Kia: 360 advertising

As a world-leading automotive brand, Kia’s workload demanded an always-on, full-funnel advertising. As the senior copywriter, I helped develop and manage their 360º advertising, which involved:

  • Concepting territories.

  • Scriptwriting for TV and radio broadcast.

  • Social media content creation.

  • Digital advertising (Includes Google Native ads, Facebook and Instagram ads, TikTok ads, and digital banner ads).

  • Developing and executing seasonal retail campaigns. I sold 3 retail campaigns to Kia in 2024: “Today” (Spring), “Find Your All-Year Drive” (Fall), and “Give Yourself More” (Holiday).

  • Seasonal product launches. I helped develop “Your Kia. Your Way.” to sell Kia Accessories, which has become their evergreen after-sales campaign.

  • Create print and billboard ads across Canada.

  • Write email/newsletters, including event promotions, car launches, product enhancements, and company news.

  • Develop point-of-sale components to be used at Kia dealerships across Canada

  • Brand experience at auto shows across Canada, involving conceptualizing the look and feel of the Kia booth at events like the Canadian International AutoShow, Salon de l'Auto de Montréal, Drive Festival, Salon International de l'auto de Québec, Calgary International Auto and Truck Show, and Everything Electric.

The creative team’s efforts resulted in back-to-back record-selling years: Over 69,000 vehicles sold in 2023 and over 86,000 vehicles sold in 2024.

You can see some examples of my work below.

EV9 Launch

We launched the EV9 through “The First of its Kind” campaign.

This included 2 Super Bowl spots, digital advertisements, TikTok, social channels, and interactive digital dealership POS standees, resulting in Kia Canada selling out the model during its pre-sale online reservation process.

EV9 TV commercials

EV9 Print ads

From left to right: re:Porter magazine, Cottage Life magazine, and Vancouver magazine

Appears in Nuvo magazine.

western canada BILLBOARD campaign

Kia ran a DOOH campaign across Western Canada (Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta) but wanted to revitalize the way we write billboard copy. Before, these billboards would just describe a feature. But we were handed digital maps of where each billboard would be directly placed (near a gas station, near a Tim Hortons, etc.) so we would use these context-specific locations to our advantage. I approached these billboards by trying to insert myself into local culture and vernacular and to link these locations to a feature.

The campaign hit all of our KPIs and Kia’s VP of Marketing saw the campaign and told us this was the new standard for copywriting for them, helping us evolve their brand voice moving forward.

Billboard appeared next to gas stations across Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba.

Billboard appeared on highways across Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba.

Billboard appeared next to the Ikea in downtown Calgary.

Billboard appeared in downtown Winnipeg and downtown Brandon.

Billboard appeared next to Wal-Mart Superstores and Canadian Tires across Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba.

Billboard appeared across downtown Calgary during the Stampede.

Billboard appeared next to Mosaic Stadium (Home of the Saskatchewan Roughriders) in Regina, Saskatchewan.

holiday retail 2023: “The season of sharing”

commercials

Fall retail 2024: “find your all-year drive.”

commercials

Winter retail 2024: “give yourself more.”

SOCIAL MEDIA REFRESH

POST COPY:

With a vehicle as powerful as the Kia EV6 GT, it would be responsible to talk about all its safety features like the Lane Keep Assist System. But it's way more fun to show off its 576 horsepower.

POST COPY:

There's art in the design of every Kia vehicle. We asked Melissa to capture the essence of our “Opposites United” philosophy by drawing up some of her favourite Kia models. Watch the video to see her finished artwork, but more importantly, visit the Montreal Auto Show to admire the elegant designs of Kia vehicles in-person.

CAse study: the paper poppy

OVERVIEW 

The 2023 Memorial Cup celebrates Canada’s best up-and-coming hockey talent but also has a rich history of honouring our nation's veterans. Kia had been a title sponsor of the tournament for five years. 

The speakers and executives at the opening ceremonies donned a poppy as a symbol of reverence for those who have sacrificed for our country. 

Wearing the poppy close to the heart has become the standard for Canadians to recognize what our soldiers gave to this country. Traditionally, poppies have been made of single-use plastics and non-biodegradable materials. According to the CBC, 22-25 million plastic poppies are distributed across Canada each year. As plastic waste fills our ocean, Kia’s vision of sustainability is to use recycled plastic in our vehicle’s components and materials. 

We saw the Memorial Cup as an opportunity to change how people think about disposable materials. What if we could honour our veterans with this symbolic pin that also reflected our vision for a greener future? We made the poppy sustainable and regenerative by constructing it out of paper embedded with seeds. 

THE KEY INSIGHT 

Since upcycling plastic into car materials is a cornerstone of Kia’s sustainability mission and practice, we wanted to use the Memorial Cup to get people to think about single-use plastic by making the poppy renewable. 

INNOVATION 

Our paper poppy was made with seed paper that could be planted and regenerate into flowers. The poppy was durable enough to be worn by Kia staff, ambassadors, and tournament attendees during the Memorial Cup ceremonies and games. 

We set up a garden outside of the Sandman Centre where the Memorial Cup was hosted. Attendees were encouraged to plant their poppies in the garden or to take it home with them to plant in their yard. 

The remembrance took on a second life when it regenerated into new flowers. The way we honour and memorialize our veterans became more everlasting. 

RESULTS 

500 renewable poppies were distributed, removing plastic that was heading to landfills.  

Meanwhile, we supported Kia’s sustainability vision: The synergy created by everyone acting for the greater good will collectively have a positive impact on our environment.