Kia Canada's#PowerToGive

Here’s how we partnered with Kia Canada and Food Banks Canada to donate much-needed funds and vehicles to the national charity dedicated to alleviating hunger through the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Hit The Ground Running

Kia Canada has helped Canadians get around with safety and confidence for more than 20 years. It wanted to give back to our country with a unique CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) initiative that would make a meaningful difference in Canada through the COVID-19 pandemic.

Our Strategic Objectives team was delighted to conceive, facilitate, and hit the ground running with an original Kia Canada #PowerToGive partnership with Food Banks Canada that made good news, inspired others in the automotive sector to step up and give back, and helped hungry Canadians from coast-to-coast.

Drive Generosity In Turbulent Times

Our objectives included:

• Contribute to the greater good while championing Kia’s brand values
• Form a mutually beneficial and authentic charitable partnership
• Drive positive perception, recall and affiliation for Kia vehicles
• Earn positive mainstream, digital and social media coverage for Kia in a down market

Pivot to the #PowerToGive

To begin, we leveraged Kia’s heavily advertised Power To Surprise brand mantra and adapted it to become Kia Canada’s #PowerToGive campaign for social good.

We then negotiated a multi-level partnership with Food Banks Canada that provided generous funding, in addition to the loan of Kia’s world-class Press Fleet (including the 2020 Telluride, Sportage, and Soul, all grounded at the outset of the pandemic) for use by local food bank chapters across Canada to deliver essential food and supplies to Canadians in need.

We also helped Kia engage with its employees, national network of 195 dealers, and customers to help them connect with local food banks and hunger relief agencies to lend assistance and support at a community, and regional level.

What We Did:

• Vetted, engaged and proposed CSR partnership opportunities for Kia
• Forged a national partnership with Food Banks Canada to help alleviate hunger
• Wrote and distributed a national and regionalized News Release
• Conducted national media relations to secure Tier A automotive, news and lifestyle coverage, leveraging key brand and food bank (national and regional) spokespeople for timely interview opportunities
• Coordinated Press Fleet logistics to facilitate local food bank deliveries and staff transportation. Participating locations included:
  • Daily Bread Food Bank (Toronto, ON)
  • Greater Vancouver Food Bank (Vancouver, BC)
  • Moisson Laval Food Bank, (Laval, QC)
• Arranged Press Fleet wraps to ensure Kia branding in photos with food bank partners
• Developed communications and web content for internal and external Kia messaging rollout to key stakeholders including employees, dealers, and customers
• Engaged trusted social media influencers to share news of Kia’s #PowerToGive initiative with their followers by showcasing the Kia Press Fleet in action at food banks across Canada
  

For more on our award-winning work with Kia, please click here. We love driving good news for our clients, please contact us here if we can help you cut through the clutter and elevate your brand with relevant, credible PR initiatives.