Signifier: Kia Motors and Blake Griffin
Signified: Kia Motors is a Korean car company trying to ambush you with ads about their midsize sedan the Optima. They do it with creative ads centering on at the time a rising NBA star that just won the slam dunk contest dunking over their car, and now has a full rolodex of all kinds of commercials.
Image: The print ad is Blake Griffin jumping over a Kia Optima. In the most recent ones he uses the Optima instead of a horse or a plane based on historical events called “The Optima”, and then there are a few time traveling ones. He does a few with comedic actor Jack McBrayer called “Griffin Force”, and then there are ones about safety or facts about the car.
Denotation: This is an ad for a car made by a Korean Company called Kia for their sedan model. They compete with Hyundai in terms of cars coming from their own country. Kia’s slogan in the commercials is: “Not your average dunk. Not your average midsize sedan.” The next slogan was: “The Kia Optima is not your average midsize sedan and Blake Griffin is not your average spokesperson or athlete”.
Connotation: Kia has been the NBA’s automotive sponsor since 2008. Kia assumed the role of the official sponsor from Toyota who had that role since 2005. Kia spent $2.5 million on NBA telecasts while Toyota invested $5.47 million according to Nielsen Co. in 2009. Kia is also a long standing partner of ESPN having sponsored ‘NBA Shoot Around’, the pregame show since 2003. In 2009, they sold 325,000 cars which was a 9.8 percent increase in a bad year for automakers. In 2010, Kia sold 356,268 vehicles to U.S. consumers. That was a record for the automaker and it beat out Mazda, Volkswagen, and Subaru. Kia sales since 2008 have increased 78 percent, and Kia’s exceptional growth is the direct result of expanded brand visibility through their high profile partnerships. It includes both on and off the court in the NBA. Part of that deal was that Kia will be the official automotive partner of the NBA All-Star weekend events and NBA Cares charities. Kia will also sponsor the MVP award of the All Star game. That deal also renames the awards at the end of season to the “Kia NBA Performance Awards”. The MVP Award, Most Improved Player, Sixth Man of the Year and Defensive Player of Year awards, along with the Eastern and Western Conference players of the month, have Kia’s name on it. Kia also sponsored the NBA’s ‘Opening Week Tipoff’. Kia donates a brand new vehicle to a charity of the player’s choice on behalf of the four season ending award winners. For the 2010-2011season, Kia had two television specials on ESPN, as well as a 30 second TV commercial, a print ad, online spots, social media, and a court sign for its season opener campaign
Icon: Kia is one of the leading car companies so it was smart to pair with a budding NBA star and now an All Star in Griffin. He has his own rolodex of endorsements which are Nike, Subway, Powerbar, Vizio, the Rage video game, along with Kia. Griffin is one of the NBA’s most marketable players and earns an estimated $6.5 million from endorsements.
Diachronic Analysis: Kia currently has a presence with 13 NBA teams. It added the Golden State Warriors the team of the Bay Cities, Oakland and San Francisco. It did renew their deals with: Boston, Chicago, New York, Cleveland, Denver, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Miami, and San Antonio. Those teams in those cities in order are: The Celtics, the Bulls, the Knicks, the Cavaliers, the Nuggets, the 76ers, the Suns, the Heat, and the Spurs. They also still have deals with the Los Angeles Clippers, Orland Magic, and the Portland Trail Blazers. The Bulls, Nuggets, Warriors, and Clippers, list Kia as their Official Vehicle. While the Heat have it as their Official Vehicle and Exclusive Vehicle, while the Knicks have it as the Official Automotive Partner and Official Vehicle. The Cavaliers, 76ers, Suns, and Trail Blazers have it as their proud partner. The Spurs call it the Official Partner, while the Celtics have it as the Official Automotive Partner and Official Partner also. On a side note Kia has partnerships with Women’s Professional Golf, and Motorsports. Also, it’s the Official Automotive Partner of LPGA, the GRAND-AM Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge, and the Pirelli World Challenge in 2012. In 2011, Kia recorded its 17th consecutive year of market share growth in large part to the increase of any major brand in perceived quality, and the industry’s highest brand loyalty ranking. Kia’s U.S. based manufacturing facility in West Point, Georgia is responsible for the creation of 10,000 plants and supplier jobs, and builds the company’s two best selling vehicles in the U.S.: the Sorrento CUV, and Optima midsize sedan. Some of the elements of the partnership with the Cleveland Cavaliers include community outreach programs like the Cavaliers Surprise Gas Giveaway. Kia donated thousands of gallons of gas to hundreds of unsuspecting Northeast Ohioans over the past four years. The community relations imitative targeted economically challenged areas of the community. They have had a partnership for five years so far and Kia will continue to maintain a vehicle promotional display on the main level concourse of Quicken Loans Arena, with branded seat covers for courtside home team benches. The deal also includes in arena exposure including in game DLP courtside rotational signage for each home game, 360 degree inner bowl fascia, and animated graphics on Q-tube. Kia will continue to receive in game broadcast spots on the team’s flagship radio station, WTAM 1100 AM. Finally, a digital media exposure which includes naming Kia as the presenter of the team’s weekly fan poll and impression campaign positioning on Cavs.com. The Chicago Bulls announced an extension with Kia Motors America to be its Official Vehicle through the 2014-15 seasons. Kia will continue to have two indoor Optima Sedan displays on United Center’s 100 level concourses at Bulls home games. There is a Kia Terrace at Amway Center in Orlando. A red-and-white Kia-themed area is in the middle level bowl, and can be used by Kia dealers to entertain customers during events. The Heat renewed their deal with Kia making Kia the Official and Exclusive Vehicle for them. In that deal Kia gets advertising on radio, in print and on Heat.com, in arena signage, as well as a Kia car display on the main concourse of American Airlines Arena. Promotions Kia has done with the Heat have been: Kia Test drive for Tickets and Kia Drive for Five, where over 15,000 tickets were distributed to consumers in South Florida for both the last five years. Also, there is the Heat Ultimate Flyaway Trip, giving lucky Heat fans the chance to experience Heat road games in New York, New Jersey, Philadelphia, and Boston. There is also: the in Arena Kia Performance Challenge, which is where fans can win a Kia vehicle by making a half court shot. Heat Players and Heat Dancers have appeared at Kia dealers across South Florida, and Kia brought the Heat Experience to non Heat events as the Calle Ohco Festival and South Florida International Auto show. At every home game the Kia Seat Upgrade provides fan sitting in the Upper Level a chance to sit in the first row of the Lower Bowl for a truly unforgettable experience. Kia will also expand its involvement with Heat community outreach efforts as well in Heat programming on 790 the Ticket, the team’s flagship radio station.
Ideology: Kia and the NBA try to make their fan base as diverse as can be with 43 percent of them termed multicultural: African Americans, Hispanics, and Asians. The big increase of Asians fans in the NBA was due to Yao Ming of course, the former center from China who played for the Houston Rockets. Kia also has sponsored a clock on NBA.com for countdowns till the season and playoffs, etc. They want to make the Optima mainstream by having it sponsored by Griffin, an NBA star.
Codes: One of the biggest social codes is that if a top NBA star is in these commercials and you enjoy him or the commercials you might pay attention to the words on the screen. By reading these words you might decide you want to buy a KIA since Griffin is the spokesman.
Jingoism: The Optima is targeted at all car buyers but with the paring of them with Griffin they are trying to get young adults who watch basketball to also buy their cars.