BRANDING
Word on the street While it’s still too soon to see the bottom-line impact of Kia’s rebranding efforts – particularly with new-look dealerships still being rolled out globally – eavesdropping on Twitter threw up the following comments: Woow Looks more perfect.. zigzag and shows your next goal EV…. coming years. – @sborricha (India) I never thought I would see the day when Kia would rebrand itself a luxury car maker. – @jb0ne83 (United States) Marketing Twitter: The GM rebrand was terrible. Kia: Hold my beer. – @AvishSood (Canada) Kia’s rebrand is something that should be studied, if you look at what their lineup was 10 years ago compared to now its [sic] crazy, they’re thriving in a demographic Toyota has failed to sustain traction in lately. – @ mikenora_ (United States)
“I suppose it’s also not every day that you announce a global repositioning and a global rebrand. So when you do it, you should do it properly.” The new look and feel, according to the company’s global marketing head Kyungmi Lee, is designed to reflect “the confidence we have in the future” and the brand’s “rise in inspiration and creativity”. For Valentyn, as a marketer, it’s an exciting time and a rare opportunity. “A complete redesign project is one of the most exciting things that can happen in your life. It isn’t every day that you get the opportunity … to delete everything that exists and start from scratch,” he enthuses. Additional reporting by Mike Simpson Cara Bouwer is a Johannesburgbased writer, journalist and editor. Her words appear in media articles around the world, in business case studies, insight reports and corporate copywriting. She is also an experienced ghost writer. @carabouwer
What do African marketers think about the rebranding strategy? Various African marketing experts have weighed in with their views on the rebrand. In Nigeria, Marketing Edge caught up with local experts such as Olawale Jimoh, Marketing Manager of Dana Group, the country’s sole Kia distributor. Jimoh stressed the evolution of the brand, saying: “It’s more customer-orientated.” Deputy Creative Director at Lagos-based marketing agency SO&U, Tolu Bamgbose, felt the rebrand reflected a new future for the company. “The removal of [the word] ‘Motors’ is an attempt to prepare for a diversified future for the brand… Perhaps Kia plans on diversifying beyond ‘motors’.
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So I will say it’s deliberate and a good thing,” Bamgbos observed. But not everyone was convinced. Abraham Cole, Senior Deputy Creative Director at the same agency, decried the unrecognisable new logo, saying: “The new logo was unnecessary as it doesn’t seem to resonate with the brand’s consumers. The old logo was simple and elegant.” His views were echoed by GMD Republicom Group’s Tunji Adeyinka, who commented: “I think the designer prioritised design principles like symmetry and balance over brand recognition.” Despite these comments, Christo Valentyn of Kia South Africa believes it’s still too early to gauge reactions to the rebrand.
Issue 1 2021
“At this point, it’s anecdotal and on-the-ground feedback. We’ve decided, in collaboration with our principals in Korea, that marketing is the first point that that needs to align. So it has been a six-month [at the time of writing] journey of updating and changing all our marketing and advertising collateral, training our dealer network and our partners on this… and ensuring that what this new Kia brand stands for is consistently displayed.” Once the uniformity between marketing strategy and the vehicles that consumers see and experience on the roads has been achieved, then the full impact of the rebrand will become evident, Valentyn says.
