Kia Motors America teams with Zynga®’s PetVille allowing players to create their own Kia Soul ‘This or That’ commercial
The view from the Summit
Here at metro Detroit Kia dealer Summit Place Kia, we thought we’d heard it all. That is, until last week when Kia Motors announced that Facebook users who have signed up with PetVille would now be able to create mash-ups of the Kia Soul “This or That” commercial and share them with their online friends.
This latest announcement is, in fact, part of Kia’s expansion into social media applications. The latest interactive social media experience allows PetVille Players to share their creativity with their friends by using the Kia Soul hamsters as the focus of the latest and more popular social media engagement applications.
So if you are a Facebook user and you’re interested in the PetVille application, here is more information on the topic from Kia Motors:
(SEOUL) June 24, 2010 – Solidifying its position in social media, Kia Motors America (KMA) is furthering its online presence by teaming up with marketing agency SocialVibe and the popular Facebook®-hosted game PetVille, created by leading online game provider Zynga. Building on the popularity of the Kia Soul hamsters from the latest “This or That” ad campaign in the US, PetVille users can become well-known mix masters themselves by creating “mash-ups” of the ad that can be shared with their online friends. KMA is the first automotive manufacturer to partner with Zynga and SocialVibe on such an application, which will run through the end of July.
“The immense popularity of the latest Kia Soul ad, especially with the Gen-Y crowd, made it an obvious fit the popular PetVille game,” said Michael Sprague, Vice President, Marketing of KMA. “Soul already has been well-received on Facebook and in social media, and we felt that integrating with Zynga’s PetVille was the perfect platform to introduce the vehicle and the brand to new consumers in Soul’s target demographic, in a fun and engaging way.”
The interactive application, found at the bottom of the PetVille game page, invites users to click on an icon taken from the “This or That” spot to create their own Soul mash-up video. Upon entering the application, the Soul ad will start rolling and the user will be prompted to cut and mix their own cut of “This or That” by dragging five-second clips into a six-spot timeline. Once complete, they can playback their ad, which will play to the same theme music as the original spot. Members will then have the opportunity to post their work of art on their Facebook profile to share with their friends. In addition to creating their own Soul music video, participants will receive PetVille cash in return for their interaction, which is typically only available through game play or by purchase.
“When partnering with brands for online games, we really want to advocate for the consumer to come up with something they would relate to and enjoy,” said Brennan Beyer, Vice President, National Sales of SocialVibe. “Facebook and PetVille have a specific consumer and we felt that the funky Kia Soul ad was really the perfect fit.”
The “This or That” campaign, the latest chapter of the Kia Soul hamster story, depicts the loveable creatures driving through city streets to the tune of the hip-hop song “The Choice is Yours” by The Black Sheep, cleverly comparing “This,” the funky and uniquely styled Soul, to “That,” a number of boring and mundane appliances on wheels, cardboard boxes or hamster wheels. The new spot debuted on cable at the end of May and can be seen in theaters and online.
Come in and drive the real thing!
Here at Summit Place Kia, we have a great selection of 2010 Souls at both of our locations and to really appreciate it, you owe it to yourself to take one for a test drive. To schedule an appointment, or for more information on the rest of the entire line-up of high quality, affordable Kias, you can contact us at our Waterford store by calling 248-682-6002 or by dialing 734-397-9900 for our Canton store. You can also check us out on the web at www.summitplacekia.com. If you just want to stop in for a visit, our two dealerships located at 2200 Elizabeth Lake Road in Waterford, just behind the Summit Place mall and in Canton at 41840 Michigan Avenue, just west of I-275. Once you’re there, you’ll see why everyone at Michigan and metro Detroit’s sales leader, and Proud Automotive Sponsor of Michigan Athletics, would “Love to see ‘ya” in a Summit Place Kia!
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About Zynga
Zynga has over 230 million monthly active users playing its games. These games include FarmVille, FrontierVille, Treasure Isle, Zynga Poker, Mafia Wars, YoVille, Café World, FishVille and PetVille. Zynga games are available on Facebook, MySpace, Yahoo! and the iPhone. Through Zynga.org, Zynga players raised over $3 million for world social causes. Zynga is headquartered in Potrero Hill in San Francisco. For more information, visit www.zynga.com or www.zynga.org.
July 14th, 2010 at 2:43 pm
You are right, FarmVille has grown to be the most popular Facebook game in just a year since it’s launch in June 2009. Over 60 million people play the game every month and FarmVille is becoming a cultural phenomenon.