Volvo Cars New Zealand appoints Freemans Bay agency Republik as its media + creative agency

Scandinavian car brand Volvo has appointed Freemans Bay Indie, Republik to its media and creative account, effective August 2014. As a result, Republik will part ways with Peugeot after a successful 10-year relationship

Says Paul McNamara, Republik director: “This is an exciting appointment for us and continues the positive momentum we’ve been enjoying over the past 12 months.

“Volvo is a premium car brand with an exceptionally proud heritage that goes back over 80 years. There’s been a huge investment made in the brand and product, which has seen global sales increase steadily. We’re relishing the opportunity to work with Steve, Ben and the team to grow sales here, and reposition Volvo as a car brand that’s revered for more than just safety. We can’t wait to get started.”

Leading and managing the account will be Republik director Heath Boot and senior account manager Emma Munro, both whom have years of industry knowledge and experience.

Says Steve Kenchington, Volvo general manager: “We have some pretty ambitious goals to achieve, but we have the product to make it happen. Since Geely took over four years ago, we’ve invested heavily in the development of new scalable platforms, Drive-E engines and an entirely new design direction. The first example of this innovation is the XC90, which is due to launch in the first half of next year. From that point on, every model will be completely redesigned and re-engineered from bumper to bumper.

“We’re now at the end of our rebuilding phase, so we’re expecting to see considerably more growth than we’ve been enjoying to date. We’ve built a solid foundation in this market, but it’s now time for us to step it up a gear across the business. It’s important that we have an agency that understands all aspects of the automotive industry, from distribution to our dealer network. Republik have clearly demonstrated this experience and they’re a great team to work with.”

Federation and Total Media were the incumbent agencies on the business.