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KiaMatch.com – Find your Vehicular Soulmate
3 Comments · Posted by Lewis Wright in Marketing News
Kia has launched an online dating parody website (www.kiamatch.com) to find your “vehicular soulmate”. On the landing page you choose “the one you love” by answering a couple of questions specifically mimicking personal questionnaires. Instead of “loading” the status bar boasts a “computing compatability” meter before it finally shows you “your match”. Heck, if you don’t like the car it chose you can even select from a list of “other mates”.
It’s great fun and a clever campaign that made me remember their name and even go to their site, which is hard to do these days. They still have the problem of overcoming the perception that they are a cheap, low quality car maker. That became clear even as people passed by my monitor and said “Don’t buy a Kia”. Perhaps this campaign isn’t clever enough to change the inherit view of the company.
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Sam · June 20, 2007 at 9:09 am
Perceptions of quality take longer to change. Getting their name out there in a cute and catchy way can go a long way to bringing attention – the first step in changing any perception.
Hannah · June 20, 2007 at 9:15 am
Given the popularity of online dating services, I think this is a clever campaign. It motivated me to visit their site and check out the details of my chosen mate. I still crave a Mini Cooper, but that has nothing to do with Kia’s lack of a strong brand. I’ve always thought of them as an affordable option, and haven’t heard anything bad about them. One of my friends has had a Kia minivan for about 5 years, and his family loves it.
Lewis Wright · June 20, 2007 at 9:55 am
Agreed that quality takes longer to change but I’d also add that, from a marketing perspective, there’s nothing you can do about that. Either your product is high quality or its not, now get out there and market it!
However, if the intent of a company is to change the perception of quality I’d have to disagree with you about going the ‘cute and catchy’ route. I equate quality with a more serious tone kind of like Saab with their “born from jets”.