• by Karl Greenberg , June 14, 2011

Kia is pulling out the stops for its role as presenting partner of the 2011 NBA Draft at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., on June 23. Kia has been a sponsor of the draft before but this year's involvement is the first that puts the Kia name on the marquee.

The Irvine, Calif. automaker, whose Optima is the "Official Vehicle of the NBA," will get product and brand placement around the arena and stage in Newark during the live coverage on ESPN, and on NBA TV and NBA.com. Kia's involvement includes presentation of two NBA Cares Community Caravan events in Newark and New York City before the Draft.

Tim Chaney, director of marketing communications at Kia Motors America, says the new program vastly expands the automaker's presence at the draft. "The major difference is [that] in every instance the NBA promotes the Kia message. Before that, we carved out a sponsorship presence," he says. "We will be part of the message as well; we have an expanded presence in all the pieces of the event."

Kia Motors has also been the presenting partner of the Kia NBA Performance Awards, title partner of Kia NBA Tip-Off, and Official Automotive Partner of NBA All-Star, and an Official Automotive Partner of NBA Cares.

As part of its presence at the draft, Kia will have two vehicle displays outside the Prudential Center featuring co-branded signage and brand ambassadors, one of which will host an appearance by an NBA legend prior to the event. Kia will also present a "green screen" photo area on the arena concourse where fans will be able to take a "virtual" photo that will depict them as a draft pick on the official NBA Draft stage.

Kia also gets advertising during the NBA Draft telecast and will have brand integration in programming touting and related to the NBA Draft on NBA TV and NBA.com, including the NBA Draft Preview Show, the NBA Draft Review Post-Show, and select behind-the-scenes segments telecast on NBA TV.

Also on tap is a "Kia NBA Drive to the Draft" feature on NBA.com. The program includes a Kia presence on such things as NBA Draft Prospect Index and Profile Pages showcasing 160 draft prospects. Kia is also branding behind-the-scenes footage, draftee video journals, exclusive interviews with draftees, and blogs written by NBA.com editors.

The focus is primarily Optima, but Kia will also show the Sorento crossover on site. "For several years now, we have had league sponsorship, [i.e.,] official partnership status on top of our sponsorship of 13 individual NBA teams. We have learned that league sponsorship and these team deals complement each other," he says. "We see value in team marketing on local level but it also complements national sponsorships. It is a great way to introduce products, since we have been in the middle of a design transformation. We have had as good a season as the NBA has."

Chaney adds that NBA fans are receptive and positive to sponsors, "especially Kia. We have seen a great improvement in Kia consideration since we began NBA sponsorship. There are also the dynamics of the NBA fan: they are very urban, and diverse. [The league] is more popular in big markets and that's where a lot of our team sponsorships are."