan name was still first in consumers’ minds. The strategy to recapture the #1 position in the handheld GPS market was to let outdoor enthusiasts know there was a Magellan GPS unit for their sport that would help them have more fun than ever before in the great outdoors.

With You All The Way

Swanson Russell took up the challenge by addressing Magellan’s position in the marketplace. What did Magellan need to say to consumers? First, there was Magellan’s history. They had introduced the very first handheld consumer GPS units. They had also led the way with innovations that made GPS units smaller, lighter in weight, easier to use and ultimately more popular with outdoors enthusiasts.

“We’ll Take You There”

Magellan also produces a variety of GPS units, with models that are ideal for nearly every outdoor pursuit, from hiking, camping and hunting to freshwater and saltwater boating and fishing. No matter where you’re going or what you’re doing, there’s a Magellan that will take you there and back, and help you have a great time along the way.

To support Magellan’s push to regain its leading status with outdoors enthusiasts, Swanson Russell created the tagline “With You All The Way.” The line reinforced the two main perceptions of our target audience: that Magellan was the first name in GPS, having been there since the beginning, and that they had a GPS unit for every use that would get the user there and back.

Life With Magellan

In the early 1990s, Magellan had to sell consumers on the very idea of GPS. Today, a GPS unit is considered essential gear for many outdoors activities. Magellan didn’t need to educate potential customers about GPS; they needed to tell the Magellan story: that outdoor activities could be better than ever with a Magellan GPS in hand.

With that thought in mind, the advertising campaign “With Magellan, Without Magellan.” was born. The ads featured a single compelling visual tied to a particular outdoor activity. The headlines, such as “With Magellan: Bait. Without Magellan: Catch of the Day.” or “With Magellan: Incredible Sunset. Without Magellan: Incredibly Lost.” told the reader in a humorous, memorable way that their time on the water or in the field would always be better spent with a Magellan in hand.

Visually, the ad layouts featured other gear and elements common to each sport. An ad targeted to hunters used a background made of a canvas hunting jacket, with a twig as the border between the photo and copy. The sailing ad copy was placed on a background of sailcloth with a rope border. Every detail was geared to draw participants in and let them know that Magellan knows their sport as well as the reader.

These activity-specific messages were then placed in targeted publications such as Salt Water Sportsman, In-Fisherman, Backpacker and Bowhunter. The campaign would deliver more than 15 million impressions. Now that’s a big catch.

Climbing Back On Top

Creating a positive image of Magellan in the mind of outdoor enthusiasts is an ongoing process that’s now well on its way: it’s the message that there’s a Magellan GPS for everyone—that Magellan is “with you all the way” no matter what your sport. The result is an attention-grabbing campaign that is helping Magellan reclaim its leadership position.