BUILD YOUR BRAND WITH WOW! KIA OPTIMA 2011 – ONE EPIC RIDE

Growing a brand is also growing trust and a sense of belonging.

KIA’s commercial on its Optima model presented in this article is a great example of branding based on the WOW factor. For years now, KIA’s brand has been evolving, migrating from timid beginnings and an unfocused positioning to a remarkable rise in energy and creativity.

But what of the sense of belonging?

Jacques Séguéla, a noted French advertiser, said these famous words: “People don’t buy products, they buy brands.” That vision of the world has changed quite a bit, unfolding into the new statement: “People don’t buy products, they buy an affirmation and confirmation of their identity.” That’s an important distinction. What was once called the Mirror Effect has been replaced by the UBT, the Unique Buying Tribe (source: Marty Nuemeier, American brand image specialist).

Incorporating the WOW factor in communications will not only startle and surprise, of course, but will also create the need to possess, experience and become that Wow simply by buying the product in question. The mental paradigm would manifest as: “This Wow is just like me; it looks just like me; it’s cool like me; we vibrate exactly alike; I want it.”

Kudos to Kia and its marketing partner… Beautiful.