• by David Goetzl  @dgoetzl, June 8, 2011

Perhaps inspired by the music acts on the "Today" show, Kia Motors has signed as a sponsor of a concert series taking place on Conan O'Brien's late-night show on TBS this summer.

"Conan" will use a large stage at Warner Bros. Studios on the nights it airs the four shows with headline acts. Ke$ha, K.T. Tunstall, Pitbull and Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros will appear separately, while some of their songs will be used on the show at other times.

The concerts will also be made available on the Web at teamcoco.com. (TBS runs full episodes of the show online.) The concerts will begin June 27 and run through August 1.

Kia received considerable buzz throughout the spring after NBA star Blake Griffin jumped over one of its cars -- it is an official NBA sponsor -- at the NBA's slam-dunk contest while jamming. Kia turned it into an ad campaign, but also received considerable free media with the stunt.

The carmaker is also in its second year of sponsorships with the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge racing season.

KIA posted its best-ever monthly sales numbers in May, which was also more than 50% higher than the same month last year.

"Conan" continues to perform well in the 18-to-34 demo for TBS.