Kia taps Kazoo to drive new brand positioning following six-way pitch
Kia has hired Kazoo it handle its PR activity until 2017 following a six-way pitch, replacing incumbent Publicasity which had held the account for seven years.
This is the latest in a line of new agency appointments since Mark Hopkins joined the auto maker as marketing director from Volkswagen in January last year.
He has been on a drive to transform it into a more premium brand and brought in a raft of new agencies including SapientNitro and VCCPme.
The result of the roster overhaul is beginning to show. At the beginning of the year it axed its product and service-focused ads in favour of a new strapline, ‘You make us make better cars’, to try and establish an emotional connection with its customers.
Steve Kitson, Kia Motor’s director of corporate communications, explained: “We want Kia to be seen as a more premium automotive brand – one that people aspire to buy, confident in the brand’s quality, safety and design.”
Kazoo’s remit includes press office support, brand amplification, spokesperson profiling and extensive comms support for the brand’s network of regional dealerships across the UK.
Kazoo declined to comment on the financial terms of the appointment.