(SEOUL) June 22, 2011 -- Kia Motors America (KMA) is experiencing unprecedented growth – year-to-date sales are up an industry best 44.8 percent – and the company’s diverse sports marketing properties have driven dramatic increases in consumer awareness, perception and consideration for the brand.
Today, KMA announced a groundbreaking partnership with one of the most recognizable young players in professional basketball, Blake Griffin, who will serve as an official spokesperson for the Kia Motors brand around the world. The multi-year deal builds upon the memorable connection forged between Griffin and Kia Motors after he leaped over a new 2011 Optima midsize sedan to win the 2011 Sprite Slam Dunk competition and footage of the dunk was featured in Kia’s advertising. Griffin is the only current professional basketball player with a global marketing relationship with an automaker.
The partnership with Griffin increases Kia’s presence in professional basketball following the brand’s extension and expansion of its relationship with the National Basketball Association (NBA) in 2010.
In addition to being an “Official Automotive Partner of the NBA,” Kia is also the Official Automotive Partner of NBA All-Star, title partner of the Kia NBA Performance Awards, and an Official Automotive Partner of NBA Cares. Earlier this month, Kia became the presenting partner of the 2011 NBA Draft. Kia also has strategic partnerships with 13 NBA teams, including Griffin’s Los Angeles Clippers.
“Blake Griffin is one of the most exciting players in basketball and has proven that he is an all-star on and off the court with extraordinary talent and a youthful, dynamic style that matches the energy and spirit Kia puts into every vehicle it produces,” said Michael Sprague, vice president, marketing & communications, KMA. “With Kia’s U.S. market share at an all-time high and rising fast, we are more focused than ever before on continuing to raise the brand’s profile with highly-visible strategic partnerships, and expanding our presence in professional basketball by adding Blake Griffin as a global spokesperson will allow us to continue our momentum.”
In his role as a global spokesperson for Kia Motors, Griffin will support Kia Motors’ marketing programs and appear in the company’s advertising materials, make public appearances on behalf of the brand, and be involved in exclusive product promotions, social media engagements and philanthropic initiatives.
“Kia is a company on the rise and knows that to be the best you have to work the hardest,” said Griffin. “Kia's hard work has paid off and their great looking and fun-to-drive products are a testament to their burning desire to be the best. I trust the Kia brand and I’m honored and excited to partner with a company I truly believe in.”
Griffin joins Kia’s growing roster of sports initiatives, including basketball, women’s professional golf and motorsports that are designed to increase brand awareness among a new and more affluent group of consumers. Michelle Wie is the brand’s official golf ambassador and Kia is the title sponsor of the annual Kia Classic LPGA event in Southern California. Kia’s second-year U.S. racing program captured the company’s first-ever victory in the GRAND-AM Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge series in April.
Source: [Kia Motors]
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