Mktg 102 KIA Picanto Nail Art Animation

Prepared For: Prof Bhooma Janakiramanan Done By: GOH Hui Jun Shruti JAIN Prasanthi NAIR Angeline POH Si Jie

1. Advertisement Description
In June 2011, Kia Motors launched a video advertisement to advertise the new updated version of the Picanto. The video, which is only available on Youtube, an online video sharing platform, took 1,200 bottles of nail polish, 900 finger nails and 25 days and nights to be completed. Great detail went into each individual fingernail that not only shows the car zipping along, but also points out several features of the Picanto. Being the first ever fingernail stop motion production, it has proven to be a viral marketing campaign. To date, it has attracted 3,914,348 viewers.

2. Advertisement Analysis
In this section, we will analyze the various strategies employed to position the Kia Picanto to its target market: young, stylish, city-dwelling ladies who purchase cars mostly based on style and practicality. 1 2.1 World s First Nail Art Animation Nail art animations are unprecedented in advertisements and this very aspect of novelty lures the attention of many. Consumers who appreciate innovativeness would be impressed at the unique advertisement and likely to extend this attitude to the product featured in the advertisement, the Kia Picanto. Original ideas are remembered more easily and are often shared with others. Thus this video relies heavily on viral publicity on Youtube and also on its technologically-savvy viewers to share with others through online social networking sites or via word-of-mouth. Moreover, females are more likely to volunteer their experiences to other people2. By mentioning the materials and duration needed to complete the advertisement 1200 bottles of nail polish, 25 days and nights this symbolizes the hard work Kia has put into its advertisement and it also sends a subtle message to viewers that the same amount of effort is put into manufacturing its cars. Alongside with knowing that only 3 people were involved in the process, this can be especially engaging in terms of emotional appeal. Cars are generally associated with masculinity, performance and power and they are a far cry from the femininity associated with women. Hence a change in strategy when marketing to women is required. Instead of focusing on the basic motivational function of the purchase stemming from a practical need for an independent transport system, Kia has relied on the need for style and aesthetics of females by using the idea of nail art. In addition, as getting a manicure is a common practice among women, the usage of nail art in the advertisement leverages on societal stereotypes to make the gender segmentation apparent early on in the advertisement. As women are classically conditioned into thinking that nail art is cute and stylish, grouping nail art and cars proves to be appropriate. Viewers have responded positively to these cues, and this is evident from comments posted by several young women below the Youtube video where they mentioned that the video was cute and that they felt like painting their nails after watching the video. 2.2 Principle of Contrast The principle of contrast is observed several times in the advertisement:
1 2

http://www.torquenews.com/1/kia-finds-smart-way-compete-fiat-500-and-ford-ka http://www.trendsight.com/content/view/214/

y y

Stark colour contrast: black background and white fonts at the beginning, vibrant colours of Picanto against white nail on finger which blends with the brown table; Alphabet size contrast: Slogan ALL in smALL emphasizes that the Picanto has everything that customers look out for, packaged in a compact size; Size contrast: Image of an entire car fits onto the surface of a small fingernail space; Word contrast: Slogan We didnt minimize it, we maximized it in a smALL space reinforces that although it is small, it is still fully equipped like any other car; and Ideology contrast: The slogan small is beautiful goes against the conventional norm for cars that bigger is better.

