Kia’s cars have grown-up to become more attractive over the years. Since declaring design management as a core driver of the company’s future growth and hiring design guru Peter Schreyer as President & Chief Design Officer in 2007, Kia Motors Corporation’s brand value has skyrocketed by 480% from US$929 million (RM3.03 billion) to US$5.4 billion (RM17 billion), according to Interbrand’s exclusive list of 100 ‘Best Global Brands 2014’ .
This rise in brand value far outpaces the average growth rate over the same period of all 11 other automakers on this year’s list. The 2014 edition of Interbrand’s annual 100 ‘Best Global Brands’ study was executed through a comprehensive brand performance analysis using best practice research methodology by expert analysts. The study measures a corporation’s financial performance in terms of the raw financial return to investors; role that a brand plays in the actual purchase decision; and brand strength, which is the ability of a brand to secure the delivery of expected future earnings.
Kia first entered Interbrand’s annual 100 ‘Best Global Brands’ rankings in 2012, coming in 87th place with brand value of US$4.1 billion (RM13.2 billion), and subsequently rose four spots to 83rd position in the 2013 study following a 15% increase in brand value to US$4.7 billion (RM15.3 billion). During the past year, Kia’s brand value increased by a further 15% to US$5.4 billion (RM17 billion), elevating the Korean automaker 9 places to 74th position.
“Being one of only 14 automotive brands to make the list is an amazing distinction. This will propel the Kia brand forward and drive Naza Kia Malaysia to match the brand’s global success in Malaysia. Now in our fourth quarter, we are 68% into reaching our sales target for 2014. We are on a rollercoaster that is only going up,” said Datuk Syed Abdull Hafiz Syed Abu Bakar, Chief Operating Officer of Naza Kia Malaysia.
According to the Korean automaker, the significant increase in Kia’s brand value over the past year can be attributed to factors such as the continued roll-out of marketing activities including this year’s sponsorship of the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil and Australian Open tennis championship, an ongoing new product offensive featuring the launch of 12 next generation or significantly upgraded models in 2013 and 2014, and a 4% rise in average selling price of exported vehicles during the first half of 2014 compared to the same period of the previous year. Kia have also managed to make even its introductory level cars like the diminutive Picanto, appealing and excellent value for money as we mentioned in this article some time ago.
Apart from that, Kia has been executing various innovative marketing activities since 2012 including sensory marketing initiatives such as the ‘Red Cube’ visual identity for dealerships around the world as well as introduction of a brand signature sound that is being applied to Kia’s television commercial end frame jingle and other customer touch points. Naza Kia’s latest ‘Red Cube’ showroom will be officially launched on 15th October in Rawang, look out for details of that on AF soon!
