DB: Where are you?
KL: I’m in Irvine, Calif., visiting Kia Motor Corp. (part of Hyundai Motor Co.), which is one of our primary clients. My main purpose for being here is to conduct cross-channel integration with some of our partner agencies who manage Kia’s digital, social media, and website strategies.
DB: What are you working on?
KL: I’m here for four days, and we’re working with Kia on 2018 planning for the entire year. We’re also preparing for the biggest launch in Kia’s history with the introduction (in January) of the Kia Stinger, a five-passenger fastback sport sedan. There’s a
lot of excitement around
the Stinger, and we’re making sure the launch is executed correctly. It
will be at the 2018 North American International Auto Show (at Cobo Center in downtown Detroit).
DB: How’s the account going?
KL: We’ve had the account for just over a year, and we manage CRM (customer relationship management), which entails one-to-one marketing on one front. We also help Kia with the conversations with their owners (new-car buyers) from the time they buy a vehicle, and we keep that going because when the buyer is looking for another vehicle, we want them to purchase another vehicle from Kia. We also reach out to bring new people into the brand.
DB How about the other part of CRM?
KL: We work on a seamless communication channel so advertising, social media, the digital space, and the website teams all have a consistent message. We want to be sure we all contribute in a linear way instead of being in silos.
We also work with Audi, Subaru, and Volkswagen, and we do brochure work for Ford and Lincoln. About 95 percent of our roster is automotive, and we have 235 employees. We just hit our 20th anniversary, and we’re looking at diversification outside of automotive and into the marketing management space. It’s a fun business.
