KIA's image

KIA's use of advertising on the big stage and the confusing messages the car manufacturer sends. 

In today's blog post I want to talk about cars. Yes, this is a blog about sports marketing, I will get to that later on.
Everyone knows car commercials. Depending on the price and the prestige of the car and the manufacturer behind it, they all seem to be the same. Prestigious cars are being driven through beautiful sceneries, showing the elegance of the vehicle while a calm voice in the background emphasizes the features of the cars, maybe even lists some awards. Other car manufacturers rather mention safety or family uses of their products. Either way. We have seen it before, and usually the manufacturer and it's status in society influences the type of exposure more than the car itself.

The car manufacturer I want to talk about today, doesn't quite fit into the types of advertisements I mentioned above. KIA, the South Korean car producer has it's very own way to increase sales.

KIA's TV commercials show it all: Dancing Hamsters, "Matrix" sequences,... NBA players. That's were the "sports" influence comes into play.
Watching KIAs TV ads I've been wondering what the companies message is.
Dancing Hamsters could be associated with the fun and joy of the car. Maybe a little over the top but surely memorable. The hamsters at least.
The connection to the "Matrix" series, interesting but even more confusing. What is KIA? Fun? Mysterious? Technologically advanced? In my opinion it is not clear at all.

With other car manufacturers you know what you get. No matter if it's great "German engineering", "American power" or "Italian finesse", the advertisements of other producers send a clear message throughout all product lines. A clear brand message. The South Koreans seem to be unclear about the message they want to send.

In my advertising class last semester my professor made it clear that often times a bad advertiser's last resort is to get celebrities in their commercials. This is approach is very expensive and often times ineffective or does not achieve the intended goal.
Until recently KIA followed that approach by partnering with the LA Clipper's NBA star Blake Griffin. The Basketball player and his sidekick would fight the "crime" of purchasing bad cars other than KIA's, while being dressed in ridiculous super hero costumes. As you can see all the commercials are rather bizarre.

While KIA's advertising efforts most likely are effective in the sense that they are mostly memorable and reach a wide audience, they probably still miss the point of a good advertisement. To create a brand image and increase sales.

Due to the inconsistency in the message of the commercials and the fact that they are rather bizarre and ridiculous than impressive, that's also what the consumer associates with the brand. The company's competitors such as Toyota, manage to send a message of quality and enjoyment, oftentimes also in a enjoyable way, but without looking ridiculous like KIA does.

KIA's market share in the US is getting bigger, still the manufacturer might reconsider the marketing approach they are taking to have an even brighter future. This is due to the fact that advertising sure should be entertaining for the audience, but the product should still be the focus of the attention.