Kia Is Ready to Score During Recession

Rafael Nadal reduced Roger Federer to tears by seizing the Australian Open tennis championship on Feb. 1, but execs at the Seoul headquarters of Kia Motors couldn't have been happier. Nadal, the reigning French Open and Wimbledon champion, has had a sponsorship deal with the Korean automaker for 2-1/2 years, and his victory marked the culmination of Kia's aggressive promotion of itself during the two-week tournament in Melbourne. Spectators in the Rod Laver Arena or watching on TV couldn't escape the oblong Kia logo plastered all over the venue.

The Australian Open is one of several sports sponsorships for Korea's second-largest automaker. "Sponsorship of sporting events will be an important part of our marketing blitz this year," says Lee Soon Nam, director in charge of the South Korean company's overseas marketing. At a time when many sporting events face problems as troubled banks and corporate sponsors cut back, Kia is splurging by spending scores of millions of dollars in sports marketing this year. Among sporting events Kia is sponsoring are the National Basketball Assn., the World Cup soccer tournament, and the Asian Games.