Kia in gear with Soul
By Steve Mullins. Soul talking. Kia Motors America is taking its Antenna Soul custom car, which bowed on the catwalk during the recent New York Fashion Week, to the SEMA automotive show in Las Vegas. The move is part of the brand’s Soul Xpression campaign, an integrated program showcasing style leaders from music, fashion, skate, style and technology.
The vehicle – Kia tags it a pop-up shop of the latest trends in clothing and accessories – has a lot happening. Such as baby blue paintwork, rooftop snowboard rack, denim seats, skateboard wheel gearshift knob, a fridge in the back seat, and a skateboard in the roof liner. All courtesy of brands like Huf, Original Penguin, Smart Design, DJ Whoo Kid, Todd Schmidt and In4mation.
There’s more. Antenna magazine is providing the media elements in the shape of a 19-page advertorial in its publication, as well as a dedicated microsite.
Plus there’s a Soul Xpression contest, with Kia and Antenna and Kia Motors tasking consumers with creating a vehicle which expresses who they are. The brand wants participants to demonstrate their individuality in words, art or design using a downloadable image of a Kia Soul.
“The Soul Xpression program takes design elements of the Soul to the next level by adding specific visions from inspirational style leaders,” said Michael Sprague, vp of marketing, Kia. “As a head-turning example of modern design, the Soul was the perfect canvas for influential designers and thought leaders to come together and express everything that would make it further befitting of its name.”
And there’s even more experiential around the brand, which has been busy putting soul into the Soul with its Kia Soul Collective that took a raft of musicians on a tour on 10 US cities during the summer. Kia is also producing a series of documentaries looking at hot artists, thought leaders and influencers.
