• by Karl Greenberg , April 9, 2009

Kia is on a roll, with its Soul just launched a few weeks ago in Miami and the Forte and Forte coupe due out this year.

The Hyundai sibling has also launched a new campaign to lure younger buyers into a vehicle that is really its first youth-focused car. It broke the ads -- in which an urban world is populated by hamsters running on wheels in garages, on streets -- on Feb. 27 in cinemas, and has also been touting the car through its marketing relationships with the NCAA and the NBA, as well as in its deals with 16 individual NBA teams.

Kia is also doing grassroots events to promote vehicles with and without the NBA. L.A.-based David and Goliath handles Kia advertising. Media is handled by Innocean, formerly World Marketing Group.

Kia Motors America VP of marketing Michael Sprague says such events are critical for Kia's success because the brand is still trying to change consumer opinion. "The biggest issue we face is perception," he says, "because, historically, people think of Kia as 'the cheap brand with the warranty.' Consumer perception is some three years behind where our quality actually is, so we talk about it at every opportunity."

Efforts include internal initiatives around social media sites "so everyone is speaking the same language on social media like Facebook and Twitter. We need to help people understand that we are a different brand, that -- with vehicles like Forte and Soul -- this is the new Kia."

Soul and Forte will accelerate Kia's efforts because they are intended for younger buyers. "We have found that the target we are going after -- more youthful buyers -- doesn't have a [pre-existing] perception of the Kia brand, so we have an opportunity to form that perception. With our new ads, we are speaking their language."

Sprague says the median age of the Kia owners is 52, about a year younger than the industry average of 53. He also says that by 2011 the Borrego, an SUV launched last year, will be the oldest vehicle in the brand's lineup.

The new hamster ads have no voiceover, but communicate product through quick closeups of vehicle features such as iPod connectivity pulsating speakers, and the Soul's interior space. The ads also use icons that flash onscreen near the end of the spots -- an icon for Bluetooth connectivity, iPod hookup, and 50-plus accessories, for instance.

Kia has been the official automotive partner of the NBA for a year and a half. Sprague says the relationship has increased awareness and consideration of the Kia brand. The company has also just launched a program with Autotrader.com, in which Kia dealer inventory is maintained on the auto marketing site in real time.

"Ultimately," says Sprague, "word of mouth means a lot. We are working on an initiative where we will go back and talk to people who owned a Kia 10 years ago, and entice them to come back."

He says dealer group ads are focused on product features, with national ads retaining a certain spunk and humor typical of Kia advertising, although the humor has been softened. "We don't want to walk away completely from humor, but we do want to find the right balance between features and brand attributes."