By Myung, SeHwan
Domestic Marketing Team






Mia (Han, Hyo-joo) has just come back from studying overseas and heads toward the airport parking lot. There, she discovers Yoo-gil (Kim, Dong-wook), a doctor, passed out from drinking too much. Mia helps him into her car and drives him home. Romance blossoms between the two. Mia’s best friend Sehee (Lee, Chae-young) is a hotelier whose goal is to find a rich man but finds herself in love with an average guy, Soo-ho (K-will).

K-will is one of Korea’s top-grossing singer and most popular search item on various music sites with his song “Didn’t get to tell you I love you.”

The two paragraphs above sound like something you’d hear on an entertainment show, don’t they? Actually, they’re closely linked to marketing activities at Kia Motors in Korea.

Expanding on the Korean-wave (hallyu) in the region, they’re all part of “Soul Special” that uses a marketing technique called “branded entertainment.”

Soul Special is a 60-minute long musical drama where Kia Soul is the main character. The music video is revealed in 5-minute installments on online and cable TV broadcasts. Additionally, contents of Soul Special are re-packaged in various formats such as TV ads, internet promotional videos, radio commercials, mobile caller ring tunes and music videos of participating artists, to give customers a multi-faceted experience of the Soul brand.

Since the end of September, Soul Special is being broadcast in 12 installments of 5-minute long videos every Tuesday and Thursday on Naver (search portal) and Cyworld (a local social networking site), two of the most popular websites in Korea. Interest in the musical drama has jumped with every episode, resulting in it being the first online drama to go viral with more than 2.7 million hits.

Here’s a link to the Soul Special video with English subtitles for you to enjoy!

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By Pamela A. Munoz
Overseas Communication Team

First it was the British invasion, now it’s the French invasion?!

French filmmakers Jonas & Francois, known for directing such videos as Kanye West’s ‘Good Life,’ and Madonna and Justin Timberlake’s ‘4 Minutes,’ recently lent their talents to debuting our very own Kia Soul in its first-ever short film.

The entire film, entitled Soul Streets, can be found at www.kiasoulcollective.com/home/film/ and features Jonas & Francois’ signature talents while incorporating Kia Motors America’s concept for the Soul, ‘A new way to roll.’ They were given complete artistic freedom during the project and we hope you all enjoy their quirky short film featured here on the Kia BUZZ. The short is clearly inspired by 80’s cult classics, including Back to the Future and E.T..

The film was created in support of the Kia Soul Collective, a hand-selected group of today’s hottest artists, thought leaders and influencers. The program is focused around the Soul, one of the brand’s most popular, stylish and intriguing vehicles. Each member of the collective demonstrates just “how they roll” while creating original films, art, music and more.

Also below, you’ll find the making of Soul Streets which shows Jonas & Francois in action. For wannabe filmmakers and film enthusiasts, this might of extra interest to you!

After watching the films below, visit the Kia Soul Collective site for free music, iPhone and wallpaper downloads (www.kiasoulcollective.com). You can also follow The Collective and its US tour at www.kiasoulcollective.com, on Twitter (www.twitter.com/kiacollective) and its official Facebook page (www.facebook.com/kiasoul).

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By Pamela A. Munoz
Overseas Communication Team






We thought you’d like to know that Kia Motors America (KMA) has let the hamsters out! The groovy paw-tapping, music-loving hamsters, seen in KMA’s recent advertising campaign, have now found themselves in the “Go Hamster Go!” Facebook® application. This is the first time Kia has embarked upon a game through Facebook® (which can be found at www.facebook.com/kiasoul through the ‘Go Hamster Go!’ tab).

Click to play the video.

As an avid Facebook®-er, I had to try the game out for myself – after office hours, of course!  With the use of a web cam, the interactive game adds a ‘magnet’ on my forehead, to which the t-shirt-clad virtual hamsters grab a hold of and then are dropped into a Kia Soul.  The application is timed and then scores are posted which you can compare with other players.  Remember, you’ll need a webcam!

