Background

Kia is a multinational automotive manufacturer based in South Korea. In 2017, Kia founded its subsidiary company in India aiming to produce models tailored for the Indian market. When Kia India launched its highly-awaited Sonet in India, it aimed to capture the mindshare of connected consumers with the Sonet’s AI Voice Command feature – Hello, Kia. This provided Sonet users with voice-control over useful tasks such as navigation, switching on the AC, and rolling down the window. The pandemic brought about an inescapable end-to-end transformation in the auto industry, and Kia had to adapt. The company had the challenge of increasing brand awareness so that users would indulge in auto purchases from them amidst the pandemic - all while being a newcomer in the Indian market. Kia saw the situation as an opportunity to change the vehicle purchasing experience for consumers through a polished digitalized experience.

Describe the creative idea

The key objective of the Kia Sonet's Voice-Enabled campaign was to draw the Indian car lover's attention to the Sonet's sophisticated AI Voice Command feature while also establishing itself in the Indian auto market. Without the ability to provide the in-person experience, Kia used its interactive mobile capabilities to create a real-time simulation of how the driver could interact with the car via voice commands. This aimed to allow users to have the experience of “conversing” with the car in the same manner as they would if they were actually driving it.

Describe the strategy

The brand planned the perfect promotion for the voice-command feature by targeting with interactive mobile capabilities to deliver an immersive ad experience. With nearly 360 million mobile video viewers in India, the mobile platform was the primary choice for Kia India's campaign. The emerging preference for online sales in light of the pandemic further contributed to the choice of mobile video ads for the campaign. The campaign targeted audiences between 25 to 45 who would be most attracted to the luxurious AI Voice Command feature. Some of the segments considered were: Upscale Dwellers, Urban Residents, High-income Users, and Premium Smartphone Users.

Describe the execution

Kia worked with Audiences to combine demographic, technographic, and location signals to curate their target segments. This resulted in advertisements being delivered to niche audiences who would be interested in the Sonet. The ad unit consisted of four interactive full-screen ads. Three ads were voice-enabled and provided users a sneak-peek into the Sonet's AI Voice Command experience. The three commands that could be given by the user were: "Hello, Kia! Open the driver window", which displayed a video of the window rolling down; "Hello, Kia! Navigate to the nearest fuel pump", which showed OTA maps being pulled up; and "Hello, Kia! I am sweating", which presented a clip of the AC being switched on. They could also learn more or purchase the car after the ad. Taking advantage of the surge in online purchases, Kia India reached millions of users and offered them an easy online automobile purchase experience.

List the results

The combination of the meticulously crafted audiences and the immersive full-screen ads drove phenomenal results for Kia India, fulfilling the campaign objectives. The brand reached over a 1.9 million unique users, with each user spending an average of 45 seconds and a cumulative 1,500 hours on the ad unit. 50% of viewers engaged with the ad until the end. Kia India was able to steal a significant piece of mindshare from its competitors. Reaching nearly 2 million target users, mobile advertising and niche audiences were crucial to Kia's success in India and will continue to be highly valuable in the future. Despite the auto sales slump during the pandemic, Kia India announced that it had secured its highest-ever sales in India's automotive industry. Over 200,000 units were sold in 17 months post-launch, cementing Kia India's position in the Indian automobile sector.