Five renews Kia Motors sponsorship deal
Thursday, 26 June 2008 12:00 AM
Kia and Five have decided to continue their partnership for the time being
Five and Five US have renewed their deal with Kia Motors to sponsor US crime drama series on both channels, it was revealed today.
Five hosts some of the most popular crime shows on British television, including CSI and its spin-off shows, NCIS and Law and Order (including the Criminal Intent and Special Victims Unit franchises).
Kia's involvement with such popular shows is seen as an effective way of building awareness by the company.
Statistics show the partnership could be working so far, as Kia sales continue to go up despite a falling market. It could be unrelated, but Kia is positive the Five link-up is at least partially responsible.
In the first quarter of 2008, Kia's UK sales were up 22 per cent compared to the same time last year.
The deal is one of Five's biggest this year and includes a 15-second opening credit and a ten-second closing credit, plus five-second break bumpers on each programme. Overall this gives Kia 55 seconds of brand exposure within an hour long programme slot.
Kia will also receive accreditation on related programming on Demand Five, the channel's video-on-demand service.
Simon Hetherington, marketing director at Kia Motors UK, commented: "In order to reposition Kia from a value brand to a design-led quality brand, we created a campaign around the line 'Designed to change your mind' and made the pro_cee'd [car] the hero.
"Each credit shows the car changing the meaning of a crime related statement, so the car literally changes your mind. They have been an incredible success with recognition, brand attribution and message comprehension all up."