You can see that from the conveyer belt, the virtual hamster is dropped into a Soul which changes colour to match the hamster’s t-shirt.  At the end of the game, you can then challenge your Facebook® friends to compete.  There are a few snafoos in the form of a flying fish that get in the way to knock you off your game, which keeps it challenging and fun!

But don’t take my word for it; go check it out!  Don’t forget to check back with the BUZZ to let us know what you think…

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By Jay Jungyub Yoo, Manager
Overseas Communication Team

The new online video for the Soul that has been circulating on the web was filmed in late April at Mokpo Port in the southern part of Korea near the Gwangju plant where the Soul is being manufactured.

Our intention was to capture the actual atmosphere of the site where hundreds of Souls are being shipped everyday to numerous countries worldwide. We wanted to create a fun and realistic story as if it actually happened during the shipping process at the port, and that’s why we used a handheld 6mm digital camcorder for the shoot.

 
However, we had to be very careful not to disturb the port staff and drivers while they were working.  We also had to force ourselves to use only the open spaces of the portside during sunlight hours because we didn’t want to touch any of the vehicles awaiting shipment to our customers around the world.

Delivering all the test purpose vehicles for the filming all the way from our Namyang R&D Center and bringing them back after the shoot was a daunting task. We also had to change all the tires of the cars used in the drifting scenes before we returned them to the test center.
 

Many special staff members were invited for the production of this video. Korea’s top professional stunt driving team participated in the filming and did a really great job.  Filming the top view shots was done by another team specialized in aerial shooting. Two cameramen had to hang on to the top of a 50-meter tall giant crane for more than 10 hours. I’d like to convey a special message of thanks for their amazing contribution to creating such exciting footage.

No computer graphic technologies were used during post-production except for just one scene. Can you guess which one?

If you guessed the lineup of red Souls turning the wheels of the big Soul, you are correct!  We used a simple ‘copy and paste’ technique.  We had no other choice.   J

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By Woo Yung Jang
Kia BUZZ Editor

 

※ Editor’s note: This is an April fool’s day release from Kia Motors UK. We hope you Enjoy!

In a dramatic move aimed at delivering environmental benefits without expensive technology Kia has revealed its new Aero-Soul concept that reduces fuel consumption and exhaust emissions with a simple and low-cost system called Air Propulsion and Retardation Installation Line.

- The front of new Aero-Soul being test driven

Although unveiled on the company’s stylish and fun cross-over Soul the patented system can be easily extended to all the company’s vehicles and will even be available as a bolt-on accessory for vehicles already in use.
The system relies front and rear bumpers which monitor external wind speed and deploy panels when the wind is sufficient to provide additional directional impetus according to the car’s behaviour.

  – The rear view of new Aero-Soul 

So at cruising speeds if the wind behind the car is strong – such as in winter gales – the panels will harness wind power to provide forward motion. If the car is slowing or under braking the panels will deploy to provide additional retardation effort. Additionally a small electrically powered baffle can be lowered just behind the exhaust pipe under harsh braking to provide the kind of “reverse-thrust” normally associated with aircraft during landing – this element will only be available as a factory-fitted device.
 
Systems Manager Avril Babo at Kia’s Eco-Technology Research Institute in Mabuk, south of Seoul said: “The big problem with most emission reduction systems is that they are expensive. We wanted to come up with an answer that didn’t cost the earth and could be retrospectively applied to cars already on the road.
 
“Tests of this system at our Nong Dam facility have shown that during windy weather fuel consumption can be reduced by up to 25 per cent and emissions by anything up 40 per cent. Even in calm weather using the system simply under braking can result in reductions of 10 per cent and 15 per cent respectively. In perfect conditions – downhill with a following wind fuel use and exhaust gasses can be reduced to almost zero! Plus, brake-pad life can be extended by anything up to 50 per cent depending on driver behaviour, she added.

The new A.P.R.I.L. system will be available on all vehicles ordered after midnight on March 31, 2010 and the accessory pack will be available the following day. Prices will be announced in due course.

※ Those readers with a working knowledge of korean language will find it even more amusing.

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