Apart from being able to draw greater attention through the principle of contrast technique, it also increases attachment of the audience to the advertisement when they rehearse the parts mentioned several times in the brain, thus forming a part of their long term memory. 2.3 Figure and Ground While the focus is clearly on the cars (figure), the ground still plays an important role in complementing the message that is put across. The background music which has the following line, I want it all, I like it, is repeated several times throughout the advertisement and this manipulates the brain subtly in favour of the product, creating a desire to acquire it. The advertisement hence provides sufficient sensory stimulation to be remembered by the audience. This is evident as several viewers commented on the video, asking for the title of the catchy song. Although the advertisement begins with the dominance of nail art preparation, there is a strong emphasis on Picanto where it is clearly displayed in the forefront at the second half of the video advertisement. 2.4 Product Attributes Picanto, which is similar to the French word 'piquant' and Spanish word picante, means hot and spicy. This could be a tactic for the Korean car company to appeal to ethnocentric European customers as Caucasians may be inclined towards a European name, due to a sense of perceived quality, and they may have a negative perception that Asian-made cars are less superior. In accordance to the Tri-component Attitude Model, the cognitive response to the Kia Picanto is different from other car advertisements because Kia has taken into account the preferences of its target market, altered its product attributes accordingly and now highlighting these changes as mentioned below: y The personalities of women who paint their nails are usually those who are fashionable, take efforts to enhance their beauty or pamper themselves and are geared towards aesthetic appeal. Although the Picanto is available in several colours, the bright coloured ones: blue, yellow, red and green, had more screen time in the advertisement in order to match the energy of its young target group. LED rear lamps and head lamps also serve to accentuate the aesthetics appeal of the Picanto. While most cars in the market are only equipped with 4 airbags, the Kia Picanto has 7 of them. Safety is an important factor among women when choosing a car model due to their innate need for safety3. This falls under safety and security needs in Maslows Hierarchy of Needs.

http://articles.cnn.com/2008-03-14/living/women.car.design_1_women-buyers-female-engineers-martibarletta?_s=PM:LIVING

The slogan Less is beautiful! 4.1 litre/100km, CO2 95g/km appeals to green consumers due to the Picantos fuel efficiency. This is a good marketing tactic as according to a survey4, women are more appealed by social marketing. However, if viewers were to think back to how resource intensive the production of this video was, the appeal to green interest groups might not be as effective after all.

3. Recommendations
Overall, Kias Nail Art Animation wows with its energy and uniqueness, successfully capturing the attention of Picantos target market. Despite its relative success, there were areas which could have been improved or changed to better market the Picanto, which will be discussed in this section. 3.1 Increase Brand Involvement and Prominence of Product Attributes Although the objective of this advertisement is product-specific, for greater customer retention, the Kia brand logo should be incorporated in the video and not displayed only at the last second of the video as this does not allow for sufficient time for cognitive retention. The over-focus on nail art may have created hype on the concept, distracting viewers from the product itself. Also, product attributes were introduced late in the advertisement, some of which for fleeting moments. Hence viewers could have missed out on key information about the Picanto, such as its fuelefficiency. Kia was correct in focusing on the main attributes of the Picanto, but they could have been presented more prominently in the advertisement to get the message across to the viewers. 3.2 Take into Account the Effect of Reference Groups Although women have little Need For Cognition (hence the strong visual dimensions in the advertisement), we must take into consideration that potential female consumers are likely to seek the opinion of their reference groups, which may include male friends or counterparts who may not take to the concept of nail art and dismiss the Picanto as a car that cannot be taken seriously. Such men, who have a negative impression of the Picanto, will then dissuade the females not to buy it, thus countering the successful impact of the advertisement on females. As such, Kia needs to take into consideration the effect of familial or peer-based reference groups at play to avoid negating the intended effects of the advertisement.

4. Conclusion
Since cars are search goods, customers are likely not to rely on the advertisement alone but research more on the Internet to find out more detailed specifications of the Picanto, hence it is a smart strategy to focus on the emotional rather than rational aspect. As it is established that the viewers are technologically-savvy, potential customers are most likely to visit the Kia web address that is given at the end of the video, if they are interested in finding out more information. Most high value products are advertised in such a manner too since the product specifications may be too content-heavy. Given that the aim of the advertisement was to catch the attention of young women, metaphor marketing can be credited. As shown, opting for the peripheral route may be risky but if done creatively, it can prove to be worthwhile.
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http://adage.com/article/cmo-strategy-columns/marti-barletta-green-green-marketing/116949/