I love the new Kia Soul commercial. The hamsters on wheels are such a cute analogy, the animation is on point (the fur is mindblowingly well done), and the music is just right. They’ve undoubtedly spent a pretty penny on the social media campaign: the Facebook app, the Facebook pages, the official website, forums, good fodder in a lot of blogs, and of course the ad on the Kia Motors America YouTube Channel.
Kia owners really love their cars and the Go Hamsters Go app:
Mekiya S*****: I got mine the day after easter….I LOVE it! ♥
Brien D*****: anybody tried “Go Hamster Go” yet? You’ll need a webcam, and it may take a minute to download, but it’s pretty sweet! facial recognition technology! hamsters! the Soul! what’s not to love?
Brittany S*********: Def love my little black soul
first one in NE bought it in first day of April whats up
Kudos to what must be great metrics.
But a few things bug me, especially I initially clicked on their ad in Facebook.
- The ad for the app doesn’t link to the YouTube video, which to my knowledge is the only shareable one. The ad in Facebook is only shareable within the site, and the video off their website is embedded without share codes. If I have to go to a completely different site to share the video, I’m probably not going to do it.
- No part of the marketing campaign links to the other. Facebook pages don’t link to YouTube doesn’t link to the dedicated site. Frustrating! A few extra links or buttons can multiply their efforts online.
- There’s no Twitter page. What? Seriously, get one of the main engineers or product managers to gossip about the new Kia Soul online. I’m guessing this isn’t their Twitter page because… well, it’s lame.
Kia’s doing so many things ‘right’ with their presence online. And a few simple tweaks with links, Twitter pages, etc. will have a huge multiplying effect.
And some additional ideas: Kia soul owners submit videos on why they love their car? Win prizes including free car details at your local dealership. Design your own Kia Soul? Top 10 designers get 1) publicity and 2) $1,000 cash back on your new Kia Soul. A multi-city DJ contest? Get added to the Kia Soul mixtape. Best DJs from around the country battle each other for a pimped out Kia Soul.
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Here’s ‘my’ Kia Soul.
P.S. I couldn’t actually “download” the file, so this is a screen cap. “Lovley” is spelled wrong on the fourth option (under “temptational”).
