• by Joe Mandese  @mp_joemandese, October 2, 2012

Michael Sprague Is like the Rodney Dangerfield of automotive marketer. The EVP-Marketing and Communications of Kia Motors America says he just can’t get any respect. Speaking to Marketing Dialy’s Karl Greenberg during an interview at OMMA Global in New York, Sprague said Kia got huge accolades when it broke its latest “Soul” campaign featuring the hip-hopping hamsters, but people responded, “Oh yeah, but it’s still a Kia.”

No matter how good it’s advertising is, Sprague says the biggest issue for American car buyers is a sense of trust that the Kia brand still hasn’t earned to the level of its advertising popularity. Fundamentally, he said it’s about trust – and the notion that the average American household owns a car eight to 10 years and doesn’t want to have to worry about their car breaking down 10 years from now. To deal with that, he said Kia offers 10-year warranties.

“We still have a challenge gaining the consumer’s trust,” he conceded.