Purpose Based Branding

Blackrock Capital CEO Larry Fink stunned the financial world in 2018 with his letter to shareholders. His radical notion was simple—”To prosper over time, every company must not only deliver financial performance, but also show how it makes a positive contribution to society.” He went on to predict that companies that fail to do so, will ultimately disappear. Initially, KIA was skeptical. Today, they’ve become passionate about the power of purpose. And we embed it in almost everything we do. Below are a few examples.

Social/OLV/”The Great Unknowns”

Come Super Bowl time, many brands in the Super Bowl shell out a million dollars or more for celebrity talent. We took that would-be celebrity paycheck and converted it into an annual scholarship for hard-working students in small towns across America.

Social/TVC/OLV/”Fighting Chance”

There are four million homeless kids in America. When the pandemic hit, we knew that number would only increase. Building on our support for homeless youth, we asked Kia to donate an additional million to homeless youth organizations like Covenant House.

Social/OLV/”The Game Must Go On”

In 2021, both Kia and its sister company, Hyundai, decided to opt out of the Super Bowl. After reading that beleaguered schools were permanently shutting down football programs due to budget shortfalls, we had an idea. What if we found 10 school programs that were at risk, and offered financial assistance to keep them going through the pandemic. Kia loved it.