• Business Week, Tuesday, February 3, 2009 11 AM

Maybe the Mets should talk to Lee Soon Nam, the director in charge of Kia's overseas marketing. "Sponsorship of sporting events will be an important part of our marketing blitz this year," he tells Seoul bureau chief Moon Ihlwan. Among sporting events Kia is sponsoring are the National Basketball Association, the World Cup soccer tournament and the Asian Games. Its logo was also plastered all over the recently concluded Australian Open tennis championship, and it had three high-profile commercial spots during the Super Bowl pre-game show.

The Korean won lost its value against the dollar by almost 26% in 2008, and analysts figure it will lose another 10% this year. That inflates Kia's revenues and earnings generated overseas, giving it more room for marketing spending. "This is a luxury most global automakers can't afford, particularly the Japanese," says Suh Sung Moon, auto analyst at brokerage Korea Investment & Securities.

Kia is also introducing four new cars in overseas markets, including the Forte compact (the Spectra in the U.S.) and the Soul urban crossover vehicle that enabled it to boost domestic sales by 16% last year. The Soul and the Forte represent a European flair injected by chief designer Peter Schreyer, a German design star Kia hired in 2006 from Volkswagen.

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