April 27, 2015

Accenture Helps Kia Motors Double Impact of Social Media Marketing at Less Than Half the Cost

SEOUL, Korea; Apr. 27, 2015 – Kia Motors has been working with Accenture (NYSE: ACN) to develop and execute a strategy to significantly increase the effectiveness of its social media marketing. The new strategy has raised the engagement of followers and influencers with the Kia brand and optimized Kia’s social marketing spend – with results showing more than twice the level of positive interactions with followers at less than half (47 percent) the cost.

Accenture used its proprietary Social Media Diagnostic solution provided by Accenture Interactive Research & Development to identify Kia’s social media strengths and areas of improvement. Accenture clustered Kia’s social media followers based on analysis of Kia’s data on user engagement in social channels, using different car models and different post types as the criteria. This is allowing Kia to more precisely target paid posts to social media users who are most likely to engage with the content.

“We‘ve been very successful in growing our base of fans and followers on social channels to approximately 21 million, which has made a huge contribution to our rapidly expanding brand value for the past several years,” said Soon-Nam Lee, VP of Overseas Marketing Group, Kia Motors. “With the help of Accenture, Kia is now taking social media marketing in the automotive industry to the next level with increased customer engagement that ensures we are best placed to meet consumers’ changing requirements. We will continue our efforts to provide more personalized and relevant messages for our customers.”

New Accenture research shows that 80 percent of car buyers are now using some form of digital technology to research their purchase. Chief marketing officers in the automotive industry rank social media as a top priority for marketing investment, according to another survey from Accenture Interactive.

“Digital technologies such as social media are transforming marketing from something you do to consumers to something you do with them – and for that you need to really know their likes and needs,” said Hyun-Jung Kim, managing director of Accenture’s Products practice in South Korea. “Original equipment manufacturers and dealers have to focus on engaging the ‘connected customer’ by establishing a pervasive digital presence, engaging customers through all available digital channels with car-buying information that will take into consideration customer sensitivity and be relevant to their particular car-buying needs.”

She added: “They also need to establish and sustain a seamless, integrated customer experience, combining the physical touch points of auto retailing with those of the evolving digital marketplace, maintaining the integrity of a meaningful car-buying experience.”

About Kia Motors Corporation
Kia Motors Corporation (www.kia.com) – a maker of quality vehicles for the young-at-heart – was founded in 1944 and is Korea’s oldest manufacturer of motor vehicles. Over 3 million Kia vehicles a year are produced in 10 manufacturing and assembly operations in five countries which are then sold and serviced through a network of distributors and dealers covering around 150 countries. Kia today has around 49,000 employees worldwide and annual revenues of nearly US$45 billion. It is the major sponsor of the Australian Open and an official automotive partner of FIFA – the governing body of the FIFA World Cup™. Kia Motors Corporation’s brand slogan – "The Power to Surprise" – represents the company’s global commitment to surprise the world by providing exciting and inspiring experiences that go beyond expectations.

About Accenture
Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company, with more than 323,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries. Combining unparalleled experience, comprehensive capabilities across all industries and business functions, and extensive research on the world’s most successful companies, Accenture collaborates with clients to help them become high-performance businesses and governments. The company generated net revenues of US$30.0 billion for the fiscal year ended Aug. 31, 2014. Its home page is www.accenture.com.

About Accenture Interactive
Accenture Interactive, part of Accenture Digital, helps the world’s leading brands drive superior marketing performance across the full multichannel customer experience. Accenture Interactive offers integrated, industrialized and industry-driven digital transformation and marketing solutions. To learn more follow us @AccentureSocial and visit https://www.accenture.com/interactive.

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Contacts:

Helena Kyeung-hee Park
Accenture
+ 82 2 3777 8711
kyeung-hee.park@accenture.com

Anthony Hatter
Accenture
+ 44 7810 756 138
anthony.hatter@accenture.com